No. 23 Texas baseball splits four-game set with Stanford

By Blanche Schaefer

The No. 23 Texas baseball team learned a valuable lesson in momentum after splitting a four-game series over the weekend with Stanford at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Solid pitching from both teams dominated the series, as the Texas offense went hot and cold, struggling to produce runs one day or scoring six runs in a single inning the next day.[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)]

The 4-3 Longhorns began the series in familiar fashion — a 12-inning, one-run loss. Texas fell 1-0 to Stanford on Thursday night after a lengthy pitchers’ duel. UT freshman righty Nolan Kingham pitched 4 2/3 innings in his first collegiate start, surrendering two hits and three walks. The Texas pitching staff allowed only four hits the entire night, but that was all Stanford needed to earn the win.

Junior lefty Jon Malmin came in to pitch for Texas in the top of the 10th and threw a hitless 11th. In the 12th, a Stanford single put a runner at first. The next Cardinal batter reached base safely after Malmin’s throw to first sailed wide. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, and Malmin intentionally walked sophomore left fielder Quinn Brodey to load the bases with one out. Sophomore third baseman Mikey Diekroeger pushed in the winning run with a fielder’s choice to third.

Texas couldn’t get much done against the Cardinal pitching staff. Stanford freshman lefthander Kris Bubic went 4 1/3 innings and gave up two hits and two walks, and Stanford pitchers allowed a mere five hits and six walks throughout the game. Sophomore right hander Colton Hock put up a solid 5 2/3 innings of work as a middle reliever for Stanford, walking three and giving up three hits. The Texas offense isn’t discouraged about its lack of production against top-notch arms in only the second week of the season.

“It’s early in the year, and Stanford has great pitching,” junior center fielder Zane Gurwitz said of the series. “I haven’t seen that much good pitching in a while, and I’m not concerned. It’s about as good as it’s going to get right there, pitching-wise, and all you can do is learn from it.”

Texas bounced back to a 4-3 win Friday night, despite a close call in the eighth inning. It looked to be another pitchers’ duel until UT put up a four-spot in the third inning. Junior first baseman Kacy Clemens drew a walk, and freshman left fielder Tyler Rand was drilled by a pitch on his left hand to put runners on first and second. Gurwitz laid down a sacrifice bunt to third, but Diekroeger overthrew to first, allowing Gurwitz to reach second and Clemens to score. UT made it 2-0 on an RBI groundout from sophomore shortstop Bret Boswell. Gurwitz then scored from third on a passed ball to clear the bases and put Texas up, 3-0. Sophomore second baseman Joe Baker smacked a stand-up double with one out and proceeded to steal third, marking his first of four steals on the night. Baker scored on a RBI single from junior designated hitter Tres Barrera, putting the Longhorns up 4-0.

“The way we extended the third inning … turned out to be a real important factor in winning the game,” Texas head coach Augie Garrido said. “We did a good job of continuing to attack.”

Stanford put a run on the board in the fourth inning, and tacked on another in the sixth after a couple Texas mishaps. A dropped third strike allowed Stanford’s leadoff hitter to reach first. He reached second after a throwing error resulted in an unsuccessful pickoff attempt, and scored on a RBI single to pull the game within two runs. The Cardinal made it 4-3 with another RBI single, and freshman righty Chase Shugart entered in relief with two on and one out. Shugart got out of the jam and earned his first save in the ninth inning. Sophomore right hander Kyle Johnston earned the win after pitching seven innings with four hits, two runs and two walks.

Garrido said Johnston provided the spark Texas needed by maintaining control and providing leadership for the team. Even after seven innings of work, Johnston still felt he could pitch longer.

“Tonight, I really took warm-up more seriously,” Johnston said. “I thought if I kept throwing first-pitch strikes and getting people out quick, I could go as long as I wanted to. Going seven strong with the bullpen we have this year is awesome. Our starters can go give or six and still have a strong bullpen throughout the night with all the pitching we’ve got.”

Everything clicked for Texas on Saturday, as the offense slugged its way to a 9-0 victory behind stellar starting pitching. Senior lefty Ty Culbreth pitched eight innings of two-hit baseball and notched a career-high 12 strikeouts, and the ever-versatile Kacy Clemens pitched a hitless ninth. Garrido and Culbreth agreed that Culbreth’s command and ability to stay focused allowed him to pitch so deep into the game.

“Today was probably one of the best command days I’ve ever had,” Culbreth said. “I was able to work both sides of the plate with the fastball, which helped a lot. I had all three pitches working for me tonight.”

The game remained close, at 1-0, until the Longhorn bats woke up in the fourth inning and plated six runs. Barrera opened the inning with a single, reached second on a hit-and-run, stole third, and scored on a safety squeeze. After an RBI double and single scored two more, Boswell launched a towering three-run homer to right. Texas added some insurance in the eighth as sophomore right fielder Jake McKenzie’s RBI single scored two. Boswell’s power display helped fuel the offensive surge, but for the most part the Longhorn offense stuck to the “small ball” style they’re known for.

“We’re just trying to win every pitch, trying to put together quality at-bats,” Barrera said. “We’re not going to beat you with the long ball — Bret (Boswell) did hit one — but we don’t have guys that are going to hit double after double, homerun after homerun. We know our game and know if we stay within our game, we’re going to score a lot of runs and be productive.”

The tide turned in Stanford’s favor Sunday afternoon. The Texas pitching was far from effective, and the offense struggled to produce at all. The Longhorns blew through seven pitchers who were tagged for a combined 15 hits as the Cardinal rolled to an 11-1 victory. Sophomore righty Connor Mayes gave up three runs in the first inning after walking Stanford’s leadoff man. Another walk and an infield single loaded the bases, and two runs scored on an RBI single from sophomore first baseman Matt Winaker. Another run scored after Mayes balked, and Stanford jumped to a 3-0 lead. Mayes settled down after the first and pitched three scoreless innings. Despite the early struggles, he was pleased with his ability to adjust and get back in the game.

“It was a rough day, rough first inning,” Mayes said. “I was proud of the way, after the first, I was able to figure it out — I felt more confident. Just have to learn from it. I just need to slow down a little bit and realize that it’s just a game and no big deal. Just have fun. Sometimes I’m overthinking it.”

Texas added their single run in the fourth inning after Kacy Clemens scored on an RBI triple from sophomore left fielder Travis Jones. The Cardinal went scoreless for four innings before adding a pair in the sixth and three in the eighth. Senior right fielder Jonny Locher — who came in as a pinch runner in the eighth — smashed a three-run blast of his own in the ninth inning to finalize the blowout Texas loss. But Garrido said he isn’t concerned with UT’s Sunday afternoon implosion, and said the players learned a valuable lesson in momentum.

“You look at the reverse of (Saturday) night: the other team becomes us and we become them, and that’s all about momentum,” Garrido said. “It’s hard to respond when you don’t put the ball in play. If there’s no base runners, there’s no plays. You get more conservative offensively when you’re behind because you don’t want to give away outs. That’s what momentum is all about, and that’s what we could see — the contrast in how the teams played with a four-run lead, a six-run lead, how much different they got. The pitching got better, the hitting got better.”

Texas will take those lessons into Tuesday night’s match with Texas State in San Marcos. The Longhorns have a four-game series with No. 12 California looming  next weekend and are wasting no time dwelling on the could-haves.

“The best thing we can do is just turn the page, get it out of our heads and move on,” Gurwitz said. “We got Texas State on Tuesday, and we have to get ready for that.”

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