FINAL
Santa Clara Broncos - 3
Texas Longhorns - 8
BOX SCORE
Winning Pitcher: Ruger Riojas (3-0)
Losing Pitcher: Victor Martinez (1-2)
RECAP
The Horns got things going early today as 2B Ethan Mendoza led the game off with a seeing eye single to LF as it just got past the shortstop's glove. After a strikeout swinging by RF Max Belyeu, who saw his 11 game hit streak end last night, SS Jalin Flores came to the plate and on the first pitch he saw hit an RBI double to LF to give the Horns a 1-0 lead.
Not finished there, CF Tommy Farmer would drive in the second run of the inning as he hit a 2 out liner down the RF line which plated SS Jalin Flores giving the Horns a 2-0 lead going into the Top 2nd.
After the Horns turned a double play to end the Top 2nd, the offense got right back to work.
LF Easton Winfield struck out swinging to lead off the inning, but C Rylan Galvan was able to draw a walk off starting pitcher Victor Martinez who had one heck of an unusual pitching motion, falling away from the pitching rubber towards the 1B dugout. 2B Ethan Mendoza then hit a single, giving him his 7th multi-hit game in the last 8 games. RF Max Belyeu then drew a walk to load the bases, bringing one of the hottest hitters to the plate in SS Jalin Flores.
Flores hit what should have been a routine grounder to the 2B but he rushed his transfer, bobbling the ball and then throwing wide of the bag which pulled the SS off 2B, allowing Max Belyeu to slide in safely and scoring C Rylan Galvan to score from 3B to make it 3-0 Horns.
In the Top 3rd, LHP Luke Harrison battled through some iffy command today, but bounce back to get a big strikeout to end the scoring threat and keep Santa Clara off the board.
In the Bottom 3rd, the Horns offense again set the table with an outstanding approach at the plate and some timely hitting.
CF Tommy Farmer, getting the start in CF today in lieu of Will Gasparino to get Easton Winfield some action hit a single down the LF line. Unfortunately, he got thrown out on a perfect throw down to 2B. Taking no mind of that set back, 3B Casey Borba put together an excellent at-bat and reached base after earning a walk. Casey Borba then moved over to 2B on balk, putting him scoring position.
Coach Schlossnagle made the choice to insert Will Gasparino back into the lineup, sitting Easton Winfield and that decision paid dividends immediately as Gasparino hit a double to right CF to make it 4-0 Horns.
In the Top 4th, Santa Clara was finally able to take advantage of Luke Harrison's free bases to plate their first run of the game. The Broncos lead off man was walked and then Harrison gave up a double putting runners on 2B and 3B prompting Coach Schlossnagle to make a call to the bullpen and bring in RHP Ruger Riojas.
The first batter Ruger faced hit a soft grounder to Jalin Flores at SS and his only play was at 1B, thus allowing the runner from 3B to score making it 4-1 Horns. Ruger was able to get back to back ground outs though to end the scoring threat.
In the Bottom 4th, the Horns were finally able to take advantage of some iffy command from the Santa Clara reliever. RF Max Belyeu was hit in the leg by the first pitch he saw, which was upheld upon review. SS Jalin Flores then battled to draw a walk, putting two runners on with no outs. On a double steal, Belyeu was deemed out after review as he was tagged when he popped up, which saw his foot come off the bag. Freshman DH Adrian Rodriguez then drew a walk to put runners on 1B and 2B with just one out. 1B Kimble Schuessler put a charge into one to LF, but unfortunately it was right into the teeth of the wind and died, which was unfortunate as Kimble has made really good bat to ball contact recently with nothing to show for it.
That brought Tommy Farmer to the plate and like Max, he was hit by the first pitch he saw, which loaded the bases with 2 outs. 3B Casey Borba came to the plate with a big opportunity and took full advantage of it as he hit a double over the head of the defender in CF which cleared the bases for a 3 RBI double, giving the Horns a 7-1 lead.
In the Top 5th, RHP Ruger Riojas gave up a 1 out walk and then gave up an RBI double to make it 7-2 Horns. Ruger battled back though and got a strike out swinging to end the scoring threat.
After quick innings in the 6th and 7th which saw a single base runner reach for both teams, Ruger Riojas came back out for the Top 8th inning.
With 1 out and nobody on base, Dylan Joyce of Santa Clara ambushed a pitch from Ruger and got it into the wind out to right sending it over the wall and into the Texas bullpen for a solo shot to make it 7-3 Horns. After giving up a 2 out single, Coach Schlossnagle again went to the bullpen and brought in RHP Andre Duplantier who got a soft groundout to end the top half of the frame.
In the Bottom 8th, the Horns again responded as SS Jalin Flores led off with a double down the LF line. DH Adrian Rodriguez grounded out, but that allowed Jalin Flores to reach 3B with just one out. Finally, after all the hard hit balls and contact with nothing to show for it, 1B Kimble Schuessler hit pay dirt as he hit a single back up the middle to play Flores, giving the Horns a 8-3 lead.
RHP Andre Duplantier came back out in the Top 9th and sat the Broncos down 1-2-3 to close out the game. SERIES WON
BIG MOMENT
In the Top 4th with the Horns lead 4-0, Santa Clara got on the board for the first time to make it 4-1.
Wasting no time, the Horns did what they have done so well lately which is respond immediately. With the bases loaded and 2 outs, 3B Casey Borba came to the plate and on a 0-1 count hit a ball out to CF that had the defender completely turned around on due to the howling wind. That ball would one hop to the fence and resulted in a bases clearing 3 RBI double, blowing the game open and giving the Horns a 7-1 lead. BIG time stuff from Casey who started off the year on the bench because of the sensational bat of freshman Adrian Rodriguez.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Jalin Flores (again) - the dude keeps filling up the stat sheet. 2-4, 3 Runs, 2 RBI, 2x 2B, 1x BB
Over the last 7 games, Jalin Flores has 12 XBH.
TAKEAWAYS
Not the sharpest game from Luke Harrison and even Ruger Riojas was shakier at the front end than he has been, but both did enough to ensure that Santa Clara could never get a foothold into the game and kept them from putting together any crooked numbers.
Another thing to note is that the Horns committed no errors for the second day in a row, despite some extremely windy conditions and a few hard hit balls.
Lastly, the Horns have reeled off 12 wins since losing their opening night game. That is all that you can ask for as the Horns continue to work and get better in preparation for SEC play next weekend. Keep the train rolling!
NEXT UP
Horns will host Santa Clara tomorrow (Sunday) at 1pm looking for the sweep and to extend their winning streak to 13 games.
Santa Clara Broncos - 3
Texas Longhorns - 8
BOX SCORE
Winning Pitcher: Ruger Riojas (3-0)
Losing Pitcher: Victor Martinez (1-2)
RECAP
The Horns got things going early today as 2B Ethan Mendoza led the game off with a seeing eye single to LF as it just got past the shortstop's glove. After a strikeout swinging by RF Max Belyeu, who saw his 11 game hit streak end last night, SS Jalin Flores came to the plate and on the first pitch he saw hit an RBI double to LF to give the Horns a 1-0 lead.
Not finished there, CF Tommy Farmer would drive in the second run of the inning as he hit a 2 out liner down the RF line which plated SS Jalin Flores giving the Horns a 2-0 lead going into the Top 2nd.
After the Horns turned a double play to end the Top 2nd, the offense got right back to work.
LF Easton Winfield struck out swinging to lead off the inning, but C Rylan Galvan was able to draw a walk off starting pitcher Victor Martinez who had one heck of an unusual pitching motion, falling away from the pitching rubber towards the 1B dugout. 2B Ethan Mendoza then hit a single, giving him his 7th multi-hit game in the last 8 games. RF Max Belyeu then drew a walk to load the bases, bringing one of the hottest hitters to the plate in SS Jalin Flores.
Flores hit what should have been a routine grounder to the 2B but he rushed his transfer, bobbling the ball and then throwing wide of the bag which pulled the SS off 2B, allowing Max Belyeu to slide in safely and scoring C Rylan Galvan to score from 3B to make it 3-0 Horns.
In the Top 3rd, LHP Luke Harrison battled through some iffy command today, but bounce back to get a big strikeout to end the scoring threat and keep Santa Clara off the board.
In the Bottom 3rd, the Horns offense again set the table with an outstanding approach at the plate and some timely hitting.
CF Tommy Farmer, getting the start in CF today in lieu of Will Gasparino to get Easton Winfield some action hit a single down the LF line. Unfortunately, he got thrown out on a perfect throw down to 2B. Taking no mind of that set back, 3B Casey Borba put together an excellent at-bat and reached base after earning a walk. Casey Borba then moved over to 2B on balk, putting him scoring position.
Coach Schlossnagle made the choice to insert Will Gasparino back into the lineup, sitting Easton Winfield and that decision paid dividends immediately as Gasparino hit a double to right CF to make it 4-0 Horns.
In the Top 4th, Santa Clara was finally able to take advantage of Luke Harrison's free bases to plate their first run of the game. The Broncos lead off man was walked and then Harrison gave up a double putting runners on 2B and 3B prompting Coach Schlossnagle to make a call to the bullpen and bring in RHP Ruger Riojas.
The first batter Ruger faced hit a soft grounder to Jalin Flores at SS and his only play was at 1B, thus allowing the runner from 3B to score making it 4-1 Horns. Ruger was able to get back to back ground outs though to end the scoring threat.
In the Bottom 4th, the Horns were finally able to take advantage of some iffy command from the Santa Clara reliever. RF Max Belyeu was hit in the leg by the first pitch he saw, which was upheld upon review. SS Jalin Flores then battled to draw a walk, putting two runners on with no outs. On a double steal, Belyeu was deemed out after review as he was tagged when he popped up, which saw his foot come off the bag. Freshman DH Adrian Rodriguez then drew a walk to put runners on 1B and 2B with just one out. 1B Kimble Schuessler put a charge into one to LF, but unfortunately it was right into the teeth of the wind and died, which was unfortunate as Kimble has made really good bat to ball contact recently with nothing to show for it.
That brought Tommy Farmer to the plate and like Max, he was hit by the first pitch he saw, which loaded the bases with 2 outs. 3B Casey Borba came to the plate with a big opportunity and took full advantage of it as he hit a double over the head of the defender in CF which cleared the bases for a 3 RBI double, giving the Horns a 7-1 lead.
In the Top 5th, RHP Ruger Riojas gave up a 1 out walk and then gave up an RBI double to make it 7-2 Horns. Ruger battled back though and got a strike out swinging to end the scoring threat.
After quick innings in the 6th and 7th which saw a single base runner reach for both teams, Ruger Riojas came back out for the Top 8th inning.
With 1 out and nobody on base, Dylan Joyce of Santa Clara ambushed a pitch from Ruger and got it into the wind out to right sending it over the wall and into the Texas bullpen for a solo shot to make it 7-3 Horns. After giving up a 2 out single, Coach Schlossnagle again went to the bullpen and brought in RHP Andre Duplantier who got a soft groundout to end the top half of the frame.
In the Bottom 8th, the Horns again responded as SS Jalin Flores led off with a double down the LF line. DH Adrian Rodriguez grounded out, but that allowed Jalin Flores to reach 3B with just one out. Finally, after all the hard hit balls and contact with nothing to show for it, 1B Kimble Schuessler hit pay dirt as he hit a single back up the middle to play Flores, giving the Horns a 8-3 lead.
RHP Andre Duplantier came back out in the Top 9th and sat the Broncos down 1-2-3 to close out the game. SERIES WON
BIG MOMENT
In the Top 4th with the Horns lead 4-0, Santa Clara got on the board for the first time to make it 4-1.
Wasting no time, the Horns did what they have done so well lately which is respond immediately. With the bases loaded and 2 outs, 3B Casey Borba came to the plate and on a 0-1 count hit a ball out to CF that had the defender completely turned around on due to the howling wind. That ball would one hop to the fence and resulted in a bases clearing 3 RBI double, blowing the game open and giving the Horns a 7-1 lead. BIG time stuff from Casey who started off the year on the bench because of the sensational bat of freshman Adrian Rodriguez.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Jalin Flores (again) - the dude keeps filling up the stat sheet. 2-4, 3 Runs, 2 RBI, 2x 2B, 1x BB
Over the last 7 games, Jalin Flores has 12 XBH.
TAKEAWAYS
Not the sharpest game from Luke Harrison and even Ruger Riojas was shakier at the front end than he has been, but both did enough to ensure that Santa Clara could never get a foothold into the game and kept them from putting together any crooked numbers.
Another thing to note is that the Horns committed no errors for the second day in a row, despite some extremely windy conditions and a few hard hit balls.
Lastly, the Horns have reeled off 12 wins since losing their opening night game. That is all that you can ask for as the Horns continue to work and get better in preparation for SEC play next weekend. Keep the train rolling!
NEXT UP
Horns will host Santa Clara tomorrow (Sunday) at 1pm looking for the sweep and to extend their winning streak to 13 games.
