FINAL:
Houston Christian - 1
Texas - 7
BOX SCORE
Winning Pitcher: Grayson Saunier (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Parker Edwards (3-5)
Save: Hudson Hamilton (2)
RECAP
Top 1st - LHP Ethan Walker got the start on the mound for the Horns after an impressive performance in Hoover against Tennessee. In his first inning of work, he looked like he hadn't left the mound as he retired the side in order, needing just six pitches to do so, getting back to back fly outs and then a ground out.
Bottom 1st - DH Ethan Mendoza led off the game by getting plunked in the shoulder on a 1-2 count to get the lead runner on. C Rylan Galvan then drew a walk to put the first two runners on, leading to shades of the first meeting between the Huskies and Horns. RF Max Belyeu hit a chopper back to the pitcher who made the play at 1B, but it put runners on 2B and 3B with no outs. 1B Kimble Schuessler then hit a sinking liner to RF that hung up just enough to be caught. The RF came up throwing and as it left his hand, it looked like it had no chance to making it home, but it ended up being perfectly placed for the catcher to tag out Mendoza who tagged and went home. To be fair, Mendoza should have made a much better slide at home to score, but instead went straight in.
Top 2nd - Walker was back on the mound for another inning of work. Unfortunately Walker was not quite as crisp as he had been in the first inning. After working the count full, Walker was able to get a ground ball right back to him to flip to 1B for the first out. The next batter was able to hit a ball under the glove of Walker slowly up the middle and despite a solid throw by Flores, the runner was safe at 1B. Walker then got another batter to hit a grounder back to him for the second out. The next batter then reached as he hit a grounder down the 3B line which saw Casey Borba slip and not get the ball to 1B in time. That prompted Jim Schlossnagle to make a call to the bullpen and bring in RHP Grayson Saunier who got the final out of the frame on a pop up to 2B Adrian Rodriguez.
Bottom 2nd - The Horns went quietly in the bottom half of the frame as Adrian Rodriguez grounded out, followed by a first pitch foul out by Jalin Flores, and then a second pitch ground out to pitcher on a check swing by Casey Borba. The score remained 0-0.
Top 3rd - Grayson Saunier was back on the mound for his first full inning of work. Against the first batter he faced, he plunked the batter in the shoulder. To his credit, Saunier bounced back to retire the next three batters in order to keep the Huskies off the board.
Bottom 3rd - Will Gasparino led the inning off with a four pitch walk and then immediately stole 2B to put a runner in scoring position with no outs. Freshman Jonah Williams then hit a high chopper to the right side and was able to leg out a single, putting runners on 1B and 3B with no outs. Ethan Mendoza then hit a grounder to the SS and his only play was to 1B, which put the Horns up 1-0 over the Huskies. Rylan Galvan then grounded out to the shortstop as well, which put Jonah Williams on 3B with 2 outs. Max Belyeu then hit a hard ground ball deep to the hole at 2B which saw the ball go through the defenders legs for an error, playing Williams from 3B to put the Horns up 2-0. Max Belyeu went on to steal 2B but Kimble Schuessler struck out looking to end the frame.
Top 4th - Grayson Saunier was back out for another inning of work for the Horns. He got two quick outs via strike out and pop up, but then gave up a 2 out single up the middle to CF. The next batter then hit a liner to shallow CF for another 2 out single putting runners on 1B and 3B. The next batter hit a hard dribbler down the 3B line for an RBI double to make it a 2-1 game, with the Horns still leading. Saunier battled back to get the next batter to pop up to end the scoring threat.
Bottom 4th - The Horns got a one out runner in the bottom of the frame as Jalin Flores reached on an error by the SS who failed to pick up the ball cleanly, but that was all they were able to manage.
Top 5th - Grayson Saunier was back out to work for the Horns in the fifth inning and did so quickly and efficiently as he retired the side in order with a ground out, fly out, and ground out.
Bottom 5th - Jonah Williams led off the bottom half of the frame and reached base on another error by the 2B. The game was then paused for a few minutes as Jonah was off and running quickly, but made hard contact with the 2B as he slid in. Jonah was safe, but the 2B defender took a cleat to the collarbone and would leave the game and was sent to the hospital for x-rays to evaluate whether he had a broken collarbone. Ethan Mendoza then did what he does best which is reach out and slap a ball off the end of the bat through the right side to put runners on 1B and 3B with no outs. Ethan Mendoza then immediately stole 2B to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Rylan Galvan flied out to RF and after the prior experience, the Horns did not test the RF arm, though Jonah would have been safe had he, as the throw home was way off line. Max Belyeu then struck out swinging on a cutter for the second out, leaving fans to wonder if the Horns were going to strand more runners in scoring position.
Kimble Schuessler put those thoughts to bed quickly as he took a more aggressive approach at the plate after looking at some hittable pitches in his prior at-bats, hitting a first pitch fastball into LF for a two run RBI single, which saw him move to 2B on the throw home. That play was much closer than it should have been as Rodriguez and Jonah did not signal to the runner coming home to slide and which side of the plate to slide to, leading to a tirade by Schlossnagle. Regardless, the Horns now led 4-1 over the Huskies. After a lengthy review, the runner was deemed safe at home.
Adrian Rodriguez then hit a single back up the middle to plate Schuessler to make it 5-1 Horns. Jalin Flores then reached on a hit to the left side, bringing Casey Borba to the plate. After two poor at-bats earlier in the game, Borba hit a liner into CF to score Rodriguez to make it 6-1 Horns. Will Gasparino then hit a ball to the warning track in LF for an RBI double to make it 7-1 Horns. That prompted the Huskies to make a call to the bullpen. Despite giving up 7 runs on the day, only one of them was earned by the starting pitcher. Of note, that was the 17th time this season that the Horns scored five runs in a single inning and the 10th inning that the Horns have batted around.
Top 6th - Tommy Farmer came into the game defensively for Jonah Williams in the top half of the frame, due to his experience. Grayson Saunier was back on the mound for the Horns and immediately got an out as the batter hit a sinking liner to Flores at SS. Saunier then gave up a single up the middle to the next batter, followed by a single through the left side by the next batter, putting two on with just one out. That prompted Jim Schlossnagle to make a call to the bullpen. After Hamilton walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, Hamilton pulled a houdini act as he picked off the runner at 3B who had been leaning and then got a strike 3 called looking to end the scoring threat.
Bottom 6th - In the bottom half of the frame, the Horns went down in order as Mendoza struck out looking, followed by Galvan flying out to CF, and Belyeu grounding out to 2B
Top 7th - Hudson Hamilton was back out to pitch in the 7th and retired the side in order quickly as he got a strike out and then back to back ground outs to Adrian Rodriguez at 2B.
Bottom 7th - Unfortunately, the Horns also went down in order again as Schuessler struck out swinging, followed by a ground out by Rodriguez, and a fly out to LF by Flores. Despite the lack of production that inning, the Horns still led 7-1.
Top 8th - Hamilton was once again on the mound for the Horns in the 8th and again, he retired the side in order via back to back to back ground outs.
Bottom 8th - The Huskies went to the bullpen in the 8th inning and brought in the right handed version of Ethan Walker....with less control. The pitcher walked Casey Borba and Will Gasparino back to back on eight straight pitches. Tommy Farmer then popped up to the 1B for the first out. Casey Borba then made a running error as he went on first movement and was eventually picked off, though Gasparino was able to move over to 2B. Ethan Mendoza then grounded out for the third out in the inning.
Top 9th - Hudson Hamilton was back on the mound for the Horns to close out the game. Hamilton gave up a single up the middle to the lead off batter, but bounced back to strike out the next batter. The next batter then reached on a fielder's choice for the second out. The last out came via strikeout as Hamilton threw a nasty slider in the dirt that was swung on and missed.
BIG MOMENT
With 2 outs and runners on 2B and 3B, Kimble Schuessler stepped to the plate as the Horns held a narrow 2-1 lead in the Bottom 5th. On the first pitch he saw, Kimble decided to take a more aggressive approach than his first two at-bats and hit a liner into LF for a 2 run RBI single and saw him move to 2B on the throw home. That at-bat gave the Horns a 4-1 lead and kicked off the big five run inning to break the game open.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Hudson Hamilton - 3.2 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts
Not a bad day on the mound for the righty who had only appeared in 7 games this season and pitched 11 innings. Hamilton inherited some runners and got out of a jam by picking off a runner on 3B to keep the Huskies off the board and eventually earn the save. Great stuff from the pen to save the big arms for tomorrow and Sunday.
TAKEAWAYS
The Horns got the win. The offense was stuck in neutral for the first couple innings as HCU starter Parker Edwards amped up his stuff, hitting 95 on his FB and utilizing a nice cutter. The Horns did not panic though and stuck to their approach and was able to break open the game to get the win as the trio of Walker, Saunier, and Hamilton kept the Huskies offense from doing any real damage.
The Horns are now 25-2 when scoring 7 runs or more in a game. Today, they did just enough to hit that magic number and it paid off.
NEXT UP
Horns (43-12) will take on the winner of UTSA v. Kansas State tomorrow at 8pm with an opportunity to move to the Regional Final
