FINAL
Illinois Fighting Illini - 6
Texas Longhorns - 15
Winning Pitcher: Max Grubbs (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Luke Weber (0-2)
Post game with Jim Schlossnagle
- coached at UNLV and been here before with this environment. Tough day to catch a pop up. We missed a couple but caught the rest of them
- We talk about keeping eyes off scoreboard. Have to know the score when running the bases. We play to a standard and not a scoreboard. Really proud of our guys
- Monday, we weren't in a great place. Tulo did some work with them and we come out here and score a lot of runs and win in different ways
- We have one more weekend before conference.
- Make some decisions on how we use pitchers. What do we do with Volantis. Get Flores out there on Tuesday. Great to see Borba get going.
RECAP
The game certainly did not start out the way that LHP Kade Bing and the staff would have liked as he struggled to keep his pitches down and locate, eventually giving up a run on a wild pitch in the Bottom 1st. Kade has the stuff and I have seen him throw plenty of times to know it is there, but he seems to struggle at the beginning of games and then settle in.
Headed to the Bottom of the 1st with the Horns trailing 1-0, the offense wasted no time in responding as RF Max Belyeu hit the first of what would be three doubles on the day with 1 out to LF and then advanced to 3B on a wild pitch. After CF Will Gasparino struck out swinging, freshman DH Adrian Rodriguez hit a single through the right side off the glove of the 2B to score Belyeu and tie things up at 1-1.
LHP Kade Bing gave up a 1 out single to LF in the Top 2nd, but showed off his outstanding pick off move by getting the runner leaning, then getting a ground out to face the minimum.
After the Horns went down 1-2-3 in the Bottom 2nd, Illinois again got on base with a lead off triple right CF that took an odd hop off the base of the fence away from Gasparino. LHP Kade Bing showed that pitchers are athletes though as he fielded a come backer and made an excellent throw to 3B Casey Borba to tag the lead runner who had wandered too far from the base.
Despite getting deep in some counts and giving up the early run, things were going well for Kade Bing until the Top 4th when things went pear shaped. After giving up a 1 out walk, Bing gave up a double down the LF line putting runners on 2B and 3B, which was followed by a hit batter to load the bases with only 1 out. After a mound visit, Bing threw a wild pitch which allowed the runner from 3B to score. A fly out by the next batter brought home another run to make it 3-1 Illinois with 2 outs, prompting Jim Schlossnagle to go to the bullpen and bring in Max Grubbs.
The first batter Grubbs faced hit a chopper to Casey Borba behind 3B and his throw to 1B was wide of the bag, putting two runners on base with 2 outs still. Grubbs then had a sinker catch too much of the plate and it was hit out to RF in the wind carrying over the wall for a 3 run HR giving the Illinois a 6-1 lead.
Undeterred, the Texas offense came to the plate in the Bottom 4th and showed the kind of fight and grit that Schlossnagle wants to see from his team. 1B Kimble Schuessler led off with a walk. After freshman C Cole Chamberlain struck out, 3B Casey Borba hit a single through the right side putting runners on 1B and 3B with just 1 out. LF Easton Winfield, who get the start today in LF came through with a single through the right side to plate Kimble Schuessler, making it 6-2. Lead off man 2B Ethan Mendoza then hit an RBI single through the right side, playing Casey Borba and cutting the lead to 6-3. After an Illinois mound visit, that brought RF Max Belyeu to the plate and once again, he came through in the clutch hitting a double to right CF that scored Winfield making it a 6-4 game. Not finished yet, CF Will Gasparino hit a grounder to 3B allowing Ethan Mendoza to score on the fielder's choice to make it 6-5 Illinois.
Heading into the Bottom 6th, the Horns still trailed 6-5 to Illinois, but got things going when Easton Winfield hit a single up the middle to put the lead off man on. After a fly out by Ethan Mendoza, Illinois made the mistake of pitching to Max Belyeu again, who hit a single to right CF. Due to some good base running by pinch runner Tommy Farmer, the Horns had runners on 1B and 3B with just 1 out. Will Gasparino, again put together a solid at-bat and was able to draw a walk to load the bases. Illinois made a visit to the mound, but left the pitcher in surprisingly and it immediately backfired as Adrian Rodriguez hit a hard chopper to 2B allowing Tommy Farmer on 3B to score, tying the game up at 6-6. SS Jalin Flores came through in the big moment as he hit a double to right CF for a 2 run RBI double to give the Horns an 8-6 lead.
Not done yet, Kimble Schuessler then drew a walk forcing Illinois to go to the bullpen finally. Freshman C Cole Chamberlain then drew a walk off the new arm loading the bases once again. That brought Casey Borba to the plate and he hit a seeing eye single through the left side scoring two runs to make it 10-6 Horns. Tommy Farmer who had come in to pinch run earlier then hit a 2 run RBI double to LF in his first at-bat to make it 12-6 Horns. Lead off man Ethan Mendoza, back at the plate again hit a single down the 3B line which prompted yet another pitching change from Illinois. The new pitcher had the unfortunate opportunity to face a scorching hot Max Belyeu who hit his third double of the day to left CF scoring two more runs to make it 14-6 Texas.
In the Bottom 7th, the Horns threatened to run rule Illinois as Jalin Flores hit a 1 out double, following by a double by Kimble Schuessler which fell in when the CF lost the ball in the sun and the RF stumbled and could not come up with it. Rylan Galvan then drew a walk after an offensive timeout from Schlossnagle, loading the bases with just 1 out. Unfortunately Casey Borba struck out, but Jalin Flores was able to score on a wild pitch to make it 15-6 Horns. Texas was not able to complete the run rule though as Tommy Farmer his a pop up on the infield to end the threat.
In the Top 9th, RHP Grayson Saunier came on in relief of Max Grubbs and sat the Illini down in order to finish out the game.
BIG MOMENT
In the Bottom 6th, the Horns trailed Illinois 6-5 after both clubs had traded crooked numbers in the 4th inning.
LF Easton Winfield, who has struggled out of the gate this season, led off with a single up the middle to get the lead man on base. 2B Ethan Mendoza then hit a deep fly out to CF, but it was caught, bringing RF Max Belyeu to the plate. Max hit a single out to RF and Tommy Farmer who had come on to pinch run for Winfield made the most of it by making it to 3B safely. Will Gasparino had a very mature at-bat where he was over matched with a couple of breaking balls, but earned a walk to load up the bases with just 1 out. Freshman 3B Adrian Rodriguez came to the plate and hit a chopper to 2B, plating Tommy Farmer to tie the game up at 6-6 with 2 outs.
That brought SS Jalin Flores to the plate and on the first pitch he saw, hit a ball out to right CF for a 2 run RBI double giving the Horns a 8-6, one which they would not look back from.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Who else - Max Belyeu!
The Junior OF went 4-6 on the day. 2 Runs, 4 Hits, 3 RBI, 3 doubles
TAKEAWAYS
On a day when the wind was gusting up to 30 and blowing steady at 20mph towards center RF, if you would have told me that the Horns would not hit a single home run, I would have called you crazy. But alas, the Horns collected 17 hits on the day, 7 of which were doubles and plated 15. That will absolutely win you a lot of games!
Since dropping the first game of the season against Louisville, the Horns have won the past nine games. Not all of those games have been pretty, but the Horns have shown that they can in a variety of ways, whether offensive showcases or pitching duels.
The next step the Horns need to take is ensuring that they can be consistent and put together both things in the same game. Regardless, this is a club that continues to evolve and that is noticeable from game to game, something that Texas fans did not see last year necessarily.
Getting Jalin Flores going this weekend was huge. Tommy Farmer has had moment of struggle, but is hitting .286 still. Easton Winfield showed better composure at the plate today against Illinois, so the hope is that he can use that momentum to get things going. It was great to see Casey Borba put together some solid ABs today. Despite his light tower power at times, if I am Coach Schlossnagle, I move Adrian up a spot, right behind Max Belyeu and move Will Gasparino back in the lineup. The goal is always to have a balanced lineup, but it would then allow him to be protected by Jalin Flores.
Tip of the cap to Max Grubbs. After not pitching during the Fall, he has been sensational this Spring so far. He did give up the homerun today, but on the season he has pitched 11 innings and has only walked one batter, only given up one extra base hit, and still has an ERA of 0.00
I will touch on my overall thoughts in my Monday weekend recap post, but overall, great weekend for the Horns as they bust out the sticks and overall looked very solid.
NEXT UP
Texas (9-1) will take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6-6) on Tuesday night in Austin at 6:30pm
Illinois Fighting Illini - 6
Texas Longhorns - 15
Winning Pitcher: Max Grubbs (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Luke Weber (0-2)
Post game with Jim Schlossnagle
- coached at UNLV and been here before with this environment. Tough day to catch a pop up. We missed a couple but caught the rest of them
- We talk about keeping eyes off scoreboard. Have to know the score when running the bases. We play to a standard and not a scoreboard. Really proud of our guys
- Monday, we weren't in a great place. Tulo did some work with them and we come out here and score a lot of runs and win in different ways
- We have one more weekend before conference.
- Make some decisions on how we use pitchers. What do we do with Volantis. Get Flores out there on Tuesday. Great to see Borba get going.
RECAP
The game certainly did not start out the way that LHP Kade Bing and the staff would have liked as he struggled to keep his pitches down and locate, eventually giving up a run on a wild pitch in the Bottom 1st. Kade has the stuff and I have seen him throw plenty of times to know it is there, but he seems to struggle at the beginning of games and then settle in.
Headed to the Bottom of the 1st with the Horns trailing 1-0, the offense wasted no time in responding as RF Max Belyeu hit the first of what would be three doubles on the day with 1 out to LF and then advanced to 3B on a wild pitch. After CF Will Gasparino struck out swinging, freshman DH Adrian Rodriguez hit a single through the right side off the glove of the 2B to score Belyeu and tie things up at 1-1.
LHP Kade Bing gave up a 1 out single to LF in the Top 2nd, but showed off his outstanding pick off move by getting the runner leaning, then getting a ground out to face the minimum.
After the Horns went down 1-2-3 in the Bottom 2nd, Illinois again got on base with a lead off triple right CF that took an odd hop off the base of the fence away from Gasparino. LHP Kade Bing showed that pitchers are athletes though as he fielded a come backer and made an excellent throw to 3B Casey Borba to tag the lead runner who had wandered too far from the base.
Despite getting deep in some counts and giving up the early run, things were going well for Kade Bing until the Top 4th when things went pear shaped. After giving up a 1 out walk, Bing gave up a double down the LF line putting runners on 2B and 3B, which was followed by a hit batter to load the bases with only 1 out. After a mound visit, Bing threw a wild pitch which allowed the runner from 3B to score. A fly out by the next batter brought home another run to make it 3-1 Illinois with 2 outs, prompting Jim Schlossnagle to go to the bullpen and bring in Max Grubbs.
The first batter Grubbs faced hit a chopper to Casey Borba behind 3B and his throw to 1B was wide of the bag, putting two runners on base with 2 outs still. Grubbs then had a sinker catch too much of the plate and it was hit out to RF in the wind carrying over the wall for a 3 run HR giving the Illinois a 6-1 lead.
Undeterred, the Texas offense came to the plate in the Bottom 4th and showed the kind of fight and grit that Schlossnagle wants to see from his team. 1B Kimble Schuessler led off with a walk. After freshman C Cole Chamberlain struck out, 3B Casey Borba hit a single through the right side putting runners on 1B and 3B with just 1 out. LF Easton Winfield, who get the start today in LF came through with a single through the right side to plate Kimble Schuessler, making it 6-2. Lead off man 2B Ethan Mendoza then hit an RBI single through the right side, playing Casey Borba and cutting the lead to 6-3. After an Illinois mound visit, that brought RF Max Belyeu to the plate and once again, he came through in the clutch hitting a double to right CF that scored Winfield making it a 6-4 game. Not finished yet, CF Will Gasparino hit a grounder to 3B allowing Ethan Mendoza to score on the fielder's choice to make it 6-5 Illinois.
Heading into the Bottom 6th, the Horns still trailed 6-5 to Illinois, but got things going when Easton Winfield hit a single up the middle to put the lead off man on. After a fly out by Ethan Mendoza, Illinois made the mistake of pitching to Max Belyeu again, who hit a single to right CF. Due to some good base running by pinch runner Tommy Farmer, the Horns had runners on 1B and 3B with just 1 out. Will Gasparino, again put together a solid at-bat and was able to draw a walk to load the bases. Illinois made a visit to the mound, but left the pitcher in surprisingly and it immediately backfired as Adrian Rodriguez hit a hard chopper to 2B allowing Tommy Farmer on 3B to score, tying the game up at 6-6. SS Jalin Flores came through in the big moment as he hit a double to right CF for a 2 run RBI double to give the Horns an 8-6 lead.
Not done yet, Kimble Schuessler then drew a walk forcing Illinois to go to the bullpen finally. Freshman C Cole Chamberlain then drew a walk off the new arm loading the bases once again. That brought Casey Borba to the plate and he hit a seeing eye single through the left side scoring two runs to make it 10-6 Horns. Tommy Farmer who had come in to pinch run earlier then hit a 2 run RBI double to LF in his first at-bat to make it 12-6 Horns. Lead off man Ethan Mendoza, back at the plate again hit a single down the 3B line which prompted yet another pitching change from Illinois. The new pitcher had the unfortunate opportunity to face a scorching hot Max Belyeu who hit his third double of the day to left CF scoring two more runs to make it 14-6 Texas.
In the Bottom 7th, the Horns threatened to run rule Illinois as Jalin Flores hit a 1 out double, following by a double by Kimble Schuessler which fell in when the CF lost the ball in the sun and the RF stumbled and could not come up with it. Rylan Galvan then drew a walk after an offensive timeout from Schlossnagle, loading the bases with just 1 out. Unfortunately Casey Borba struck out, but Jalin Flores was able to score on a wild pitch to make it 15-6 Horns. Texas was not able to complete the run rule though as Tommy Farmer his a pop up on the infield to end the threat.
In the Top 9th, RHP Grayson Saunier came on in relief of Max Grubbs and sat the Illini down in order to finish out the game.
BIG MOMENT
In the Bottom 6th, the Horns trailed Illinois 6-5 after both clubs had traded crooked numbers in the 4th inning.
LF Easton Winfield, who has struggled out of the gate this season, led off with a single up the middle to get the lead man on base. 2B Ethan Mendoza then hit a deep fly out to CF, but it was caught, bringing RF Max Belyeu to the plate. Max hit a single out to RF and Tommy Farmer who had come on to pinch run for Winfield made the most of it by making it to 3B safely. Will Gasparino had a very mature at-bat where he was over matched with a couple of breaking balls, but earned a walk to load up the bases with just 1 out. Freshman 3B Adrian Rodriguez came to the plate and hit a chopper to 2B, plating Tommy Farmer to tie the game up at 6-6 with 2 outs.
That brought SS Jalin Flores to the plate and on the first pitch he saw, hit a ball out to right CF for a 2 run RBI double giving the Horns a 8-6, one which they would not look back from.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Who else - Max Belyeu!
The Junior OF went 4-6 on the day. 2 Runs, 4 Hits, 3 RBI, 3 doubles
TAKEAWAYS
On a day when the wind was gusting up to 30 and blowing steady at 20mph towards center RF, if you would have told me that the Horns would not hit a single home run, I would have called you crazy. But alas, the Horns collected 17 hits on the day, 7 of which were doubles and plated 15. That will absolutely win you a lot of games!
Since dropping the first game of the season against Louisville, the Horns have won the past nine games. Not all of those games have been pretty, but the Horns have shown that they can in a variety of ways, whether offensive showcases or pitching duels.
The next step the Horns need to take is ensuring that they can be consistent and put together both things in the same game. Regardless, this is a club that continues to evolve and that is noticeable from game to game, something that Texas fans did not see last year necessarily.
Getting Jalin Flores going this weekend was huge. Tommy Farmer has had moment of struggle, but is hitting .286 still. Easton Winfield showed better composure at the plate today against Illinois, so the hope is that he can use that momentum to get things going. It was great to see Casey Borba put together some solid ABs today. Despite his light tower power at times, if I am Coach Schlossnagle, I move Adrian up a spot, right behind Max Belyeu and move Will Gasparino back in the lineup. The goal is always to have a balanced lineup, but it would then allow him to be protected by Jalin Flores.
Tip of the cap to Max Grubbs. After not pitching during the Fall, he has been sensational this Spring so far. He did give up the homerun today, but on the season he has pitched 11 innings and has only walked one batter, only given up one extra base hit, and still has an ERA of 0.00
I will touch on my overall thoughts in my Monday weekend recap post, but overall, great weekend for the Horns as they bust out the sticks and overall looked very solid.
NEXT UP
Texas (9-1) will take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6-6) on Tuesday night in Austin at 6:30pm
