The Longhorns needed length out of starting pitcher Luke Harrison and they got exactly that as he went seven innings, delivering a Saturday win over Ole Miss to even the weekend series.
Ole Miss (16-4, 1-1 SEC) – 2
Texas Longhorns (17-1, 1-1 SEC) – 11
Winning Pitcher: Luke Harrison (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Grayson Gibson (1-1)
Key Moments:
In the Top 4th, starter Luke Harrison gave up a lead off double, with the runner then advancing to third base on a fly ball to RF. On an attempted squeeze play, the Horns were able to tag the runner out going home from 3B and then get the batter at the plate to strike out to end the top half of the frame. Luke Harrison once again came through with a zero to keep the game tied 2-2.
In the Bottom 4th, the Horns took the lead again, one that they would not relinquish as Ashton Larson got on base via one out hit by pitch. Josh Livingston then reached base as well as he was hit by pitch. That brought lead off man Ethan Mendoza to the plate who had come in struggling on the weekend but bounced back with an RBI single up the middle to give the Horns a 3-2 lead. After Ole Miss made a pitching change, which resulted in a fly out by Carson Tinney to LF, Aiden Robbins would double the lead as he hit a single into RF to plate a run, giving the Horns a 4-2 lead.
Recap:
In the Top 1st, Luke Harrison allowed a couple runners on base and then ran into a situation with two in scoring position, but was able to work out of the jam. In the Bottom 1st, the Horns offense got things going early, which was started by a lead off walk from Ethan Mendoza. After Aiden Robbins collected a one out single and Temo Becerra earned a two out walk, freshman Anthony Pack Jr once again came up huge as he hit a liner into LF with 2 outs and bases loaded, giving the Horns an early 2-0 lead.
In the Top 2nd, Luke Harrison struck out the side swinging to put up a zero on the board. In the Bottom 2nd, the Horns earned another lead off walk, this time by Ashton Larson, but the bigger news was that after some discomfort in his shoulder, Ole Miss Cade Townsend had to depart the game. That was a big moment because both teams used quite a bit of pitching in Friday night’s extra innings affair. The Horns were not able to capitalize on the lead off walk, but the tone was set.
In the Top 3rd, Luke Harrison ran into some trouble as he gave up a lead off single and then on a softly hit ball to the left side, did not set his feet in time to throw to 1B, which ended up sailing past Borba, putting runners on 2B and 3B with no outs. Ole Miss then brought their first run home to cut the lead to 2-1 on a wild pitch from Harrison. After battling back with a strike out, Ole Miss got a sac fly to LF which plated another run to tie the game up 2-2. A ground out ended the frame, with the game tied.
In the Top 4th, Ole Miss led off with a double and then moved their runner to 3B on a fly out to RF. Inexplicably, Ole Miss then attempted a squeeze play, but the batter missed the pitch and the runner going home was tagged out by Tinney to erase the threat, allowing Harrison to put up a zero.
In the Bottom 4th, the Horns took the lead again, one that they would not relinquish as Ashton Larson got on base via one out hit by pitch. Josh Livingston then reached base as well as he was hit by pitch. That brought lead off man Ethan Mendoza to the plate who had come in struggling on the weekend but bounced back with an RBI single up the middle to give the Horns a 3-2 lead. After Ole Miss made a pitching change, which resulted in a fly out by Carson Tinney to LF, Aiden Robbins would double the lead as he hit a single into RF to plate a run, giving the Horns a 4-2 lead.
In the Bottom 6th, the Horns further extended their lead as they put up another crooked number on the board. Ashton Larson earned a lead off walk and then Josh Livingston hit a single through the right side putting runners on 1B and 2B. Pinch runner Jayden Duplantier then stole 3B, adding further pressure on the Ole Miss pitcher. Ethan Mendoza then hit a sac fly to CF, plating Duplantier to give the Horns a 5-2 lead. Carson Tinney then hit a double down the LF line, putting runners on 2B and 3B. Aiden Robbins then flied out to CF to plate another run to make it 6-2 Horns. Adrian Rodriguez followed suit by hitting a single up the middle for an RBI to give the Horns a 7-2 lead.
In the Top 7th, starter Luke Harrison was back out for the Horns looking to ease the strain on the bullpen from last night’s extra innings loss. Harrison gave up a lead off double down the LF line, but battled back to induce a fly out to RF, a strikeout and finally a fly out to LF to put up a zero on the board and close the chapter on his day.
In the Bottom 7th, the Horns got a one out single from Casey Borba, followed by a single to CF. Freshman Maddox Monsour then hit a bloop flare into RF to plate a run to make it 8-2. Ethan Mendoza then hit an RBI single through the right side to make it 9-2 Horns. After another pitching change by Ole Miss, Mendoza swiped 2B and then Carson Tinney walked. Aiden Robbins then hit a line out, but the Horns weren’t done yet as Adrian Rodriguez hit a single through the left side for an RBI single to put the Horns up 11-2 and dreaming of a run-rule.
After a quiet 8th inning, outside of a two out double by Jayden Duplantier, the Horns rolled into the Top 9th needing just three outs for the victory.
In the Top 9th, LHP Ethan Walker was back out for his second inning of work. Despite giving up a lead off single, he induced three straight fly outs to close out the game, tying the series at 1-1.
Offensive Performance:
Ethan Mendoza: 2-3, 2 runs, 3 RBI, 1 BB
Aiden Robbins: 2-4, 1 run, 2 RBI
Jayden Duplantier: 2-2, 2 runs
Josh Livingston: 1-2, 1 run, 1 K
Pitching Performance:
Luke Harrison: 7 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 BB, 8 K, 102 pitches
Ethan Walker: 2 IP, 2 hits, 2 K, 32 pitches
Final Thoughts:
Nice bounce back win for the Horns and attaboy to LHP Luke Harrison. For the first four weeks of the season, the question has been whether he should be the Saturday starter. Harrison battled today and while it wasn’t perfect, he showed why the staff believes so much in what he can provide to the team and the weekend rotation. In the last 20 starts that Harrison has made, the team is now 17-3 in those games with two of them being extra innings games.
After the game, Ethan Mendoza, stated “he was really proud of Luke [Harrison], he pitched his balls off, I mean, he was awesome.”
Next Up:
The Horns roll out LHP Dylan Volantis tomorrow as Texas looks to win the series at 1pm tomorrow against Ole Miss.
