In front of a raucous crowd at Disch-Falk, the Longhorns earned a walk off Friday night rivalry win over the Sooners. Texas left it late as they trailed until the Bottom 9th, but in the end, the Horns are the victors and get the series sweep!
Oklahoma: 19-7 (4-4 SEC) – 3
Texas Longhorns (22-4 (6-2 SEC) – 4
Box Score
Winning Pitcher: Sam Cozart (5-0)
Losing Pitcher: Jackson Cleveland (2-1)
Key Moments:
Bottom 10th, 1 out and runners on 1B and 2B for LSU transfer Ashton Larson. On a 1-1 count, Larson got a fastball a bit up and drove it into LF down the line for an RBI single that plated Temo Becerra who led off the frame with a single to walk it off and give the Horns a comeback win and a series win over Oklahoma.
Recap:
Top 1st – The Sooners put early pressure on the Horns as they got a 1 out ground rule double down the LF line to put a runner in scoring position. Texas starter Luke Harrison then issued a walk. The Sooners then put a double steal on, but catcher Carson Tinney made an outstanding throw down to 3B to get the runner trying to steal for a big second out. The next batter then grounded out, as Harrison escaped with a zero.
Bottom 1st – After a lead off strikeout, Carson Tinney drew a walk to get a runner on base as OU starter Cam Johnson struggled with his command. Aiden Robbins then struck out swinging on a full count for the second out of the frame. Adrian Rodriguez worked the count full and then hit a grounder back up the middle, putting runners on 1B and 3B with 2 outs, but unfortunately, Temo Becerra struck out looking to end the threat.
Top 2nd – Oklahoma earned a lead off walk to get things started, followed by an infield single deep to the hole at SS. The next batter grounded out, but the lead runner moved to 3B, though it would not matter as the next Oklahoma batter hit a double down the LF line to plate two runs, giving the Sooners the early 2-0 lead.
Bottom 2nd – Casey Borba drew a 1 out walk to get a guy on, but a ground ball double play ended the frame for the Horns as they continued to search for their first hit.
Top 3rd – The Sooners again got the lead off man on, this time via hit by pitch. The Horns then committed an error as a failed pick off attempt allowed the runner to advance all the way to 3B, still with no outs. Temo Becerra came through huge defensively in the next at-bat as he fielded a grounder and fired home to Tinney who applied a really good tag to get the runner trying to score. Harrison used that as momentum to get a pair of ground outs to put up another zero on the board.
Bottom 3rd – The Horns went down in order as they continued to struggle making hard contact against the starter Cam Johnson.
Top 4th – Luke Harrison worked a clean inning as he retired the side in order, racking up two strikeouts in the process.
Bottom 4th – The Horns got a 1 out walk from Adrian Rodriguez, but this time it was Temo Becerra’s turn to hit into a ground ball double play.
Top 5th – The Sooners got a lead off double down the LF line to get things going in the top of the frame. After a fly out that advanced the runner to 3B, Oklahoma hit a grounder to Ethan Mendoza at 2B, which plated the runner from 3B to extend the Sooner lead to 3-0. The Horns were fortunate to not give up any further damage as Harrison allowed a single through the left side, which then saw the runner move to 3B on a bad throw down to 2B by Casey Borba during a run down. Harrison got a strike out swinging to end the threat.
Bottom 5th – The Horns again went quietly into the night as they were retired 1-2-3.
Top 6th – Luke Harrison was back on the mound and retired the side 1-2-3 as he continued to battle and give the Horns length.
Bottom 6th – Maddox Monsour earned a lead off walk to start the inning, which saw Oklahoma starter Cam Johnson finally exit the game (5 IP – 95 pitches). Lake Travis alum Kadyn Leon came into the game to pitch for the Sooners and he retired the next two batters. Leon struggled with his command though as he then walked Adrian Rodriguez and Aiden Robbins, but battled back as Temo Becerra hit a fly ball to LF to end the threat. The Horns still trailed 3-0.
Top 7th – Luke Harrison was back out again for the Horns and he did once again came through, retiring the side in order to keep the Horns in the game, and also preserve the bullpen.
Bottom 7th – Freshman Anthony Pack Jr led off the inning by drawing a walk, prompting the Sooners to go to the bullpen again to bring in a new reliever. The new Oklahoma pitcher promptly walked Casey Borba to put the first two men on with no outs. Ashton Larson then pinch hit for Jayden Duplantier and himself earned a free pass to load the bases with no outs. Josh Livingston then pinch hit for Maddox Monsour and worked a walk, earning the Horns their first run of the evening to make it a 3-1 Sooner lead. Oklahoma again went to the bullpen. Ethan Mendoza reached on a fielder’s choice, but the Horns failed to push a run across as Oklahoma defense came up big by throwing home to get the force out. Carson Tinney then brought everyone to their feet as hit hammered a ball to LF (111 off the bat), but the 21mph wind knocked it down and prevent what could have been a grand slam. Instead, it was a sac fly to make it a 3-2 game with the Sooners leading. Aiden Robbins earned a walk to load the bases up again, but Adrian Rodriguez grounded out to the SS to end the scoring threat.
Top 8th – Sam Cozart came in to pitch for the Horns, relieving starter Luke Harrison. The big righty promptly retired the side in order.
Bottom 8th – With the Oklahoma closer back on the mound, Texas once again put pressure on the Sooners as they got back to back two out singles from Casey Borba and Ashton Larson, but unfortunately freshman Presley Courville grounded out to the pitcher to end the threat.
Top 9th – Sam Cozart again retired the side in order as he punished the Sooner lineup with a mix of mid 90s fastballs and high 70s curveballs, mixing in a mid 80s breaking ball as well.
Bottom 9th – Ethan Mendoza entered the frame 0-4 on the night, but everything changed in this at bat as he hit a liner into left CF that made it to the wall for a lead off triple. Carson Tinney then hit a single up the middle for an RBI to tie the game at 3-3. Dariyan Pendergrass pinch ran for Tinney at 1B to get speed on the base path. After Aiden Robbins flied out to CF, Pendergrass attempted to steal 2B but did not get a good start and was thrown out for the second out. Adrian Rodriguez then grounded out to the SS to send the game to extra innings.
Top 10th – Sam Cozart was back out for his third inning of work. He got the first out via fly out, but then a runner reached base as a soft hit ball to the right side fielded by Casey Borba was dropped by Cozart at the base. Cozart bounced back to get a strike em out, throw em out as Andrew Ermis threw out the runner going to 2B as Adrian Rodriguez applied the tag with which the runner as he popped up.
Bottom 10th – Temo Becerra came to the plate 0-4 on the night, but worked a full count and then hit a single into RF to get the lead man on, prompting a pitching change by the Sooners. After Anthony Pack Jr struck out swinging on a full count, Temo moved to 90 feet on a wild pitch. Casey Borba was then intentionally walked, bringing Ashton Larson to the plate. On a 1-1 count, Larson got a high fastball and hit a liner down the LF line plating Temo from 2B to walk it off and give the Horns the victory and the series win.
Offensive Performance:
- Carson Tinney (1-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K)
- Adrian Rodriguez (1-3, 2 BB)
- Casey Borba (1-2, 3 BB)
- Ashton Larson (2-2, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 BB)
Pitching Performance:
- Luke Harrison: 7 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 BB, 6 K, 88 pitches (58 strikes)
- Sam Cozart: 3 IP, 3 K, 30 pitches (21 strikes)
Final Thoughts:
Huge win and a statement win. Despite struggling offensively for much of the night at the plate against a good pitcher, Texas continued to battle and chip away at the Sooner lead, as starter Luke Harrison and freshman reliever Sam Cozart gave the Horns a chance by not allowing a base runner between the 5th and 9th innings. The Horns have four losses on the season, three of which were brutal. Tonight was different. In front of the largest home crowd of the season that was raucous late in the game, the Horns overcame and walked away as victors.
After the game, Carson Tinney stated that this was a fun win, especially since his sister graduated from Oklahoma. He said that they had been chirping at each other all week, especially after Texas won last night. Tinney went on to say that he could not wait to see his phone after media availability to see what she had to say.
Next Up:
Texas is back on the field tomorrow at 4pm as they will be looking for a series sweep
