By Steve Habel/Senior Editor
Not even a juggled lineup could snap the Texas baseball team out of its mid-season doldrums Tuesday when Sam Houston State – the sixth-place team in the Southland Conference – dominated the Longhorns 5-0 before a crowd of 4,988 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
The Longhorns (19-18) had just three hits off two Sam Houston State pitchers and only one runner reached third base.
Texas moved C.J Hinojosa from [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]his normal infield spot to left field, pushing Ben Johnson to center and normal centerfielder Zane Gurwitz (who’s batting .189) to the dugout. Hinojosa had one of the Longhorns’ hits but the shakeup was far from enough to keep Texas from being shutout and losing for the 10th time in 12 games.
The Bearkats (20-19) blitzed seven Texas pitchers for 12 hits and only had two innings without a baserunner.
“We played flat and we did a lot before the game to assure we didn’t play that way but it didn’t help,” Texas coach Augie Garrido said. “I still believe in these guys – it’s just going to take a little success and harder work to bring out the confidence we need to turn things around.”
Jordan Church (2-1) got the win for the Bearkats, who have now won a season-high six straight games and looked like the better team Tuesday. Sam Houston State got all the runs it would need in the top of the fourth inning. The Bearkats strung together three singles in four batters, the third of which, by Wyatt Powell, brought home Spence Rahm with the lead run off Texas starter Josh Sawyer (2-2).
Sawyer then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed SHSU’s Jake MacWilliam to scamper home and hand the Bearkats a 2-0 lead before the Longhorns had even recorded their first hit or baserunner of the game.
Texas did finally get a hit – on a Brooks Marlow opposite-field double with one out in the fourth – and got its second baserunner in the sixth when Collin Shaw singled and stole second. Both Marlow and Shaw were stranded on base.
The Bearkats put Texas to sleep in the seventh when it scored three runs on four hits off three Longhorns relievers.
Hayden Simerly singled off the Horns’ Travis Duke, stole second, went to third base on a balk and scored on a double to right-centerfield by Rahm. Rahm then came home on a single from Trevor Winne to push the SHSU advantage and Winne was plated by a double down the leftfield line by Ryan Brinley and the rout was on.
Texas returns to the field and Big 12 Conference play when it travels to Kansas for a three-game series beginning Friday. Garrido said Tuesday that starting pitcher Chad Hollingsworth, who missed his scheduled start on April 12 because of a shoulder injury, could be back for this weekend’s action.
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