Early Walks Allow Texas To Walk To Austin Regional Final
Whenever a team plays host in the regionals of the NCAA baseball tournament, they likely are viewed as the favorite to win. Texas so far seems ready to walk away in the Austin Regional and onto Super Regionals next weekend.
Literally.
Arizona State's Justin Fall fell in the third inning. He found himself right into a pitcher's worst nightmare in a scoreless game. Bases loaded, one out, the go-ahead run at the plate.
Fall walked all three men onto base. Two pitches against Cam Williams led to a hit by pitch and a 1-0 score. Four pitches later, make it 2-0 Texas. Another wild pitch and Texas led 3-0.
By then, the damage was done, thanks to four total walks, plus a hit by pitch in the third inning, the Longhorns (44-15) improved to 2-0, scorching the Sun Devils in a 10-3 win.
"Like we said all year, we're still young, we're not perfect, but we never give up and keep playing," Texas coach David Pierce said. "That's we did."
With Fall (7-3) off the mound, the Sun Devils (33-21) turned to Christian Bodlovich to ease the score. The redshirt freshman managed to end the third, but found his own trouble just several batters later.
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After Mike Antico kicked things off with a single, Zach Zubia would make his lone hit count. On an 0-2 count, the first baseman drilled one deep off the centerfield wall, increasing the lead by two and extinguishing any flames the Sun Devils hoped to ignite.
"I was just a cool moment for me," Zubia said. "I was just happy that I could contribute to the team after striking out in the first inning with runners on first and third with no outs. To be able to bounce back and help the team out right there, that was a big thing for me."
The run support offensively gave ace Ty Madden (7-4) the chance to coast towards a win. Much like Tristian Stevens Friday, Madden's pitches were precise and with passion.
Madden allowed just three hits on 106 pitches while allowing four walks and striking out seven. Although far from his best performances, his pitches were on-point in critical situations.
The difference between Stevens and Madden? A lone extra-base hit from Friday night.
Madden said while the walks were a problem, missing by that much won't be anything to worry about in his next outing.
"I thought the slider had really good depth tonight," Madden said. "The fastball had some good down angle and I threw some good elevated ones as well.
"With that crowd, it's easy to have a little bit of adrenaline and have your stuff feel good."
As the sixth inning came to a close, Texas added a pair of runs thanks to an Eric Kennedy single to make it 8-1. That would come in handy as the Sun Devils tried to climb out of the pit.
ASU's Nate Baez would clobber a two-run homer to left-center field to kick off the seventh, cutting Texas' lead to five. Freshman reliever Tanner Witt would ease his way back, striking out back-to-back hitters before getting Drew Swift to pop out and end the side.
Some managers would pull a young pitcher before their confidence in blown. Instead, Pierce stayed quiet, allowing Witt to find his own way back.
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"He's a freshman, that's the first time he's been in that environment," Pierce said. "I didn't say a word to him. Sean [Allen] went out, just slowed him down a little bit and he regained his form and did a nice job of finishing."
Witt would close out the ninth facing four batters and allowing one hit. He finished his three innings with three strikeouts and didn't allow a walk.
"Tanner's really figuring things out and the kid's going to be special," Madden said of the Houston native's outing. " I mean, he's special right now but the kid's going to be really good."
In two nights, Texas outscored its opponents 20-3. Saturday marked the 19th time this season Pierce's team has scored double-digits — all of which have ended with a win.
Southern managed to tally four hits Friday afternoon. Arizona State grabbed five Saturday night.
Before Friday, Disch-Falk hadn't seen a postseason win in 1,089 days. Thanks to back-to-back quality pitching, plus a few lucky walks, the home crowd of near 7,000 could be ready to get the brooms out for a clean sweep Sunday evening.
"It was awesome to see, it was awesome to be a part of," Zubia said of the fans in the stands. "I think they were a big help. I hope to see even more tomorrow.
CONTINUE READING: Texas Adds Former Texas Tech Transfer Avery Benson To 2021 Team
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