Longhorns Notebook. No. 23 Texas Silences Incarnate Word, Wins 7-1
It would have been easy for the No. 23 Texas Longhorns (10-6) to come into their midweek game on Tuesday night and look flat after an intense conference series against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. A tough series win matched with a potentially inferior opponent spelled possible disaster for Texas.
Instead of doing that, though, they took the Incarnate Word Cardinals (13-5) seriously. Dominating from the opening pitch, the Longhorns handled their business to kick off the 10-game home stand with an impressive showing in the victory.
Now, here are three key takeaways from the Longhorns' 7-1 win over Incarnate Word.
Bombs away
Entering Tuesday night's contest the Longhorns paced the Big 12 with a whopping 30 home runs as a team. If there was one thing people knew this team was capable of doing at the plate, it was mashing. Well, they kept that power surge going against the Cardinals.
First up was first baseman Jared Thomas, who finally got the Longhorns into the hit column with a two out, two-run shot for the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. The second home run was also a two-run shot, coming off the bat of designated hitter Rylan Galvan which made it 7-0.
Their pair of home runs pushed their season total up to 32 through 16 games, a promising start for the lineup.
Pitching dazzles
From the jump it was clear the the Longhorns' pitching staff had a handle on one of the nation's most potent offenses to start the season. Starting off on the mound was Grant Fontenot who had control of the game from the first pitch. He gave the Longhorns three innings of shutout baseball, racking up four strikeouts in the process.
Following him, the bullpen picked up where he left off when it came to silencing the Cardinals' bats. The quartet of Cole Selvig, David Shaw, Andre Duplantier II and Heston Tole combined to pitch six innings of one-run baseball, scattering four hits and racking up seven strikeouts.
While the competition must be taken into account, Tuesday's pitching dominance was a good sign for the Longhorns.
Home, sweet home
Their midweek game against Incarnate Word started off a 10-game home stand, taking the Longhorns into the middle of conference play. For a team looking to build some momentum and stack wins, that is exactly what the doctor ordered.
And so far to start the season, playing at Disch-Falk Field has been extremely beneficial for Texas. Sporting an 8-2 record at home following the win over the Cardinals, it bodes well for success if the Longhorns can continue to take advantage of their plethora of home games.
What's next for Texas?
The Longhorns are back in action on Friday as they kick off their final non-conference weekend series of the season against the Washington Huskies at 7 p.m. CT.