FINAL:
UC Davis Aggies (0-3) – 1
Texas Longhorns (3-0) – 9
Box Score
Winning Pitcher: Dylan Volantis (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Carter Speights (0-1)
Quick Recap:
The Horns earned their first sweep of the season as they downed UC Davis in impressive fashion on Sunday, behind a glittering performance from Dylan Volantis. Texas looked better offensively today, and despite a north wind of 18 blowing in, they were able to use gap to gap power to pull away early in the game.
The Horns set the tone early as Dylan Volantis needed just six pitches (all fastballs) to retire the side in the first inning and then carried that trend into the 6th inning as kept the Aggie hitters off balance. Offensively, the Horns loaded the bases in the 1st and 2nd innings, but could only come away with one run to show for it, via an Ethan Mendoza sac fly in the Bottom 2nd.
The breakthrough came in the 3rd inning though, as once again the Horns loaded the bases and then pounded 2 out hits to race away from the Aggies.
After going 7 innings, the Horns turned to freshman RHP Michael Winter for the final two innings to close out the game. Despite giving up a pair of walks and a double over those two innings, Winter pitched well, showing a good mix of 93-95mph fastball, mid-80 breaking ball, and low-80’s changeup, collecting a pair of strikeouts in the process.
In the 7th inning, the Horns took advantage of free bases and a passed ball to tack on another run, pushing the lead to 8-1. Then in the 8th inning, freshman Presley Courville led off with a single, the first of his career. Temo Becerra then hit a ball to CF which was misplayed, allowing Courville to score to make it 9-1.
Offensive Performers:
Ethan Mendoza: 2-4, 2 hits, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Adrian Rodriguez: 1-3, 1 hit, 1 run, 3 RBI, 1 BB
Pitching Performance:
Dylan Volantis: 7 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 0 earned runs, 1 base on balls, 8 strikeouts, 78 pitches (56 strikes)
Volantis pitched a career high innings and threw a career high in pitches, while equaling a career high in strikeouts. Overall, a very successful start for Volantis who did not pitch this Fall due to having mono and working his way back into shape. Volantis also showed off his new changeup that he has been working on since the Fall, throwing 9 total changeups, generating 3 swings and misses.
Key Moments:
3rd Inning – After a pop up to start the inning, Texas batters Josh Livingston and Temo Becerra both earned walks, followed by a single by Anthony Pack Jr on a pop up behind 3B which the SS called off the 3B and it fell it. Ashton Larson hit a deep sac fly to CF to plate a run for the Horns to extend the lead to 2-0. Ethan Mendoza then singled through the right side to load the bases again.
In the dugout, Tulo challenged the hitters for someone to clear the bases, after Texas had left the bases loaded in the 1st and 2nd innings. Adrian Rodriguez stepped up to that challenge and started the hit train as he hit a double to left CF scoring 3 runs to give the Horns a 5-1 lead. Aiden Robbins followed up with an RBI single of his own to the right side to make it 6-1 lead. Carson Tinney then collected his first hit as a Longhorn, followed by an RBI single through the left side by Casey Borba to make it 7-1 Horns.
What It Means:
The Horns earn a well deserved sweep and while it was not perfect all weekend, there were a lot of good signs and opportunities work work on a few things. Dropping a game to UC Davis would not have been the end of the world, but dropping a game would have not been ideal as you get to the end of the season because it would be an anchor on the RPI and seen as a bad Quad 4 loss.
Next Up:
Texas (3-0) will host Lamar University (2-1) on Tuesday at 5pm CST. Look for the full preview tomorrow, but I have confirmed that RHP Jason Flores will get the start for the Horns.
