The Missouri Tigers put up a battle till the end, but the Horns got the opportunity to break out the broom for the second time this season in SEC play as they earned the sweep. Texas recorded 14 hits on back to back days and scored double digit runs as they out hit and out slugged the Tigers.
Missouri Tigers (23-29, 6-23 SEC): 7
Texas Longhorns (39-12, 18-10 SEC): 12
Box Score
Winning Pitcher: Cal Higgins (1-1)
Losing Pitcher: Juan Villarreal (2-2)
Key Moments:
In the Top 8th, Missouri made a furious comeback plating 5 runs to pull within one run of the Horns. With two outs and runners on 2B and 3B, Coach Schlossnagle turned to RHP Thomas Burns to get an out and prevent Missouri from tying the game or worse, taking the lead. On a 1-1 count, Burns threw a slider low and outside that got the batter to try and check his swing, but unfortunately for Missouri, he made contact and hit a soft grounder to 1B which the Texas defender stepped on the bag for the third out. That out not only preserved the Texas lead, but brought the Horns bats back to the plate, in which Texas extended the lead by tacking on four more runs.
Recap:
Top 1st – RHP Ruger Riojas threw five pitches and got the first out on a lineup, but then was lifted for freshman RHP Brody Walls. Walls got a fly out for the second out, but then hung a ball that was hit well to LF and into the Yeti Yard for a solo shot to put Mizzou up 1-0. A fly ball got Walls out of the frame, but Mizzou was ahead.
Bottom 1st – Freshman Anthony Pack Jr in the lead off spot and he earned a walk. Pack then stole 2B whilst Carson Tinney was at the plate, but it did not matter as Tinney drew a walk as well. Adrian Rodriguez worked the count full but swung and missed on a fastball that was up. Temo Becerra came to the plate. On a 2-1 count, both runners were in motion and stole 2B and 3B, giving Texas 99 stolen bases on the season. Becerra worked a walk to load the bases with just one out. That brought Ashton Larson to the plate who struck out looking on a fastball on the outside corner. Casey Borba then hit a chopper to the SS for the third out of the inning. Heading to the second frame, Mizzou led 1-0.
Top 2nd – Brody Walls was back on the mound for the Horns in the second frame. Against the first batter he faced, Walls had to use 9 pitches, but got a fly ball to the LF for the first out. Walls then gave up a single through the right side to give Mizzou a runner. Brody Walls threw a pitch low and outside in the dirt and the runner who had an aggressive secondary lead went to 2B, but Carson Tinney gunned him down for the second out. Brody Walls then got the swinging strikeout on a 67mph offering for the third out.
Bottom 2nd – Josh Livingston led off at the plate and struck out for the first out of the frame. Ethan Mendoza then lined the first pitch he saw into CF for a single. Dariyan Pendergrass then drew a walk to put two runners on for Anthony Pack who hit a single through the right side for an RBI, but was then caught trying to go to 2B on the throw in. Carson Tinney then put the Horns in the lead as he hit a liner into LF for an RBI single. Adrian Rodriguez then drew a 2 out walk, but after Tinney stole 2B to give Texas 100 stolen bases on the season. Temo Becerra flied to CF though for the third out. Texas took a 2-1 lead into the third inning.
Top 3rd – Texas went to the bullpen and brought in LHP Cal Higgins to pitch the third inning. Against the first batter he faced, he ran the count up and then gave up a home run to LF to tied the game at 2-2. Higgins then got a strikeout and a fly out before getting strikeout swinging to end the top half of the frame.
Bottom 3rd – Ashton Larson led off the inning by hitting a liner into CF for a single. Casey Borba then then struck out on a breaking ball that ran away from him for the first out. Josh Livingston then hit a grounder to 1B and Texas was doubled up on to end the frame.
Top 4th – Higgins was back on the mound for the Horns in the fourth frame. Higgins gave up a lead off single to LF, but got a ground out against Texas transfer Dononvan Jordan. Unfortunately Higgins hit the next batter on the first pitch he threw. Against the next batter, Higgins battled back to get a strikeout for the second out. A single through the right side should have loaded the bases, but Missouri made a base running error that resulted in a run down at 2B and then at 3B which Texas was able to tag out the runner to get out of the frame with a zero. Just your average 9-2-6-3-6 put out.
Bottom 4th – Ethan Mendoza led off the frame by drawing a walk, bringing Dariyan Pendergrass to the plate. On a bunt attempt, a breaking ball then hit Dariyan to put two runners on for Anthony Pack who hit a an RBI single through the right side to put Texas up 3-2. Carson Tinney then smoked a ball to LF with top spin that saw it one hop into the LF bullpen for a ground rule double which made it 4-2 Horns. Adrian Rodriguez then hit into a 4-3 ground out but it plated a run to make it 5-2, prompting a pitching change from Missouri. Temo Becerra then hit a looper into CF for an RBI single to make it 6-2 Horns. After Ashton Larson struck out swinging, Temo Becerra stole 2B for the 101st steal of the season. After Casey Borba was hit by a pitch, Josh Livingston hit a pitch up in the bright sky that the SS could not see due to the sun and it dropped in for a two run RBI double to make it 8-2 Horns. Ethan Mendoza then drew a walk, followed by a single up the middle by Dariyan Pendergrass, but the CF deked Mendoza who rounded the base and was thrown out for the final out of the inning.
Top 5th – RHP Cody Howard came in to pitch in the fifth inning and got the first batter he faced out on a strike out. Howard then got a ground out to Livingston at 1B for the second out. Howard then got a fly out to RF for a nice quick 1-2-3 inning.
Bottom 5th – Anthony Pack led off the frame for the Horns and reaches on a single that just got under the glove of the 1B. Carson Tinney then popped up to the SS on a sky high hit. Missouri went to the bullpen and brought in the freshman LHP. Adrian Rodriguez then hit a liner into RF for a single. Temo Becerra then struck out swinging followed by Ashton Larson looking at strike 3 called on the outside corner.
Top 6th – Cody Howard was back on the mound for the Horns in the sixth frame. Howard got a fly out to LF for the first out and then got a strikeout on a 95mph fastball for the second out. A chopper to the left side was fielded well by Borba in front of 3B and his throw across was picked well by Livingston at 1B as Howard laid on the turf doing a small seal celebration. Horns entered the bottom of the frame ahead 8-2.
Bottom 6th – Casey Borba led off for the Horns and he struck out on a pitch down in the dirt. Josh Livingston and Ethan Mendoza both hit fly outs as the Horns were retired in order.
Top 7th – Cody Howard was back on the mound and against the first batter got a ground out to Adrian at SS. Howard then gave up a single, but the next batter hit a ball on the ground to Borba and the Horns were able to turn two.
Bottom 7th – Dariyan Pendergrass led off the inning with a fly out to CF. Anthony Pack then hit a ball well to LF but it was caught just short of the warning track. Missouri went to the bullpen and brought in a left to face Carson Tinney who drew a walk, but Adrian Rodriguez struck out swinging to send it to the 8th.
Top 8th – Cody Howard was back on the mound for the Horns in the 8th. Against the first batter, he issued a walk, but bounced back to get a strikeout swinging against the next batter. A fielders choice got the lead runner for the second out. Howard then hit the next batter with a breaking ball. Missouri then got a two run RBI double to make it a 8-4 ballgame. A wild pitch then moved the runner to 3B, followed by an infield single up the middle to make it an 8-5 ballgame. Schlossnagle made the call to the bullpen to bring in Brett Crossland to pitch. Against the first batter he hit the batter to put another runner on base. Crossland then walked the next batter, which loaded the bases with two outs. Against the next batter, Crossland’s first pitch was hit back up the middle for a two run RBI double to make it an 8-7 ballgame with the Horns clinging to a one run lead. That prompted Schlossnagle to make a call to the bullpen to bring in RHP Thomas Burns who got the batter to hit a grounder to 1B on the check swing to end the top of the frame, but the Horns only led 8-7 now.
Bottom 8th – Temo Becerra led off the inning with a double down the 1B line as he sent it the other way. Ashton Larson then hit a ball to LF off the wall for a double to put runners on 2B and 3B with no outs. Mizzou then intentionally walked Casey Borba to load the bases. Jayden Duplantier then earned a four pitch walk to plate a run to make it 9-7 Texas, prompting Missouri to make a call to the bullpen. Ethan Mendoza came to the plate with no outs and bases loaded and he hit a fly ball to RF that was caught, but it plated a run to make it 10-7 Horns. Dariyan Pendergrass came to the plate and Jayden Duplantier immediately stole 2B as the pitcher was not paying attention. Pendergrass popped up to the left side for the second out bringing Anthony Pack to the plate with 2 outs and runners on 2B and 3B. Anthony Pack earned a walk and on ball four, it was a wild pitch which scored the runner from 3B to make it 11-7 Horns. Carson Tinney then hit a single through the left side for an RBI single to make it 12-7 Horns. Adrian Rodriguez recorded the final out on a ground out to send it to the 9th inning.
Top 9th – Thomas Burns was back on the mound, looking to close out the game for the Horns and earn the sweep. The first batter had other ideas as he hit a ball to CF off the wall for a lead off double. Burns bounced back to get a strikeout for the first out. Unfortunately Burns hit the next batter but got a strikeout for the second out. Schlossnagle then made an interesting choice to bring in Freshman RHP Kaleb Rogers to pitch. Rogers came in to make his first appearance of the season. Rogers for a strikeout for the final out, sealing the sweep for the Horns.
Offensive Performance:
- Anthony Pack Jr: 4-3, 1 run, 2 RBI, 2 BB
- Carson Tinney: 3-4, 1 run, 3 RBI, 2 BB
- Temo Becerra: 2-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
- Ethan Mendoza: 1-2, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 2 BB
Pitching Performance:
- Ruger Riojas: 0.1 IP, 5 pitches
- Brody Walls: 1.2 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 earned, 1 BB, 1 K, 28 pitches
- Cal Higgins: 2.0 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 earned, 3 K, 38 pitches
- Cody Howard: 3.2 IP, 3 hits, 4 runs, 4 earned, 1 BB, 3 K, 44 pitches
- Brett Crossland: 0.0 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 earched, 1 BB, 14 pitches
- Thomas Burns: 1.0 IP, 1 hit, 2 K, 17 pitches
- Kaleb Rogers: 0.1 IP, 1 K, 7 pitches
Final Thoughts:
Was it pretty? Not really. The five run inning certainly wasn’t optimal. After the game, Schlossnagle acknowledged that there are still guys that have to clean things up and simply throw more strikes. The staff is ok with throwing a strike but getting hit. They are not ok with walks and free passes. Overall though, the Horns did exactly what they needed to do this weekend and that is get a series win and then they took it a step further and got the sweep. A top 8 seed is locked up and depending upon how things fall in place during the conference tournaments, they could get as high as a 4 seed, but most likely a 5 seed. Carson Tinney and Anthony Pack continue to be on a tear at the right time in the season.
After the game Schlossnagle said he was proud of the team to win 19 games in this league and have won 16 of the last 20 series in two years. Additionally, he said it’s “pretty awesome to win 40 games in the regular season and hard to do in today’s college baseball and in this conference.” He went on to say that he understands what the standard is and that he is proud of the team, but “we have got to be better. We’ve got to play better. We got to get healthy.”
When asked about Ruger’s health and his removal after one out, Schlossnagle stated, “We basically just wanted him to get an appearance on senior day. I’m not gonna tell you he felt like a 10, but he didn’t feel any worse than last week. We get a chance to really give him the chance to reset between now and the regional.”
When asked about the health of Aiden Robbins who was sick yesterday, Schlossnagle stated that he told him to stay at home and rest up, but that he was feeling much better this morning and will be a full go this week in Hoover.
Next Up:
Texas will be back in action next week on Friday in Hoover Alabama at the Hoover Met, taking part in the SEC Tournament as the #2 seed. Their first game will be on Friday at 3pm and while the opponent remains to be known, it will be one of three teams (Arkansas, Tennessee, or South Carolina).
