Texas Cruises Past Houston Baptist to Snap Losing Streak
Following an ugly sweep at the hands of Oklahoma State, the Longhorns needed a win to get back on track if they wanted to finish the season strong. That was exactly what they would get when Houston Baptist came to town on Tuesday, as they would run rule the Huskies in seven innings for a much needed win.
Texas 13 Houston Baptist 3 (7 inn.)
The Longhorn offense came to play early in this one as they were all over Houston Baptist's starting pitcher in the first inning. It took Texas only five pitches to put up four runs as Doug Hodo and Ace Whitehead led off with back-to-back bunt singles and were brought home on an Ivan Melendez RBI double, which was then followed up with a Murphy Stehly two-run home run, giving Texas an early 4-0 lead.
On the mound for the Longhorns was Zane Morehouse, as Tuesday was a bullpen day for Texas. Morehouse would build on his impressive start against UTRGV last week, tossing two perfect innings with two strikeouts. However, the Longhorn bullpen behind him would struggle out of the gate, as Josh Stewart allowed two runs in the third and Andre Duplantier II allowed a run in the fourth to make it a 4-3 game.
From there though it would be all Texas, as the Longhorn offense came to life in the fourth and fifth innings to break the game wide open. Texas would plate two in the fourth on a Silas Ardoin RBI fielder's choice and Trey Faltine RBI bases loaded walk, extending the Texas lead to 6-3 through four innings.
The fifth inning is when Texas truly broke the game open though as the Longhorn offense took advantage of free passes handed out by the Houston Baptist pitching staff. The Longhorns would load the bases and proceed to plate three runs on a two hit by pitches and a walk, making it a 9-3 game. Kimble Schuessler would follow up with an RBI single of his own, before a wild pitch allowed Skyler Messinger to score and make it 11-3. A Trey Faltine sacrifice fly and Ace Whitehead RBI double would be the rest of the scoring in the inning as Texas hung seven runs on the board to make it 13-3 through five innings.
Finishing things off for Texas out of the bullpen was Travis Sthele and Lebarron Johnson Jr., as the duo would pitch two shutout innings to complete the run-rule victory, a much-needed win for Texas.
What's next for Texas?
There are nine regular-season games left for Texas, six of which are conference opponents. The Longhorns make their final road trip of the season this weekend, traveling to West Virginia to take on the Mountaineers in a three-game series. While the Longhorns are likely out of contention for a Big 12 regular-season title, they can still finish the season strong and claw their way back into a top 16 seed and a regional host.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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