Baseball earns much-needed series win over Kansas State

By Blanche Schaefer

MANHATTAN, Kan. — An offensive outburst against Kansas State came at just the right time for the slumping Longhorns. Six home runs over three games in Manhattan powered Texas to its first series victory in two weeks, improving UT’s conference record to 5-4.

Kacy and Kody Clemens each hit a two-run home run to lead the power surge Friday night to help Texas win the first game of the series, 6-3. The Longhorns added a couple more runs on an RBI single from junior second baseman Zane Gurwitz in the second inning and a fielding error in the fourth. Sophomore right-hander Morgan Cooper pitched six strong innings, allowing one run on four hits with seven strikeouts to improve his record to 5-2.

Cooper kept Kansas State’s offense off-balance, and[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)] Kansas State head coach Brad Hill said the Wildcat hitters seemed “confused” for the first six innings of the game. But the Wildcats snapped out of it and challenged the Texas bullpen in the eighth inning. Sophomore righty Connor Mayes pitched a scoreless seventh and struck out the first batter of the eighth before allowing a base hit. Senior lefty Travis Duke entered the game and put away the next hitter, but Kansas State first baseman Jake Scudder followed with a two-run blast of his own. That ended Duke’s night, and freshman right-hander Chase Shugart took over for the final four outs and earned the save.

The long ball kept coming for Texas in Game 2, as three homers and 13 hits sent the Longhorns to a 12-5 victory on Saturday. UT’s first three runs came in the form of three solo home runs from right fielder Patrick Mathis, third baseman Kody Clemens and left fielder Travis Jones. Texas led, 5-0, in the sixth inning, but Kansas State got on the board with a three-spot on a fielder’s choice followed by a two-run blast from Wildcat senior catcher Tyler Moore to make it 5-3. The Longhorns distanced themselves with a five-run seventh. Gurwitz had a three-hit night with four RBI, including a triple in the seventh that scored three runs and extended the UT lead to 10-3. Senior lefty Ty Culbreth pitched a solid seven innings, giving up four runs and striking out six. Mayes pitched a scoreless eighth, and freshman right-hander Blake Wellmann only allowed one run in the ninth. The offensive hole was just too much for the Wildcats to dig out of late in the game.

“(Texas) did a good job of playing (the wind),” Hill said. “You could see (the Longhorns) were trying to adjust to it. They were solo home runs, though — that kept the score down. Texas just did a good job of hitting.”

In the series finale, a late-game rally a 1-0 Texas lead in the eighth inning, and the Wildcats walked away with a 3-2 victory Sunday. A UT sacrifice fly in the second inning provided the only run for seven innings. Sophomore right-hander Kyle Johnston scattered four hits and four Ks over 6.1 innings of work, but the bullpen couldn’t hold onto the slim one-run Texas lead. The Wildcats tied the game with a sac fly of their own in the seventh, and back-to-back RBI singles off Shugart in the eighth gave Kansas State a 3-1 lead. Gurwitz jacked a solo home run in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to spark a rally on a quiet day for the Texas offense.

“It was really about the pitching today,” Hill said. “We have really struggled on the mound controlling (Texas).”

After the much-needed series win, the Longhorns return to play Houston in Sugar Land at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday before beginning a three-game series with Kansas in Austin this weekend.

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