All season, the Longhorns (41-21) have showed impressive resiliency. Behind terrific outings on the mound by Chase Shugart and Blair Henley and another All-American-type performance from Kody Clemens, Texas forced a deciding game three with a 4-2 win over Tennessee Tech. Facing elimination, the Longhorns were the more confident team. Now, they’re one win away from Omaha.
“It was a great pitching performance by Chase (Shugart), there’s no doubt, to put us in the position to win,” said Texas head coach David Pierce. “We had quality at-bats, some balls we really didn’t hit that hard, but it put us in play to create some runs. Solid defense. Great relief from Blair (Henley). The story of the day for me is probably Kody (Clemens) and there’s no doubt that Chase Shugart did a great job today.”
Texas immediately made Tennessee Tech starter Travis Moths pay for issuing a leadoff walk to David Hamilton, and also for pitching to Clemens with one out and first base open. After a sacrifice bunt, Clemens ripped a RBI double into right-center field to put Texas in front 1-0.
“Early in the game we were willing to see what would happen there. We would not walk him and put runners on that early in the game. Late in the game, obviously we’re going to walk him there,” said Tennessee Tech head coach Matt Bragga about pitching to Clemens in the first inning.
Again in the top of the second inning Tennessee Tech issued a leadoff walk, and again Texas capitalized. This time, Ryan Reynolds hit a soft fly ball into left field, which fell in front of the diving infielder for a two-out RBI double.
Tennessee Tech responded, though, when Clemens made an ill-advised throw to first to try to turn a double play he had no shot at. The errant throw allowed a runner from third to score before Shugart then escaped the jam with a 6-4-3 double play.
“The guy was dynamite. Fastball in-and-out… He was really, really good. For us to get two hits off a guy in six innings.. and it’s so funny, and I don’t mean any disrespect to him when I say this, but when watching from the side I’m like, ‘Okay, okay, we’re going to be alright.’ And then he just kept shoving and shoving so I really tip my hat to him,” Bragga said about Shugart’s outing. “That was one of the best performances we’ve seen this year.”
All 7,151 people inside UFCU Disch-Falk stadium knew Clemens would make up for his error when he confidently walked to the plate in the third inning.
"Nothing. Except he threw a ball away today," responded Pierce when asked if anything Clemens does surprised me. Are you kiddin' me, Kody?"
Clemens then said out loud.
"Trust me, I was pissed," which was then followed by Pierce's reply:
"He made up for it."
The All-American second baseman and finalist for both the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award took out his frustration on a first-pitch fastball up in the zone, which resulted in his 23rd homer of the season landing on Comal Street beyond he right field fence. As Clemens neared second, he proudly threw up a “Hook ‘em Horns” towards the fans in left field, brought his hand down, and then as he was rounding third, he again flashed the celebratory hand gesture directly at the Tennessee Tech dugout.
“Just emotional game. Heat of the moment,” Clemens said in quick summary when asked about flashing the “Hook ‘em Horns” towards the opposing dugout.
There’s a zero-percent chance Tennessee Tech doing “horns down” after last night’s game didn’t get back to Texas.
Pitching with a 3-1 lead, Shugart continued to put up zeroes, and was able to escape a big jam in his sixth and final inning. Texas tacked on an important insurance run in the top of the seventh. With two outs and runners on first and second, Duke Ellis slapped a 1-2 pitch back up the middle for a RBI single.
In the seventh, Tennessee Tech greeted new Texas pitcher Henley by smashing his first pitch over the left-center fence. However, Henley, not at all bothered by the moment, retired the next nine batters in order to close the game.
Texas loaded the bases in the ninth inning when Clemens was intentionally walked with two outs, but Zach Zubia came up empty. Don’t be surprised if Tennessee Tech uses that approach again tomorrow.
“You think about the four runs we gave up one was the bomb to Clemens. We may walk him every time tomorrow, but the other three runs all started by leadoff walks,” said Bragga.
Key moment in the game
Shugart looked shaky in the sixth inning while facing the Golden Eagle lineup for the first time. He issued a leadoff walk, then recorded a strikeout before walking another batter, which brought pitching coach Phil Haig out to talk.
“Coach Haig came out there and told me to be yourself. If you stay low in the zone, you win. Luckily, I threw first-pitch fastball at his shins and he swung at it and popped it up,” said Shugart about the at-bat versus Chase Chambers.
Against dangerous cleanup hitter Chambers, Shugart fired a first-pitch sinker down and away, and Chambers flew out to shallow left-center field. And after a lengthy, highly competitive battle between Shugart and Trevor Putzig, the Longhorns won the battle with a fly out to erase the jam.
“Going into today coach Pierce said in the team meeting before we even started stretching to empty the tank. If we have to go to Blair (Henley) in the fifth, we’ll go to Blair in the fifth,” responded Shugart when asked what allowed him to have so much success. “I went out there and let it all hang out. Their hitters did a really good job of fighting off 0-2 pitches and getting deep into counts. And it was really driving me nuts. But they’re a really good hitting team and that’s why they lead the nation [in a lot of categories]. Pitching-wise, attacking the zone and getting ahead in counts was huge.”
Retiring Chambers on a first pitch after a mound visit changed the complexion of the game.
Battle on the hill
Winning pitcher – Chase Shugart, Texas (6-3)
Losing pitcher – Travis Moths, Tennessee Tech (13-3)
Save – Blair Henley (1)
Shugart fired first-pitch strikes routinely, and when it was time to battle deep in counts, he came out on top a lot more often than his opposition. Yes, he did issue five walks in 6.0 innings, but more importantly, though, is he fought to make quality pitches and eliminate mistakes deep in counts so Tennessee Tech couldn’t barrel the ball consistently. And it didn’t.
Over his outing, the junior righty gave up just two hits against the nation’s most prolific offense, one unearned run, and punched out five.
After the first pitch he threw was smacked out of the yard, Henley could have fallen apart. Instead, he snapped off some of his best sliders of the season, pounded the zone, and didn’t give up another hit over his 3.0 innings. The sophomore struck out three, didn’t issue a walk, and was unfazed by the homer and the situation. In the biggest moment of his Texas career, he again came up huge in the postseason.
“Well, this is the thing: there’s no tomorrow if we don’t win today. It makes no sense to me to have our next best guy sitting in the bullpen and then we’d never get to him for the simple fact that we’re waiting on planning for tomorrow. We had an opportunity to win and we went for it,” responded Pierce when asked about using Henley in relief. “Plus, it gives Parker Joe (Robinson) and Josh (Sawyer) some rest. I knew he was fresh. I knew his stuff would play and it was the right decision for us.”
In postseason play, the duo of Shugart and Henley has combined to pitch 23 innings and given up one earned run on 13 hits, five walks, and 23 strikeouts.
Breaking down the batter's box
Star of the game – Clemens actually made an out in the Super Regional for the first time, which is a surprise given how insanely good he’s been this postseason. The junior finished 2-for-4 with a solo homer, double one run scored and two RBI.
Frustrating day at the office – The bottom third of the Tennessee Tech lineup went 0-for-9 with four strikeouts and didn’t reach base.
Dustin's extra bases
Pierce moved Reynolds down to the ninth spot in the order and Jake McKenzie, who hit a hard double and walked once, up to the sixth spot. Confidence is a huge thing in the batter’s box this point in the year, and McKenzie has as much as anyone not named Clemens right now.
The approach Hamilton showed today is what Texas needs moving forward. The sophomore shortstop walked three times, and looked committed to letting the baseball travel deep in the zone while swinging at pitches he anticipates instead of hacking early in the count at any strike.
Masen Hibbeler did strike out once, but looked more competitive in the batter’s box. DJ Petrinsky finished 0-for-4, but put the ball in play hard multiple times.
After the game, Pierce was unsure who he’d start in tomorrow’s winner-take-all contest, but also didn’t rule anyone out.
“It was a great pitching performance by Chase (Shugart), there’s no doubt, to put us in the position to win,” said Texas head coach David Pierce. “We had quality at-bats, some balls we really didn’t hit that hard, but it put us in play to create some runs. Solid defense. Great relief from Blair (Henley). The story of the day for me is probably Kody (Clemens) and there’s no doubt that Chase Shugart did a great job today.”
Texas immediately made Tennessee Tech starter Travis Moths pay for issuing a leadoff walk to David Hamilton, and also for pitching to Clemens with one out and first base open. After a sacrifice bunt, Clemens ripped a RBI double into right-center field to put Texas in front 1-0.
“Early in the game we were willing to see what would happen there. We would not walk him and put runners on that early in the game. Late in the game, obviously we’re going to walk him there,” said Tennessee Tech head coach Matt Bragga about pitching to Clemens in the first inning.
Again in the top of the second inning Tennessee Tech issued a leadoff walk, and again Texas capitalized. This time, Ryan Reynolds hit a soft fly ball into left field, which fell in front of the diving infielder for a two-out RBI double.
Tennessee Tech responded, though, when Clemens made an ill-advised throw to first to try to turn a double play he had no shot at. The errant throw allowed a runner from third to score before Shugart then escaped the jam with a 6-4-3 double play.
“The guy was dynamite. Fastball in-and-out… He was really, really good. For us to get two hits off a guy in six innings.. and it’s so funny, and I don’t mean any disrespect to him when I say this, but when watching from the side I’m like, ‘Okay, okay, we’re going to be alright.’ And then he just kept shoving and shoving so I really tip my hat to him,” Bragga said about Shugart’s outing. “That was one of the best performances we’ve seen this year.”
All 7,151 people inside UFCU Disch-Falk stadium knew Clemens would make up for his error when he confidently walked to the plate in the third inning.
"Nothing. Except he threw a ball away today," responded Pierce when asked if anything Clemens does surprised me. Are you kiddin' me, Kody?"
Clemens then said out loud.
"Trust me, I was pissed," which was then followed by Pierce's reply:
"He made up for it."
The All-American second baseman and finalist for both the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award took out his frustration on a first-pitch fastball up in the zone, which resulted in his 23rd homer of the season landing on Comal Street beyond he right field fence. As Clemens neared second, he proudly threw up a “Hook ‘em Horns” towards the fans in left field, brought his hand down, and then as he was rounding third, he again flashed the celebratory hand gesture directly at the Tennessee Tech dugout.
“Just emotional game. Heat of the moment,” Clemens said in quick summary when asked about flashing the “Hook ‘em Horns” towards the opposing dugout.
There’s a zero-percent chance Tennessee Tech doing “horns down” after last night’s game didn’t get back to Texas.
Pitching with a 3-1 lead, Shugart continued to put up zeroes, and was able to escape a big jam in his sixth and final inning. Texas tacked on an important insurance run in the top of the seventh. With two outs and runners on first and second, Duke Ellis slapped a 1-2 pitch back up the middle for a RBI single.
In the seventh, Tennessee Tech greeted new Texas pitcher Henley by smashing his first pitch over the left-center fence. However, Henley, not at all bothered by the moment, retired the next nine batters in order to close the game.
Texas loaded the bases in the ninth inning when Clemens was intentionally walked with two outs, but Zach Zubia came up empty. Don’t be surprised if Tennessee Tech uses that approach again tomorrow.
“You think about the four runs we gave up one was the bomb to Clemens. We may walk him every time tomorrow, but the other three runs all started by leadoff walks,” said Bragga.
Key moment in the game
Shugart looked shaky in the sixth inning while facing the Golden Eagle lineup for the first time. He issued a leadoff walk, then recorded a strikeout before walking another batter, which brought pitching coach Phil Haig out to talk.
“Coach Haig came out there and told me to be yourself. If you stay low in the zone, you win. Luckily, I threw first-pitch fastball at his shins and he swung at it and popped it up,” said Shugart about the at-bat versus Chase Chambers.
Against dangerous cleanup hitter Chambers, Shugart fired a first-pitch sinker down and away, and Chambers flew out to shallow left-center field. And after a lengthy, highly competitive battle between Shugart and Trevor Putzig, the Longhorns won the battle with a fly out to erase the jam.
“Going into today coach Pierce said in the team meeting before we even started stretching to empty the tank. If we have to go to Blair (Henley) in the fifth, we’ll go to Blair in the fifth,” responded Shugart when asked what allowed him to have so much success. “I went out there and let it all hang out. Their hitters did a really good job of fighting off 0-2 pitches and getting deep into counts. And it was really driving me nuts. But they’re a really good hitting team and that’s why they lead the nation [in a lot of categories]. Pitching-wise, attacking the zone and getting ahead in counts was huge.”
Retiring Chambers on a first pitch after a mound visit changed the complexion of the game.
Battle on the hill
Winning pitcher – Chase Shugart, Texas (6-3)
Losing pitcher – Travis Moths, Tennessee Tech (13-3)
Save – Blair Henley (1)
Shugart fired first-pitch strikes routinely, and when it was time to battle deep in counts, he came out on top a lot more often than his opposition. Yes, he did issue five walks in 6.0 innings, but more importantly, though, is he fought to make quality pitches and eliminate mistakes deep in counts so Tennessee Tech couldn’t barrel the ball consistently. And it didn’t.
Over his outing, the junior righty gave up just two hits against the nation’s most prolific offense, one unearned run, and punched out five.
After the first pitch he threw was smacked out of the yard, Henley could have fallen apart. Instead, he snapped off some of his best sliders of the season, pounded the zone, and didn’t give up another hit over his 3.0 innings. The sophomore struck out three, didn’t issue a walk, and was unfazed by the homer and the situation. In the biggest moment of his Texas career, he again came up huge in the postseason.
“Well, this is the thing: there’s no tomorrow if we don’t win today. It makes no sense to me to have our next best guy sitting in the bullpen and then we’d never get to him for the simple fact that we’re waiting on planning for tomorrow. We had an opportunity to win and we went for it,” responded Pierce when asked about using Henley in relief. “Plus, it gives Parker Joe (Robinson) and Josh (Sawyer) some rest. I knew he was fresh. I knew his stuff would play and it was the right decision for us.”
In postseason play, the duo of Shugart and Henley has combined to pitch 23 innings and given up one earned run on 13 hits, five walks, and 23 strikeouts.
Breaking down the batter's box
Star of the game – Clemens actually made an out in the Super Regional for the first time, which is a surprise given how insanely good he’s been this postseason. The junior finished 2-for-4 with a solo homer, double one run scored and two RBI.
Frustrating day at the office – The bottom third of the Tennessee Tech lineup went 0-for-9 with four strikeouts and didn’t reach base.
Dustin's extra bases
Pierce moved Reynolds down to the ninth spot in the order and Jake McKenzie, who hit a hard double and walked once, up to the sixth spot. Confidence is a huge thing in the batter’s box this point in the year, and McKenzie has as much as anyone not named Clemens right now.
The approach Hamilton showed today is what Texas needs moving forward. The sophomore shortstop walked three times, and looked committed to letting the baseball travel deep in the zone while swinging at pitches he anticipates instead of hacking early in the count at any strike.
Masen Hibbeler did strike out once, but looked more competitive in the batter’s box. DJ Petrinsky finished 0-for-4, but put the ball in play hard multiple times.
After the game, Pierce was unsure who he’d start in tomorrow’s winner-take-all contest, but also didn’t rule anyone out.
