FINAL
LSU Tiger - 7
Texas Longhorns - 11
BOX SCORE
Winning Pitcher: Max Grubbs (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Connor Benge (0-1)
Save: Dylan Volantis (4)
RECAP
In the 1st inning, both teams traded 3 up 3 downs as LSU starter RHP Anthony Eyanson and Texas start LHP Luke Harrison filled up the strike zone and went after hitters, trusting their defense behind them, despite the gusting winds to LF.
In the Top 2nd, Harrison again sat the Tigers down in order as he did a great job of mixing up his pitches and speeds, while also getting some outstanding defense from 3B Adrian Rodriguez behind him.
In the Bottom 2nd, the Horns got a lead off walk from Rylan Galvan, but were unable to do anything with it and came away empty handed as Anthony Eyanson struck out the next three batters.
In the Top 3rd, Luke Harrison struck out the first two batters he saw before giving up a double to LF. No damage was done though as the scorching hot Derek Curiel hit a grounder to SS Jalin Flores to keep the score 0-0.
In the Bottom 3rd, LSU starter Anthony Eyanson retired the Horns in order with a bevy of nasty sliders and mixing in a 94-96 fastball.
In the Top 4th, the Tigers got the lead off man on as big Jared Jones hit a single to CF. Daniel Dickinson then hit a double to LF putting runners on 2B and 3B with no outs. Harrison then ran into more trouble as a hard hit grounder to 3B Adrian Rodriguez caused him to rush his throw to 1B, which skipped in and off the glove of 1B Kimble Schuessler to load the bases with no outs.
Luke Harrison then walked the next batter he faced on four straight pitches to make it 1-0 LSU. After battling back to get a strikeout, Luke Harrison then gave up a sac fly to CF to make it 2-0 LSU.
In the Bottom 4th, the Horns got a 1 out single from SS Jalin Flores as he hit one to left CF. C Rylan Galvan then hit a seeing eye single through the left side that both the 3B and SS defenders missed by a small margin with the ball going past their gloves. 3B Adrian Rodriguez then smashed a ball to right CF to bring home the first run of the game for Texas and cut the LSU lead in half at 2-1.
1B Kimble Schuessler then hit a high chopper up the middle, bringing home an additional run to tie the score up at 2-2 going into the Top 5th.
The Top 5th reads like a nightmare if you are a pitcher. Walk, Hit by Pitch, and then an RBI double from Jared Jones, which put the Tigers up 3-2 and forced Jim Schlossnagle to make a call to the bullpen to bring in RHP Max Grubbs.
After a lengthy at-bat, Grubbs got a strikeout on the first batter he faced, but still had runners on 2B and 3B with just one out. LSU brought in a pinch hitter with the righty, Grubbs, on the mound and he hit an RBI single to LF to make it 4-2 Tigers. Not done yet, the Tigers scored a third run in the frame when their shortstop Steven Milam hit a sac fly to CF to make it 5-2 Tigers. You could feel the grumbling throughout the stadium as Horns fans remembered what had occurred in the middle innings less than 24 hours ago against the same LSU Tigers.
Thankfully, the Horns would not take the punch to the face lightly and struck back in the Bottom half of the frame.
In the Bottom 5th, CF Will Gasparino led off the inning by earning a walk to get the lead man on. After LF Tommy Farmer struck out on a fantastic slider from Tiger starter Anthony Eyanson, 2B Ethan Mendoza hit a hard single over the outstretched glove of the 2B for a single, putting runners on 1B and 3B with just 1 out and more importantly forcing LSU to go to the bullpen.
On a passed ball, Will Gasparino came in to score and Ethan Mendoza moved over to 2B, making it a 5-3 ball game with the Tigers still in front.
Max Belyeu then drew a walk to put runners on 1B and 2B, still with just 1 out in the inning. Jalin Flores was up next and reached out a Fielder's Choice, bringing the hot stick to the plate in Rylan Galvan. On a 3-1 count, Galvan got a 95mph fastball over the plate and crushed it to LF for a 3 run home run to put the Horns up 6-5.
In the Top 6th, the Tigers would count back to take the lead back from the Horns though. After a quick two outs from Max Grubbs, LSU got a 2 out single on a hard hit grounder to the left side that made for an impossible play for Adrian Rodriguez. That brought the scorching hot bat of freshman Derek Curiel to the plate. He got a pitch that missed up in the zone and he was able to turn on it and send it into the LF bullpen for a 2 run HR to make it 7-6 Tigers.
In the Bottom 6th, the Horns unfortunately were not able to counter as they went down in order.
In the Top 7th, Max Grubbs was again back on the mound for the Horns to battle against the lethal Tiger lineup. After getting a quick first out, Grubbs gave up a single through the right side that just got past the infield shift. Rylan Galvan had his back though as he gunned down the runner attempting to steal 2B for the second out of the inning. That proved to be huge as Grubbs hit the next batter. No damage done though as Grubbs steeled himself and got a pop up from last night's LSU hero, Luis Hernandez.
In the Bottom 7th, on an 0-2 count, Jalin Flores went yard as he got every bit of a pitch from Connor Benge over the plate and sent it into the street in LF, tying the game at 7-7 and breathing new life into the 7,000+ strong Texas crowd.
After Rylan Galvan grounded out, Adrian Rodriguez and Kimble Schuessler got back to back singles, forcing LSU to once again go to the bullpen. The next batter up was Casey Borba and he watched three straight pitches for a strikeout, the second out of the inning, drawing the ire of many. Thankfully, Will Gasparino made everyone forget that at-bat because he hit an RBI single to CF to give the Horns the lead back at 8-7.
In the Top 8th, Schlossnagle and Weiner again went back to Max Grubbs and he rewarded their faith by getting two outs. With left handed hitting Derek Curiel coming to the plate, Schlossnagle went to the bullpen and brought in freshman LHP Dylan Volantis, who induced a ground out to SS Jalin Flores for the third out of the inning and preserving the Texas 8-7 lead.
In the Bottom 8th, the Horns got the insurance they desperately desired. Ethan Mendoza led off with a hard hit single to RF that the defender promptly booted, allowing Mendoza to slide into 3B safely. Unfortunately, Max Belyeu, who had a quiet game hit a ground out to the 2B defender who looked back Adrian at 3B and then tossed to 1B for the first out.
LSU again went to the bullpen and brought in hard throwing RHP Jacob Mayers to face Jalin Flores. Flores welcomed him to the game by hitting a 1-0 ball up the middle for an RBI single to make it 9-7 Texas. Mayers then went on to walk the next two batters, Rylan Galvan and Adrian Rodriguez.
After yet two more calls to the bullpen, one after only two pitches in the at-bat, Kimble Schuessler hit a two run RBI single to RF to make it 11-7 Horns.
In the Top 9th, freshman LHP Dylan Volantis was back on the mound and retired the Tigers in order, including back to back strikeouts, the second of which was strike 3 called looking to end the game.
BIG MOMENT
In the Bottom 5th, trailing 5-2, the Horns were reeling a bit after LSU had landed a haymaker in the top half of the frame. The Horns had battled back to tie the ball game up at 2-2 in the 4th inning, only to see the Tigers offense roar back and put up a 3 spot in the top of the 5th.
Coach Schlossnagle said after the game that he talked to the team briefly and told them that they did not feel like the same dugout that he saw in Starkville. They were feeling sorry for themselves.
Will Gasparino led off the inning by earning a walk to get the lead man on. After Tommy Farmer struck out on a fantastic slider from Tiger starter Anthony Eyanson, Ethan Mendoza hit a hard single over the outstretched glove of the 2B for a single, putting runners on 1B and 3B with just 1 out and more importantly forcing LSU to go to the bullpen.
On a passed ball, Will Gasparino came in to score and Ethan Mendoza moved over to 2B, making it a 5-3 ball game with the Tigers still in front.
Max Belyeu then drew a walk to put runners on 1B and 2B, still with just 1 out in the inning. Jalin Flores was up next and reached out a Fielder's Choice, bringing the hot stick to the plate in Rylan Galvan. On a 3-1 count, Galvan got a 95mph fastball over the plate and crushed it to LF for a 3 run home run to put the Horns up 6-5.
That is BIG boy ball and the exact kind of response that was needed from Texas and to fire the team and crowd up.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Rylan Galvan, have yourself a day at the park!
Galvan went 2-3 with 2 hits, 3 runs, 3 RBI, and 2 walks, as well as a stolen base and a throw out
TAKEAWAYS
What a game. From early inning pitchers duel to the back and forth scoring from both teams in the middle innings to the late inning insurance and everything in between. This was a true battle of two top 10 teams that wanted the win and put everything on the line to get it.
Nothing happens in isolation, but at the same time, the Horns will need to quickly forget the win, regardless of how big it was because they will have to square off against the same LSU Tigers tomorrow afternoon at 2pm.
The Horns got everything they could and needed from Junior RHP Max Grubbs. He has been a lion out of the bullpen this season for the Horns, which is pretty amazing considering he did not pitch at all this Fall with a banged up shoulder.
Dylan Volantis had ice in his veins tonight, coming in late in the game and putting out the only four batters he faced, while filling up the strike zone (12 pitches, 10 strikes). Harrison did not have a bad night by any means, in fact, I thought this was the best he has looked this season outside of one performance. He did give up 5 runs on the night, but only 2 were earned and he gave the Horns 4 valuable innings.
At the plate, the lineup was productive from top to bottom, which is self evident in the 11 runs scored. The only two batters not to reach base were Casey Borba, who came in late as a pinch hitter and Tommy Farmer.
This is the kind of offense that the Horns will need throughout all of SEC play if they want to contend for post season glory. They have to keep their approach at the plate while also carrying the threat of the big fly and put pressure on opposing offenses by grinding them down and being relentless.
While there will be fans who are upset with aspects of the evening and Texas certainly did not play perfect, this was a BIG win for the Horns. They avoided the potential of being swept at home and got a big win against the #2 team in the season.
For reference, the last time that Texas beat a Top 5 opponent, was back in May of 2021 when Texas beat then #3 TCU in Forth Worth. Ironically, the head coach of that TCU squad was none other than Jim Schlossnagle. The last time that Texas beat a Top 2 opponent was back in 2019 when Texas swept the then #2 LSU Tigers in Austin.
Win or lose tomorrow, this weekend is a success. A win tomorrow would simply be enormous and a massive shot of confidence in the arm for Texas that will have folks around the nation talking about them as a potential Top 5 team.
NEXT UP:
Horns v. Tigers. Round 3. The series deciding match will take place Sunday at 2pm
