Horns Showing Signs of Life with Mid-Season Wins

By Steve Habel/Horns Illustrated Associate Editor

It had been a while since the Texas baseball team won a Big 12 Conference series, but the Longhorns were able to get that King Kong-sized money off their back on Sunday when they beat Texas Tech 5-2 in extra innings to win a pivotal rubber game in the three-game series.

The Longhorns followed that victory with a 5-2 win on the road against [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] 12th-ranked Rice in a game that saw eight Texas players record hits and super fourth starter Lukas Schiraldi spin 6.2 innings of two-run, five-hit pitching and a pair of relievers allow next to nothing to close the game.

This uptick in play from the Horns (now 23-7) was expected by team insiders but a little late in its beginning for impatient fans. Since losing the third game of the conference-opening series against Kansas on March 16, Texas has won eight of its next nine outings and outscored the opposition 59-18 – with eight of the runs allowed in that stretch coming in the only loss (8-4 to Tech).

Texas coach Augie Garrido rolled the dice this season, giving significant playing time to four freshmen – first baseman Kasey Clemens, catcher Tres Barrera, third baseman/outfielder Zane Gurwitz and third baseman Andy McGuire.

Garrido knew it would take a little time for those young players to find their groove in the college game, but each have had significant roles for the Horns.

Senior outfielder Mark Payton, who leads the team in hitting, said the Horns are just now getting comfortable in their roles and are confident that the mantra Garrido drums each day is working.

“It took us a little while to get our timing going,” Payton said. “Hitting is contagious through the lineup – we are going to keep working at it and continue to get better as hitters every day. That is about as much as you can ask out of one through nine.”

Garrido lauds his players for buying into formula for the good of the team.

“These guys are getting through the process of retraining themselves to focus on the realities of their roles,” Garrido explained. “They understand that they have to take quality at bats and not worry about their batting average. They have to help the team win the game.”

Baseball is all about taking quality at bats, making productive outs and getting on base to lead off the inning and is decided by run scoring, not batting average.

“Batting average is part of the process and it is the most glamorized part of the process,” Garrido said. “But you have to get on to lead off the inning, you have to advance the runners before you make three outs and you have to score the runners before you make three outs. That, ultimately, is how you become successful.”

Texas, now up to eighth in the latest polls, returns home to continue Big 12 play this weekend with games Friday, Saturday and Sunday versus Baylor.

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