Tag Archives: Texas Longhorns

Florida wins 6-1 to eliminate Texas from the CWS

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Jonathan India and Nick Horvath both smashed home runs Tuesday afternoon to support a strong pitching effort as the Florida Gators defeated Texas, 6-1, ousting the Longhorns from the College World Series.

With the victory, the defending national champion Gators bounced back from a CWS-opening loss to Texas Tech and improved to 1-1 in Bracket 2.

Texas’ tournament run is over after an 0-2 showing in losses to Arkansas and Florida.

Texas Tech and Arkansas were scheduled to play later Tuesday in a winners’ bracket showdown, but the game was postponed because of weather concerns in Omaha, Nebraska.

It is now scheduled to be played at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Florida starter Jackson Kowar and relievers Jordan Butler and Michael Byrne combined to strike out 15 Longhorns. Kowar fanned 13 in 6 and 2/3 scoreless innings.

India slammed a three-run homer in a four-run sixth inning as the Gators built a 5-0 lead. Horvath added a solo shot to lead off the eighth.

Despite the loss, Texas enjoyed a strong season with 42 victories, a Big 12 regular-season title and its first trip to Omaha in four years.

Kody Clemens slammed five of his team-high 24 home runs as Texas advanced through the regional and super regional playoffs with a 5-1 combined record.

Starting pitching also had been a strength of the Longhorns on the first two weekends of the playoffs.

In Omaha, however, UT’s starting pitching was rocked in both games.

Nolan Kingham gave up five runs on nine hits in five innings against Arkansas, in an eventual 11-5 loss. Blair Henley lasted only 2 and 2/3 innings against Florida.

The Gators punched four hits against Henley, who also walked four before he was pulled in the third, trailing 1-0.

Chase Shugart pitched well in relief until the sixth inning, when the Gators erupted for four runs. The big blow was India’s 21st homer of the season.

Shugart yielded five runs on six hits in 4 and 1/3 innings. He struck out six.

Clemens also struggled in two CWS games.

He went 1 for 4 against the Gators and flied out to end the game with two runners on base. In Omaha, the son of UT legend Roger Clemens was 2 for 9 and did not drive in a run.

Records

Florida 48-20
Texas 42-23

Arkansas beats Texas, 11-5, after scoring eight runs in the sixth

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The Arkansas Razorbacks scored eight runs in a sixth inning interrupted by a 2 hour and 47 minute weather delay en route to an 11-5 victory Sunday over the Texas Longhorns in the College World Series.

In the CWS opener for both teams, Arkansas sent 14 batters to the plate in the inning against six Texas pitchers.

The Razorbacks punched out six singles and took advantage of four walks and one batter that was hit by a pitch.

It was a nightmarish experience for the Longhorns, who are playing in the CWS for the first time since 2014.

The outburst lifted Arkansas into an 11-2 lead. Texas scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth during garbage time.

After the Razorbacks recorded the lopsided victory, they advanced in the winners’ bracket to meet either Florida or Texas Tech.

The Longhorns, in turn, will play the Florida-Texas Tech loser in an elimination game. Both games are set for Tuesday.

The world series is being played at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.

Stars of the game

Arkansas — Senior Luke Bonfield hit a two-run homer in the fifth to lift Arkansas into a 3-2 lead. Freshman Heston Kjerstad produced three hits, including a two-run single in the sixth inning. Pitcher Blaine Knight (13-0) remained undefeated after working five innings.

Texas — Austin Todd slapped a two-run single in the eighth inning to give the Longhorns a lift. Tate Shaw was 3 for 3 with a triple and a run scored. Kody Clemens, the star of the playoffs for Texas, had one hit in five at bats.

Quotable

Texas coach David Pierce, on whether he felt Arkansas was that good of a team offensively:

“They were today. I thought early in the game we pitched well. You just can’t afford to pitch behind (in the count) against Arkansas. And that’s what happened when we got unraveled.

“Either we pitched behind or we tried to get strike one and threw white-on-white
instead of a quality pitch.

“I’m not shellshocked. It’s just part of it. It’s not the way wished it had gone. Unortunately, it got away from us and we … ust couldn’t overcome the deficit.”

Records

Arkansas 45-19
Texas 42-22

After Texas took a one-run lead, Arkansas retaliated with two runs in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the sixth to take charge.

The outburst that knocked out Texas starter Nolan Kingham left the Razorbacks in the lead, 5-2, when the game was suspended for a weather delay because of lightning in the area.

In the fifth, Kingham found trouble with a walk and then a two-run homer by Luke Bonfield.

Arkansas continued to apply pressure in the sixth with a couple of singles that forced Texas to go to its bullpen.

Texas reliever Parker Joe Robinson promptly walked two to force in the first run.

Josh Sawyer entered the game for Robinson, but he issued another walk, allowing the Razorbacks to score again.

Texas takes the lead

With Texas trailing by one early, the Longhorns scored in the third and the fifth innings in rallies sparked by Tate Shaw for a 2-1 lead.

In the third, Tate Shaw opened the inning with a triple to right center off Arkansas ace Blaine Knight.

Ryan Reyenolds brought him home with a chopper that Knight gloved and continued on to touch first for the unassisted play.

In the fifth, the Longhorns put men at first and second without hitting the ball out of the infield.

First, Masen Hibbeler reached on an infield single. Next, Shaw bunted for another hit.

Aftr Reynolds moved the runners up with a bunt sacrifice, David Shaw delivered with an RBI fly ball.

Texas left a runner stranded at third when Knight struck out Duke Ellis to end the threat.

Starters last five innings

Arkansas Blaine Knight and Texas’ Nolan Kingham both exited after picthing five innings.

Knight gave up two runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out four. Kingham allowed five runs on nine hits. He also walked one and fanned four.

The Arkansas Razorbacks have jumped out front, 1-0, on Texas on Day 2 of the College World Series.

It’s Arkansas’ Blaine Knight, still undefeated this season, against Texas’ Nolan Kingham.

Highlights to this point for Arkansas?

A three-hit, first inning produces one run. Heston Kjerstad laces a one-out single off Kingham to make it 1-0.

Hogs leave runners stranded at first and third.

Texas makes better contact in the second inning off Knight, including D.J. Petrinsky’s line drive to left that nearly goes out of the park.

In the bottom of the second, Arkansas is scoreless but UT second baseman Kody Clemens was flexing his right (throwing) hand after an attempt to field a hard smash off the bat of Jared Gates.

Sunday’s schedule

Arkansas 11, Texas 5
Texas Tech vs. Florida, 6 p.m.

Saturday’s results

North Carolina 8, Oregon State 6
Mississippi State 1, Washington 0

Clemens-led Texas advances to College World Series

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Kody Clemens slammed his fifth home run of the NCAA playoffs Monday as the Texas Longhorns advanced to the College World Series by downing the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 5-2.

A sell-out crowd of more than 7,000 fans watched as the Longhorns backed the pitching of junior Matteo Bocchi and five relievers to clinch the Austin Super Regional.

Tennessee Tech won the first game of the best-of-3 series, but Texas bounced back to take the next two. Clemens hit home runs in all three games.

It is the 36th trip to the CWS for Texas, but it is the program’s first since 2014 and the first under second-year coach David Pierce, who kept the Longhorns steady after a shaky 9-9 start to the regular season.

Texas scored two runs in the second inning and two more in the third for a four-run lead on the Golden Eagles, the talented Ohio Valley Conference champions who won 53 games this season.

In the second, UT’s Ryan Reynolds laced a two-run double to the base of the fence in left field.

In the third, Clemens drilled a one-out, opposite-field home run. It was his 24th homer of the season. One out later, D.J. Petrinsky added another solo shot to make it 4-0.

Bocchi, making his 20th appearance and only his fourth start of the season, pitched five innings of four-hit ball. The former member of the Italian junior national team left with a 4-1 lead.

Trailing by the evntual final score, Tennessee Tech loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth. Facing Nolan Kingham, Brennon Kaleiwahea grounded out to end the game.

Records

Texas 42-21
Tennessee Tech 53-12

Bocchi to start for Texas against Tennessee Tech

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Junior Matteo Bocchi has been named as the starting pitcher for the Texas Longhorns against Tennessee Tech in Monday’s third and deciding game of the Austin Super Regional.

The game starts at noon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, with the winner earning a berth in the College World Series.

Bocchi will be making his 20th appearance of the season and only his fourth start. He comes in with a 3-1 record and a 3.34 earned run average in 32 and 1/3 innings.

His last start came on May 23 against Kansas in Texas’ opener at the Big 12 tournament.

Bocchi walked four and gave up two runs in an eventual 3-2 loss to the Jayhawks.

The decision to start Bocchi comes a day after Texas coach David Pierce elected to use Blair Henley in relief Sunday in Game 2 against Tennessee Tech.

Texas needed a victory to avoid elimination, and Henley responded by giving up one run in three innings to preserve a 4-2 victory that tied the Super Regional at one win apiece.

Bocchi, a transfer from Odessa College, is the first Italian-born student-athlete to play baseball at Texas. His hometown is Parma, Italy.

In 2013, he threw a 9-inning shutout for Team Italy in its win over the Czech Republic at the Under-18 World Cup.

Bocchi played in the 2008 Little League World Series representing Italy with the Emilia Little League.

It was the country’s first native team to qualify for Williamsport.

He later played in high school for ITE Melloni in Parma, Italy.

Texas bounces back to beat Tennessee Tech, 4-2

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Kody Clemens doubled and homered and drove in two runs Sunday as the Texas Longhorns beat Tennessee Tech, 4-2, to tie the best-of-3 Austin Super Regional at one win apiece.

A deciding Game 3 is set for noon Monday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, with the winner earning a berth in the College World Series.

Shutting down an explosive offense, Chase Shugart pitched six innings and Blair Henley the last three for the Longhorns, who were facing elimination after losing the series opener 5-4 on Saturday.

Shugart experienced some problems with control but pitched effectively when it counted, holding the Golden Eagles to two hits and one unearned run.

The Texas defense also emerged as a factor.

While the UT infield turned a couple of double plays, it also broke down once with a throwing error by Clemens accounting for Tennessee Tech’s first run of the game in the second inning.

UT’s miscue allowed the Golden Eagles to cut the lead to 2-1.

Clemens made up for it in the Longhorns’ next at bat with a long solo homer off Tennessee Tech starter and staff ace Travis Moths, a 13-game winner who took the loss.

Texas scored again in the seventh off Moths to make it 4-1. David Garza answered for Tennessee Tech in the bottom half by greeting Henley with a first-pitch solo homer.

But that was it for the Golden Eagles, who managed only three hits on the afternoon.

Clemens, a third-round draft choice by the Detroit Tigers, continued his torrid offensive pace against Tennessee Tech.

In five NCAA tournament games, the son of former major league pitching star Roger Clemens is batting .474 with three doubles and four home runs.

He has also produced 10 RBI.

Thanks to Clemens and friends, the Longhorns moved to within one victory of their first trip to Omaha under second-year UT coach David Pierce.

The Longhorns are looking for their 36th trip overall.

Quotable

Kody Clemens, in comments posted on the Texas website, on whether he was surprised that the Golden Eagles pitched to him:

“Not really, I was just going up there with the same approach as always. I didn’t know what they were going to try and do, but I knew that pitcher’s sequences. I just got a good pitch and got a good swing on it.”

Coach David Pierce, on electing to pitch Henley in Game 2:

“Well, this is the thing, there’s no tomorrow if we don’t win today. It makes no sense to me to have our next best guy sitting in the bullpen and then we’d never get to him, for the simple fact that we’re waiting on playing him tomorrow. We had an opportunity to win and we went for it. Plus, he gives Parker Joe (Robinson) and Josh (Sawyer) some rest. I knew he was fresh, I knew his stuff would play, and it was the right decision for us.”

Records

Texas 41-21
Tennessee Tech 53-11

Tennessee Tech beats Texas, 5-4, in Austin Super Regional

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The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles moved to within one victory of the College World Series Saturday, rallying from two early deficits to beat Texas 5-4 in Game 1 of the Austin Super Regional.

Game 2 in the best-of-three series is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. A third game, if necessary, would be played Monday at noon.

Texas led 1-0 and 3-2 against Tennessee Tech but couldn’t hold on in front of a rowdy home crowd at Disch-Falk Field.

Chase Chambers pounded a two-run double to the wall to highlight a three-run fifth for the Golden Eagles. David Garza’s RBI double to right capped the rally and made it 5-3.

In the seventh inning, Texas’ Jake McKenzie doubled, took third on a wild pitch and scored on David Hamilton’s sacrifice fly.

Tennessee Tech reliever Ethan Roberts got out of the jam and shut out Texas the rest of the way.

The Golden Eagles, in the Super Regional round for the first time, are looking for their first trip to the CWS.

The Longhorns will need to win two straight for their 36th appearance.

UT freshman Sam Worley places fifth in NCAA 1,500 meters

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Texas freshman Sam Worley rallied for a fifth-place finish Friday in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

The race was contested in a light rain at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

Worley, a former state champion at New Braunfels Canyon High School, trailed near the back of the pack with two laps to go.

He was in seventh with about 200 meters remaining, but he kicked down the stretch, passing two runners to grab fifth.

Oliver Hoare, a sophomore from Wisconsin, rallied in the final 100 meters to win the title in 3 minutes and 44.77 seconds.

Senior Vincent Ciattei of Virginia Tech was second in 3:45.012, finishing just ahead of the defending champion, New Mexico’s Josh Kerr. Kerr was timed in 3:45.015.

Robert Domanic of Ole Miss was fourth in 3:45.47, with Worley fifth at 3:45.67. By virtue of his top eight finish, Worley is a first-team, All American.

Nobody in the race even approached a season-best time. Worley ran a season-best 3:40.00 in April in Azusa, California.

Cameron Burrell’s big day

University of Houston senior Cameron Burrell won the 100-meter dash in 10.13 seconds after anchoring the Cougars’ record-setting victory in the 4×100 relay.

The Cougars finished 1-2 in the 100 with Elijah Hall taking second.

In the triple jump, Texas A&M sophomore Tahar Triki won with a leap of 55 feet and one inch. Texas Tech junior Odaine Lewis placed second at 54-10 and 3/4.

USC’s Ford is seventh in the 800

Robert Ford, a Southern Cal senior from Johnson, won first-team, All-American honors by finishing seventh in the 800 meters.

Penn State’s Isaiah Harris won in 1:44.76. Freshman Marco Arop from Mississippi State was second in 1:45.25. UTEP’s Michael Saruni, who kicked into the lead on the second and final lap, faded to third in 1:45.31.

Ford covered two laps around the oval in 1:46.72.

UTSA’s Anderson ties for 13th

On a rainy day when freshman Tejaswin Shankar of Kansas State won the high jump by clearing only 7-4 1/2, UTSA’s Ty Anderson tied for 13th. Anderson went 6-9 and 3/4.

Georgia men win team title

1, Georgia, 52
2, Florida, 42
3, Houston, 35
4, USC, 34
5, Alabama, 33
5, Texas Tech, 33
7, Texas A&M, 29
8, Stanford, 28
8, LSU, 28
10, Miss. State, 26

Texas Tech, Texas set to host in NCAA Super Regional round

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When the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Texas Longhorns clinched NCAA regional titles in baseball on Sunday night, it appeared likely that both Big 12 Conference powerhouses would be playing on the road in the next round.

A day later, both moved into position to host best-of-three NCAA Super Regionals at their respective home fields this weekend.

By Tuesday morning, it was made official.

Texas Tech will host the Duke Blue Devils starting Saturday afternoon at Rip Griffin Park in Lubbock.

Texas also will host on Saturday, taking on the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Disch-Falk Field in Austin. UT has already announced a sellout.

Winners of the eight Super Regionals will advance to the College World Series.

Texas Tech, the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, and Texas, the No. 13 seed, both won three straight games at home last weekend to win their respective first-round regionals.

When Texas Tech closed out its Lubbock Regional sweep with an 11-6 victory over Louisville on Sunday, fans figured the Red Raiders would be headed to Athens, Ga., to play the No. 8-seeded Georgia Bulldogs.

Duke had other ideas, eliminating Georgia by sweeping the Dawgs 8-5 and 8-4 on Monday to win the Athens Regional.

Texas was in a similar situation after it polished off Indiana 3-2 on Sunday night to claim the Austin Regional.

The Longhorns figured they would be headed to Oxford, Miss., to play the No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels.

But Tennessee Tech scrambled the picture by shocking the Rebels 15-5 and 3-2 on Monday to claim the Oxford Regional title.

Entering play on Monday, all that Georgia and Ole Miss needed was one victory on their home field against a lower-seeded program, and both would have hosted a Super Regional.

But as it so often happens in college baseball, what appeared likely didn’t actually come to pass, which in turn sent a pair of Super Regional series to the Lone Star State.

Lubbock Super Regional
Duke 44-16
at Texas Tech 42-17
Best of three, starting Saturday

Austin Super Regional
Tennessee Tech 52-10
at Texas 40-20
Best of three, starting Saturday

What ever happened to …

Here is what happened to the other five NCAA tournament teams from the state of Texas on opening weekend.

Texas A&M — The Aggies (40-22) endured a tough weekend in losing two of three at Austin. After walloping Indiana on opening night, A&M lost to Texas on Saturday and Indiana on Sunday, falling short of the Super Regional round for the first time since 2014.

Houston — The Cougars (38-25) went 2-2 in a spirited run at the Chapel Hill Regional. The American Athletic Conference champions beat Purdue twice but also lost twice to tournament host North Carolina. The Tar Heels pounded the Cougars 19-11 in the championship round Sunday.

Baylor — The Bears (37-21) went 1-2 at the Stanford Regional, losing to Cal State Fullerton, beating Wright State and then losing to host Stanford. Fullerton knocked off the tournament host Cardinal to win the regional.

Dallas Baptist — The Patriots (42-21) bowed out of the tournament with a 2-2 record at Fayetteville, Ark., but they did enjoy their moments. Following a 9-0 opening-night loss to Southern Miss, Dallas Baptist beat Oral Roberts 18-9 and Southern Miss 9-4 to reach the championship round, where it lost to Arkansas, 4-3.

Texas Southern — The Tigers (27-28) were swept out of the tournament in Austin, losing to Texas, 10-0, and to Indiana, 6-0. Texas Southern, from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, has now played in NCAA tournaments in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

Texas edges Indiana for NCAA Austin Regional championship

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Kody Clemens drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the seventh inning, and starting pitcher Blair Henley worked into the eighth, lifting the Texas Longhorns to a 3-2 victory Sunday night over Indiana for the NCAA Austin Regional title.

The win propelled Texas into the Super Regional round of the playoffs for the first time under second-year coach David Pierce. It is Texas’ first Super Regional trip since 2014.

Indiana survived an elimination game earlier in the day, beating Texas A&M, 9-7, and then pushed Texas to the limit in a drama- and controversy-filled ninth inning.

In their last at bat, the Hoosiers loaded the bases against Andy McGuire on a single, a hit by pitch and a walk.

Frustrated at the turn of events, Texas coaches pulled McGuire, their third reliever since the eighth, and handed the ball to Chase Shugart.

Shugart promptly fanned freshman Sam Crail for the second out.

Next, Matt Lloyd stepped to the plate and sent a fly ball twisting into foul territory and toward the left field grandstand.

UT leftfielder Masen Hibbeler raced to the barrier to get in position, reached over the rail and appeared to make the catch.

But when he pulled his glove back, the ball came loose and landed on the outfield turf.

For a moment, Hibbeler thought he had made the grab and so did the fans, who celebrated what they thought was the game-clinching out.

Moments later, officials ruled the play a no catch, giving Lloyd new life. It didn’t last long.

Shugart recorded the strike out, prompting Pierce to turn and clinch his fists in triumph.

Clemens called Hibbeler’s effort a “crazy” play.

“He caught the ball,” Clemens said on ESPN. “Then I saw the ball on the ground. I thought he just tossed it.”

Pierce later told the network that he thought the umpire made the correct call.

“(Hibbeler’s) feet hit the ground, but he never really had total possession of the ball,” the UT coach said.

In discussing his at bat that produced the go-ahead run, Clemens said he was looking for a breaking ball, and he pulled it into the corner in right field.

“I was able to put a good swing on it,” Clemens said.

Records

Texas 40-20
Indiana 40-19

Texas A&M coach shrugs off Clemens’ theatrics

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Texas A&M coach Rob Childress is trying to get his team ready to play the Indiana Hoosiers this afternoon at the NCAA’s Austin Regional.

The Aggies and Hoosiers are both 1-1 in the regional and facing elimination.

The winner would advance to play Texas tonight in the championship round.

Texas A&M fans would like nothing more than another shot at the Longhorns after what happened Saturday night.

Not only did the Longhorns beat the Aggies 8-3, but UT star Kody Clemens stirred it up with some theatrics.

After a first-inning, three-run homer, Clemens rounded third and stared briefly into the Aggies’ dugout.

During media interviews later, Childress brushed off a question about the incident.

“We are all competitors, and it’s the biggest moment, Saturday night in a regional, and he is in the moment and if you don’t like it, make a better pitch is the way I look at it,” Childress told reporters.

Added Childress: “They feed off him, and he is an incredible player, very competitive, very good approach as a baseball player and he loves the moment.

“He did a great job for them tonight, certainly the difference in the game.”

Clemens hit two home runs and produced four RBI in a three-hit performance.

As a result, the Longhorns improved to 2-0 in the regional, needing only a win tonight to advance.

For a full story on Texas A&M’s reaction to its loss to Texas, please see Richard Croome’s story in the Bryan Eagle.