Ivan Melendez Homers Twice as Texas Cruises Past Stephen F. Austin 13-2
If a team wants to have any chance at making it to Omaha, they must win the winnable midweek games on their schedule. That is exactly what Texas was able to do against Stephen F. Austin, cruising to an easy midweek win.
Texas 13 Stephen F. Austin 2
Texas came into this game hoping to get a solid outing out of Andre Duplantier, as Justin Eckhardt had pitched against TCU and was not asked to start. Duplantier was shaky out of the gate, as he would only last one inning. While he did only last one full inning, he was able to keep the Lumberjacks off the board in the process.
Texas would take an early lead in the first inning, as Ivan Melendez launched a two-out solo home run, his 15th of the season, to give Texas the 1-0 lead. That lead would not last for long, though, as in the top of the second the Lumberjacks got the run back immediately as Crawford would come around to score from second on a Zane Morehouse wild pitch.
From there, though, it was all Texas as the offense did what they do in the bottom half of the third. The Longhorns kicked off the third with a one-out walk from Doug Hodo, who was doubled home by Ivan Melendez to give Texas a 2-1 lead. However, the flood gates truly opened once Texas had two outs in the inning, as the Longhorns would add five more runs, ultimately hanging a six-spot in the third to take a commanding 7-1 lead.
After that, the Longhorn bullpen, which has been shaky at times, would only allow one more run the rest of the way. Bullpen arms like Lebarron Johnson Jr. and Daniel Blair came in to pitch in relief and completely shut down the Lumberjack offense, a refreshing sight for Texas fans that have seen the Longhorn bullpen struggle heavily at times this season.
The Longhorn offense wasn't done in the third, though, as they would add two more home runs to their tally. Melendez produced the first of the two, a towering three-run home run, giving him five RBI on the day and his 16th of the season which is the most in the country. The last blow for the Texas offense would come in the bottom of the eighth, as Jack O'Dowd hit his first career home run, a two-run shot to secure a 13-2 Texas win.
What's next for Texas?
Rather than the typical Friday-Sunday three-game weekend series, Texas will face Kansas State in a three-game series starting Thursday evening to account for Easter Sunday. The Longhorns will travel to Manhattan looking to win their third straight conference series and continue to make a push for the Big 12 title. Pete Hansen will look to match his last two dominant outings, while Tristan Stevens and Aaron Gordon will hope to produce strong outings to keep Texas on track in conference play.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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