Tuesday 11:10 p.m. update:
After six innings, the No. 4 Longhorns (21-8) found themselves in a competitive battle against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6-21). Then, Texas dominated the rest of the game on the mound, with the leather, and at the plate, which led to a 14-4 victory.
Measuring them against a high bar of competitiveness and focus, the Longhorns were a step off early in the game, including the first inning when at one point no one covered the bag at second on a stolen base attempt. After A&M-CC capitalized on some shaky control and defense for a run in the first, Texas responded very loudly in the bottom of the second.
Cam Williams walked to begin the frame and Ivan Melendez followed with one of the most majestic homers I’ve seen at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. According to Longhorn Network, the blast, which cleared the street behind left-center field, the A&M-CC team bus and landed on the grass, was estimated to travel 471 feet. Trey Faltine’s ground out later scored a run to make it 3-1 after two innings.
Back to Melendez: he followed a fantastic weekend driving the ball all over the yard at Kansas with a 4-for-5 night with two doubles, a homer, two runs, and three RBI. The designated hitter showed his raw power, the most on the team, can play in games too and especially to his pull-side. However, he’s starting to let the ball travel too and drive it to right-center and right field. Always, there has been better natural hitting ability than his 25 strikeouts suggest and he’s showing that more consistently now. Pierce praised Melendez’s hitting ability in the fall and we’re seeing why.
The bumpy beginning for Texas wasn’t over after a 3-1 lead, though. Eric Kennedy made a poor read and took a poor route to what looked like a fairly routine catch down the left field line and it led to a one-out double, which turned into a run on a two-out single. Kennedy helped make up for his defense with a RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning to push UT’s lead to 4-2. As for the Texas starter, Justin Eckhardt pitched 2.2 innings with mixed results - two runs on four hits with two strikeouts. His fastball was up to 94 MPH but his control was inconsistent.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, UT’s most consistent power source this season, Williams, tried to match Melendez’s mammoth blast with one of his own. From the left side, Williams hit a towering two-run homer that hit the video board in right field.
But the Islanders weren’t going down without a fight. They blasted a two-run homer of their own in the top of the sixth inning off freshman Lucas Gordon. The left-handed UT reliever walked the leadoff man on four pitches and didn’t follow a solid outing at Kansas with another one that’s going to inspire confidence.
Silas Ardoin didn’t have a strong night at the plate, surprisingly, but he did spearhead a fantastic defensive play that seemingly ignited the rest of his team. With two outs in the top of the seventh inning and Cole Quintanilla, who Texas needed to use in a tight game, on the mound, Ardoin picked a pitch in the turf, fired a throw down to second, and with some help from Faltine recorded a caught stealing to end the top of the inning.
Then, the floodgates opened. The Longhorns scored eight runs in the seventh and eighth innings combined and almost everyone was involved. Melendez, Hodo, Daly times two and Faltine all recorded run-scoring base hits as Texas found a contagiously dominant zone in the batter’s box. But the bats weren't the only noteworthy part about the game’s finish.
Drew Shifflet, who hadn’t appeared on the mound in a long, long time, was positioned more to the third base side of the rubber in an effort to improve his angle, Pierce said after the game. The result was a scoreless ninth inning with one hit and one strikeout. Pierce sounded encouraged by the performance as Texas tries to search for more bullpen arms.
Texas finished with 12 hits, 11 walks, three steals and no errors. Although it was a step off defensively early in the game, Texas responded with some fantastic plays, including Faltine’s in the fifth inning to keep the Islanders off the scoreboard. Faltine hustled to back up third base on a steal attempt, made an athletic play to dive and keep the errant throw from reaching left field, got up and fired a strike to home to nail the runner. Effort, instincts… he’s just a ballplayer.
Oh, in the eighth inning, in a move I believe was a protest of A&M-CC making a pitching change with two outs while trailing by 10 outs in the eighth inning, a possum made an appearance in the outfield. It took a while, but a group led my veteran Tristan Stevens was able to corral the unusual spectator.
Texas returns to action at home tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. against SFA.
********
No. 4 Texas (20-8) vs. A&M-Corpus Christi (6-20) tonight at 6:30 p.m. on LHN.
Pierce sticking with the regulars after a strong weekend.
After six innings, the No. 4 Longhorns (21-8) found themselves in a competitive battle against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6-21). Then, Texas dominated the rest of the game on the mound, with the leather, and at the plate, which led to a 14-4 victory.
Measuring them against a high bar of competitiveness and focus, the Longhorns were a step off early in the game, including the first inning when at one point no one covered the bag at second on a stolen base attempt. After A&M-CC capitalized on some shaky control and defense for a run in the first, Texas responded very loudly in the bottom of the second.
Cam Williams walked to begin the frame and Ivan Melendez followed with one of the most majestic homers I’ve seen at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. According to Longhorn Network, the blast, which cleared the street behind left-center field, the A&M-CC team bus and landed on the grass, was estimated to travel 471 feet. Trey Faltine’s ground out later scored a run to make it 3-1 after two innings.
Back to Melendez: he followed a fantastic weekend driving the ball all over the yard at Kansas with a 4-for-5 night with two doubles, a homer, two runs, and three RBI. The designated hitter showed his raw power, the most on the team, can play in games too and especially to his pull-side. However, he’s starting to let the ball travel too and drive it to right-center and right field. Always, there has been better natural hitting ability than his 25 strikeouts suggest and he’s showing that more consistently now. Pierce praised Melendez’s hitting ability in the fall and we’re seeing why.
The bumpy beginning for Texas wasn’t over after a 3-1 lead, though. Eric Kennedy made a poor read and took a poor route to what looked like a fairly routine catch down the left field line and it led to a one-out double, which turned into a run on a two-out single. Kennedy helped make up for his defense with a RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning to push UT’s lead to 4-2. As for the Texas starter, Justin Eckhardt pitched 2.2 innings with mixed results - two runs on four hits with two strikeouts. His fastball was up to 94 MPH but his control was inconsistent.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, UT’s most consistent power source this season, Williams, tried to match Melendez’s mammoth blast with one of his own. From the left side, Williams hit a towering two-run homer that hit the video board in right field.
But the Islanders weren’t going down without a fight. They blasted a two-run homer of their own in the top of the sixth inning off freshman Lucas Gordon. The left-handed UT reliever walked the leadoff man on four pitches and didn’t follow a solid outing at Kansas with another one that’s going to inspire confidence.
Silas Ardoin didn’t have a strong night at the plate, surprisingly, but he did spearhead a fantastic defensive play that seemingly ignited the rest of his team. With two outs in the top of the seventh inning and Cole Quintanilla, who Texas needed to use in a tight game, on the mound, Ardoin picked a pitch in the turf, fired a throw down to second, and with some help from Faltine recorded a caught stealing to end the top of the inning.
Then, the floodgates opened. The Longhorns scored eight runs in the seventh and eighth innings combined and almost everyone was involved. Melendez, Hodo, Daly times two and Faltine all recorded run-scoring base hits as Texas found a contagiously dominant zone in the batter’s box. But the bats weren't the only noteworthy part about the game’s finish.
Drew Shifflet, who hadn’t appeared on the mound in a long, long time, was positioned more to the third base side of the rubber in an effort to improve his angle, Pierce said after the game. The result was a scoreless ninth inning with one hit and one strikeout. Pierce sounded encouraged by the performance as Texas tries to search for more bullpen arms.
Texas finished with 12 hits, 11 walks, three steals and no errors. Although it was a step off defensively early in the game, Texas responded with some fantastic plays, including Faltine’s in the fifth inning to keep the Islanders off the scoreboard. Faltine hustled to back up third base on a steal attempt, made an athletic play to dive and keep the errant throw from reaching left field, got up and fired a strike to home to nail the runner. Effort, instincts… he’s just a ballplayer.
Oh, in the eighth inning, in a move I believe was a protest of A&M-CC making a pitching change with two outs while trailing by 10 outs in the eighth inning, a possum made an appearance in the outfield. It took a while, but a group led my veteran Tristan Stevens was able to corral the unusual spectator.
Texas returns to action at home tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. against SFA.
********
No. 4 Texas (20-8) vs. A&M-Corpus Christi (6-20) tonight at 6:30 p.m. on LHN.
Pierce sticking with the regulars after a strong weekend.
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