FINAL
UC Davis Aggies (0-1) – 2
Texas Longhorns (1-0) – 12
Box Score
Winning Pitcher: Ruger Riojas (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Noel Valdez (0-1)
Big Moment
In the Bottom of the 7th, with a 9-2 lead, Ethan Mendoza hit a ball up into the airstream with enough power to carry it over the LF wall to give the Horns a walk-off win via three run home run. Mendoza spent a lot of time bulking up in the off season to generate more power and he got immediate results in game one.
Individual Performance
Anthony Pack Jr – have yourself a day! The freshman outfielder isn’t known for his bat necessarily but did a great job tonight of hitting to both sides of the field, and collecting a walk as well. The maturity he showed was impressive as well, bouncing back from the play in RF that he should have made.
Takeaways
Really like the bounce back from Ruger Riojas after the first inning. Really shows his maturity and the ability to put away a bad inning, that is the kind of performance you want to see from a Friday night starter. His fastball sitting 96-97 is also great to see as he will be able to handle SEC competition.
Offensively, the hitters only had four strikeouts. That is definitely a positive improvement from a squad that struggled mightily with strikeouts last season.
Next up
Texas Longhorns will take on UC Davis tomorrow at 12pm (Noon), looking to take the series win.
Game Recap
The 20206 Texas Longhorns kicked off the new season with a walk-off win over UC Davis Aggies behind a commanding performance from starter RHP Ruger Riojas. The new look Horns started a little slow, but quickly got things working offensively, tallying 12 hits over 7 innings.
In the first inning, Ruger walked the first batter on four straight pitches, all 96mph fastballs. UC Davis then got a single through the right side and then in true Augie fashion, laid down a bunt to load the bases with no outs. A fielders choice to 3B brought home the first run of the game, giving the Aggies of UC Davis a 1-0 lead. UC Davis put more pressure on Riojas as they hit a routine fly ball to RF that dropped in front of freshman RF Anthony Pack Jr to load the bases, but Ruger buckled down and got out of the inning without giving up any more runs.
In the Bottom 3rd, the aforementioned Anthony Pack Jr got things started offensively as he hit a hard liner to the gap in left CF for a lead off double. Sophomore SS Adrian Rodriguez then hit a liner to right CF scoring Pack from 2B to tie the game up at one apiece. The game was not tied long though as the next batter, CF Aiden Robbins hammered a pitch that hung up over the plate to the street in LF for a two-run home run (428 feet, 107 off the bat), giving the Horns a 3-1 lead.
While Ruger went on cruise control for next couple of innings as Ruger racked up strikeout after strikeout, the Horns offense came back to life to put a another crooked number on the board. Once again, it was Adrian Rodriguez that got things started as he hit what should have been a routine grounder to the freshman shortstop McNeal, but instead A-Rod ended up on 1B safely due to an error. That brought Robbins back to the plate and once again he produced for the Horns as he hit a double to right CF, giving the Horns a 4-1 lead. Catcher Carson Tinney and DH Josh Livingston both drew walks to load the bases, followed by 1B Casey Borba and LF Jayden Duplantier both striking out. 3B Temo Becerra then drew a 2 out walk to bring in a run to make it 5-1 Horns. Freshman Anthony Pack Jr then came through with a clutch single through the right side, plating two runs to give the Horns a 7-1 lead.
In the Top 6th, RHP Max Grubbs came in from the bullpen to pitch for the Horns in relief of starter Ruger Riojas. After giving up two singles, Grubbs locked in and induced a fly out and a ground ball double play.
In the Top 7th, Grubbs was back on the mound issues a lead off walk, who then advanced to 2B due to a wild pitch. Grubbs struck out the next batter and induced a ground out to Rodriguez at shortstop. Unfortunately, Grubbs left a pitch up in the zone and it was sent to left CF, plating a run to bring the Aggies back within a run 7-2.
In the Bottom 7th, the Horns got a lead off double from Casey Borba, followed by a single from Jayden Duplantier, who lined one over the glove of the shortstop to put the first two men on. A balk, the second of the game by UC Davis plated Borba from 3B to give the Horns an 8-2 lead. Temo Becerra then ripped a hanging breaking ball into LF for an RBI single to give the Horns a 9-2 lead. Freshman Anthony Pack Jr then hit a single to LF, collecting his third hit of the day, putting runners on 1B and 2B. UC Davis made a call to the bullpen, but he lasted just two pitches as 2B Ethan Mendoza hit a ball to LF into the air stream with an audacious 40 degree launch angle, carrying over the wall in LF for a three-run walk-off home run, giving the Horns a 12-2 win.
