By Steve Lansdale
AUSTIN, Texas — Left-handed reliever Nick Kennedy allowed just one hit in almost four innings of work to keep his season record perfect, at 7-0, in the Texas baseball team’s 4-1 victory Tuesday over UT Arlington at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
With the victory, the Longhorns improved to 31-16 on the season, while the Mavericks slipped to 26-18.
UT took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]designated hitter Kody Clemens reached third base on a double by left fielder Travis Jones and then scored on a throwing error by UTA right fielder Aaron Funk. The Mavericks evened the score, however, in the top of the second, when Funk’s RBI single drove in center fielder Noah Vaughan with what turned out to be the only run UTA would score all night.
First baseman Kacy Clemens drove in what proved to be the winning run when his sacrifice fly plated right fielder Patrick Mathis. By the bottom of the third, Kennedy had taken over for starter Kyle Johnston, who had allowed five hits and the Mavs’ run. Tyler Schimpf eventually replaced Kennedy before giving way to Beau Ridgeway, who picked up his 11th save of the season.
Texas head coach David Pierce said the formula for the Longhorns’ success was formed more in the field than at the plate.
“We went out and played unbelievable defense,” Pierce said. “I thought Kyle (Johnston) was a little shaky, but we had him on a pitch count and he made it through that. I thought Nick (Kennedy) was outstanding behind him.
“It was great to see Tyler Schimpf and Beau (Ridgeway) do their thing. Schimpf was huge tonight with those two innings.”
The Texas batters collected only seven hits, but that was more than enough as the Longhorns doubled their run total on an RBI double in the third inning by third baseman Ryan Reynolds and a fifth-inning solo home run by Jones.
“Offensively, not a lot of hits, but we had a good slugging percentage tonight,” Pierce said. “We had a long ball and a couple of extra-base hits, and that was the difference.
Pierce said any risk of the Longhorns taking their opponents lightly was erased before the first pitch was thrown.
“In our pregame meetings, I think our guys understood how good UT Arlington is playing, and how good they are,” Pierce said. “Anytime you sweep Louisiana-Lafayette, it doesn’t matter where you’re playing — that’s a big weekend. We wanted to make sure (the players) understood that. It was just one of those deals where we were solid. We weren’t great, but we were very consistent. That’s what I have appreciated: the ability to go out there and pitch and play defense every single night to give us a chance to win.”
The Longhorns now will head back out on the road as they travel to Fort Worth this weekend for a three-game series at TCU.
[/s2If] [s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] [article-offer] [/s2If]
Discover more from Horns Illustrated
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.