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FINAL (Game One of DH):
Texas - 8
Oklahoma - 6
BOX SCORE
Winning Pitcher: Chase Lummus (2-0)
Save: Gage Boehm (5)
Losing Pitcher: Kyson Witherspoon (4-3)
FINAL (Game Two of DH):
Texas - 12
Oklahoma - 10
BOX SCORE
Winning Pitcher: Cade O’Hara (1-0)
Save: Andre Duplantier (3)
Losing Pitcher: Grant Stevens (5-1)
RECAP:
Whew. What a day of baseball! The Longhorns and Sooners played a double header on Sunday due to inclement weather, including tornadoes in area on Saturday.
In game one of the double header, the Horns got out to a fast start offensively, unfortunately, so did the Sooners in part due to walks and some shakier than normal command from starter Ace Whitehead. The Horns battled against arguably Oklahoma's best starting pitcher, grinding out 8 runs on 7 hits, leaving 9 men on base.
The Horns scored one run in the Top 1st, three runs in the Top 3rd, three runs in the Top 6th and one run in the Top 8th. The Sooners scored 6 runs on 9 hits, leaving 7 men on base.
Starter Ace Whitehead went just 3 IP, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits, walking 3, and striking out 1. Ace lacked his normal command of the fastball, which put him in some precarious situations, including lead off walks. That is quite unusual for him, as he is known to pound the zone. Reliever Chase Lummus came out of the pen to earn the win, going 3.2 IP, giving up 3 H, 1 R, walking 1 batter and striking out 1. Gage Boehm did Gage Boehm things, coming in relief and earning the save over the final 2.1 innings, giving up 2 hits, 1 run, and striking out 3 including the final batter of the game.
Defensively, the Horns cleaned things up dramatically, only making one error, which even then was a bit of a rough ruling considering where the ball was hit on the left side.
Offensively, Jalin Flores stayed hot at the plate going 2-4 with 3 RBI, while Jared Thomas went just 1-3, he scored twice and chipped in two walks. Peyton Powell went 1-3, scoring a run and getting 1 RBI, along with 2 walks. Casey Borba went 1-5 in the game, but his hit was a big one, plating two runners, which ended up being the difference in the game. Kimble Scheuessler hit a boomba, while Will Gasparino went 1-4 with a home run, 2 runs scored, and 1 RBI.
Overall, Texas handled themselves well, especially considering that every time Texas scored, the Sooner would find a way to answer by, keeping the game close until the very end.
In game two, it was all about the long ball, as Texas hit a two-run home run in 5 of the 7 complete innings played, with the 4th inning being the sole outlier. In total, the Horns hit 6 home runs on the even, which ties the school record for most home runs in a game, the same record that the Horns just tied on this past Tuesday night against UT-Arlington.
The Horns got things going early in the Top 1st as Powell hit a two run blast to. In the Top 2nd, Will Gasparino two run blast of his own. In the Top 3rd, Casey Borba chipped in by hitting his own two-run blast to LF. After going down in order in the Top 4th, the Horns got back to work in the Top 5th, as Max Belyeu hit a two-run home run. In the Top 6th, Rylan Galvan crushed a two-run home run to right centerfield, and then Jalin Flores tacked on another run as he hit a double to LF, which allowed Dee Kennedy to score. In the Top 7th, the Horns once again got a home run, though this was just a lead off solo shot by Max Belyeu.
In all, the Horns scored 12 runs on 15 hits, committing no errors, and leaving just 4 men on base. The Sooners scored 10 runs on 14 hits, committing 2 errors, and leaving 7 men on base.
Each time the Horns tried to pull away, the Sooners would answer and keep chipping away, as they scored runs in the Bottom 1st, Bottom 3rd, Bottom 5th, Bottom 6th, and Bottom 7th.
On the mound, Lebarron Johnson Jr went just 3 innings, giving up 9 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Once again, Oklahoma followed the blue print of sitting on dead red fastball and splaying it all over the yard. LBJ did alright in the first two innings, but in the 3rd inning, he imploded after getting two outs and then getting shafted on a borderline call by the home plate umpire. From the, Oklahoma took advantage and was able to drive him from the game.
Cade O'Hara was not spectacular, but pitched an admirable 2.2 innings, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out 2. Luke Harrison came into the game with the bases loaded and two outs and was able to use an extremely effective slider to get a massive strikeout, ending the threat and keeping the Sooners off the board.
Heston Tole came in and pitched just a 1/3 of an inning as he was throwing batting practice on the mound. Andre Duplantier "finished" the game as he came in and struck out one and gave up no hits to help end the inning.
In the Top 8th, the Longhorns had the lead runner, Jalin Flores, reach on a single to right field. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending upon how you look at it, a storm cell moved into the area and play was suspended. After an hour plus, the game was officially called by the Big 12 at 956pm, as they declared that the game could not re-start any later than 10pm and there were still lightning strikes in the area at 945pm.
Once again, the Horns followed the blueprint of struggling on Friday nights, only to bounce back and beat the top ranked Big 12 team.
BIG MOMENTS:
Game One of DH: In the Top 6th inning, the Horns entered trailing 5-4 to the Sooners, who had taken the lead in the Bottom 5th inning. After freshman Casey Borba grounded out to 3B on a lengthy at-bat, Kimble Schuessler hit an 0-2 fastball out of the park off starter Kyson Witherspoon, tying the ball game up. This set up freshman Will Gasparino to hit a 2 out solo shot to LF, which was absolutely crushed, giving the Horns back the lead and the momentum.
Game Two of DH: In the Bottom of the 2nd, the Sooners led off the bottom of the frame with a walk, single to center, and bunt single to load the bases with no outs. The Horns had already plated 4 runs and had a lead of 4-1 over Oklahoma. Starter Lebarron Johnson Jr, to his credit did not falter, but instead buckled down, get a foul out to LF, a John Spikerman strikeout, and a Bryce Madron fly out to LF to end the threat. No runs scored, and the Horns maintained their narrow lead.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES:
Game One of DH: Chase Lummus (3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 run, 1 BB, 1 K)
Game Two of DH: Max Belyeu (4-4, 3 runs, 3 RBIs, 2 HRs)
TAKE AWAYS:
Absolutely massive series win. This keep the Horns just 2 games back from first placed Oklahoma, and a single game back from 2nd place Oklahoma State and West Virginia. In addition, this series win on the road over a top 20 RPI team in Oklahoma is massive for the Longhorns as it relates to qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
The Friday night game was an unmitigated disaster, but still one that the Horns could have won, had they not committed so many early errors. In game one of the double header, the Horns did not get the typical quality start from Ace Whitehead, but they were able to grind out a victory to tie the series and give themselves a chance. Belief can be very powerful and it can also be very dangerous. This young team though, harnessed that belief and came to play offensively in game two of the double header.
Overall, the Horns are a very flawed team, yet they continue to stack up Big 12 conference series wins. Having played 7 conference series, the Horns have now won 6 of the 7. Texas Fight truly means that you cannot count these guys out, until the very out.
At the end of the day, the Horns aren't dead yet, and despite the ugliness, continue to find ways to win.
NEXT UP:
The Horns will get some much needed rest on Monday, but then will be back in action on Tuesday as they will host Sam Houston at 630pm, which is the final mid-week and final non-conference game of the season.
