Winning Pitcher: Pete Hansen (9-1)
Losing Pitcher: Daniel Hegarty (6-6)
BOX SCORE
QUICK SUMMARY
The goal down the final stretch of the regular season was to simply take care of business. Win the games that you are supposed to win. Texas has done a nice job of that recently and did so again on Thursday night with a 12-4 victory against the Kansas Jayhawks. UT racked up 17 hits and broke the game open with a seven-run fourth inning. In that decisive fourth, Ivan Melendez launched his 27th home run of the year off the batter’s eye. Later in the frame it was Mitchell Daly who blasted his first career grand slam, giving the Longhorns a nine-run cushion.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE TO NOTE
With Eric Kennedy now healthy, David Pierce suddenly has 10 hitters he can confidently slot into the lineup on any given day. One of the players on the fringe of the starting lineup is Mitchell Daly who received the start tonight at second base. Daly, like his teammates, is all about winning. But there is no denying what some sudden playing time competition can do to motivate a hitter. Daly capitalized on his opportunity Thursday night, going 3-5 with 5 RBI and the big grand slam. Having too many guys to put in a lineup is a great problem to have at this point in the season. Whatever his role is game-to-game, Daly can always be counted on to compete in each of his at-bats.
THE ARMS
There is a definite chance that Thursday night was the last time Pete Hansen will ever pitch at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The lefty will be picked early in the MLB draft and is quite unlikely to be back for another year with the Horns. When asked about the possibility of this being his last game in Austin, Hansen said, “If it is then it’s a tough feeling because I love this place and I love these fans.” It was evident in the postgame how bad Hansen wants to start just one more game at the Disch, but it remains to be seen if the selection committee will give him that opportunity. The redshirt sophomore was not his sharpest in the series opener, but he fittingly picked up the win as he has many times in this ballpark over the past two seasons. 6 IP, 4 ER, 5 K, 1 BB.
After another rough outing from Travis Sthele, it was Tristan Stevens who came into the game with the bases loaded and one down. Stevens trotted in from the bullpen in right field and struck out the three and four-hole hitters for Kansas to end the threat. “He’s just got ice in his veins. He loves those situations, you got their best two hitters coming up with the bases loaded and one out, that’s tough to get two punchouts right there but he never gives in,” stated David Pierce. Stevens will continue to get the ball in these high-leverage situations and his success in those spots will play a big part in determining the success of this team in the postseason.
TAKEAWAYS
One game at a time. As Oklahoma State found out Thursday night against Baylor, nothing is automatic in the Big 12. After three more taters in the opener, Texas has 101 home runs on the year, setting a new team record by a wide margin.
If this was the last time Pete Hansen throws at the Disch, I hope the fans didn’t take his career for granted. He is a true competitor that really cares about the name on the front of his jersey. Now this team needs to continue to pile up wins over the next ten days and hope No. 33 gets another shot to pitch in front of the fans that he loves.
UP NEXT
Texas (37-17, 12-10) will once again take on the Kansas Jayhawks (20-33, 4-18) on Friday night at 6:30 PM (LHN)
The pitching matchup is Lucas Gordon (5-1, 2.66) vs. Cole Larson (1-8, 8.26)
HookEm
Losing Pitcher: Daniel Hegarty (6-6)
BOX SCORE
QUICK SUMMARY
The goal down the final stretch of the regular season was to simply take care of business. Win the games that you are supposed to win. Texas has done a nice job of that recently and did so again on Thursday night with a 12-4 victory against the Kansas Jayhawks. UT racked up 17 hits and broke the game open with a seven-run fourth inning. In that decisive fourth, Ivan Melendez launched his 27th home run of the year off the batter’s eye. Later in the frame it was Mitchell Daly who blasted his first career grand slam, giving the Longhorns a nine-run cushion.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE TO NOTE
With Eric Kennedy now healthy, David Pierce suddenly has 10 hitters he can confidently slot into the lineup on any given day. One of the players on the fringe of the starting lineup is Mitchell Daly who received the start tonight at second base. Daly, like his teammates, is all about winning. But there is no denying what some sudden playing time competition can do to motivate a hitter. Daly capitalized on his opportunity Thursday night, going 3-5 with 5 RBI and the big grand slam. Having too many guys to put in a lineup is a great problem to have at this point in the season. Whatever his role is game-to-game, Daly can always be counted on to compete in each of his at-bats.
THE ARMS
There is a definite chance that Thursday night was the last time Pete Hansen will ever pitch at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The lefty will be picked early in the MLB draft and is quite unlikely to be back for another year with the Horns. When asked about the possibility of this being his last game in Austin, Hansen said, “If it is then it’s a tough feeling because I love this place and I love these fans.” It was evident in the postgame how bad Hansen wants to start just one more game at the Disch, but it remains to be seen if the selection committee will give him that opportunity. The redshirt sophomore was not his sharpest in the series opener, but he fittingly picked up the win as he has many times in this ballpark over the past two seasons. 6 IP, 4 ER, 5 K, 1 BB.
After another rough outing from Travis Sthele, it was Tristan Stevens who came into the game with the bases loaded and one down. Stevens trotted in from the bullpen in right field and struck out the three and four-hole hitters for Kansas to end the threat. “He’s just got ice in his veins. He loves those situations, you got their best two hitters coming up with the bases loaded and one out, that’s tough to get two punchouts right there but he never gives in,” stated David Pierce. Stevens will continue to get the ball in these high-leverage situations and his success in those spots will play a big part in determining the success of this team in the postseason.
TAKEAWAYS
One game at a time. As Oklahoma State found out Thursday night against Baylor, nothing is automatic in the Big 12. After three more taters in the opener, Texas has 101 home runs on the year, setting a new team record by a wide margin.
If this was the last time Pete Hansen throws at the Disch, I hope the fans didn’t take his career for granted. He is a true competitor that really cares about the name on the front of his jersey. Now this team needs to continue to pile up wins over the next ten days and hope No. 33 gets another shot to pitch in front of the fans that he loves.
UP NEXT
Texas (37-17, 12-10) will once again take on the Kansas Jayhawks (20-33, 4-18) on Friday night at 6:30 PM (LHN)
The pitching matchup is Lucas Gordon (5-1, 2.66) vs. Cole Larson (1-8, 8.26)
HookEm
