Disappointing Performances Cause Texas to Drop Series to Kansas State
To say this series was a disappointing one for Texas would be a massive understatement. Coming into it, Kansas State was 1-8 in conference play as the Longhorns appeared to have great opportunity to pick up a sweep and stay in the thick of the Big 12 race. Instead, they dropped two out of three games and will face a tougher road to host a regional come June.
Game 1: Texas 5 Kansas State 8
Entering this game Pete Hansen had won back-to-back Big 12 Pitcher of the Week awards and after three innings of work looked on track to do so. Hansen cruised through this one early, racking up eight strikeouts after just three innings of work.
While Hansen cruised the Longhorn offense continued to do what they do, giving Pete a lead to work with that ballooned to 5-1 in the top of the fifth off back-to-back home runs from Dylan Campbell and Doug Hodo. From there, though, the wheels completely fell off for Texas. While Hansen struggled in the sixth inning, giving up three runs, things would fall apart completely in the seventh, when the Wildcats put up a five-spot to take an 8-5 lead, which the Longhorns were unable to overcome.
Game 2: Texas 1 Kansas State 8
While the Texas offense did their job in game one, that was far from the case in game two. The Longhorn lineup only managed to produce one run on three hits, which would come from a solo home run off the bat of Silas Ardoin in the seventh inning.
Kansas State starting pitcher Blake Adams turned in a dominant performance, shutting down the Longhorn offense with seven innings of one-run baseball with six strikeouts. For Texas, starter Tristan Stevens produced a solid outing, tossing 6 1/3 innings of four-run baseball, but the offense could not muster any support outside of Ardoin's home run, as Texas would drop game two to clinch the series loss.
Game 3: Texas 4 Kansas State 2
Entering game three, Texas was looking to avoid the sweep and salvage not only the series but maintain hopes of hosting a regional in June. While the Longhorn pitching staff struggled in games one and two, allowing 16 total runs, that was not to be in game three. Starter Lucas Gordon provided five strong innings, only allowing two runs on three hits while racking up seven strikeouts.
The bullpen, which has been inconsistent at best this season, came in and slammed the door shut on Kansas State with four shutout innings between Luke Harrison and Aaron Nixon. Offensively, while Texas didn't put up a ton of runs, the Longhorns got the job when needed with clutch hitting to salvage the series and avoid the sweep.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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