Sophomore Parker French is expected to take the mound on Friday night for the first game of a three-game series as the Longhorns host the University of California at Santa Barbara to open up spring break competition this weekend.

French returns to the mound after a shutout loss last weekend on the road at Stanford. The sophomore is 2-1 on the season with a 1.77 ERA. In his opening appearance, French blanked Sacramento State through seven innings before the Texas bullpen surrendered five runs in the 6-5 Longhorn victory. Against former Big 12 rival Nebraska, French gave up two runs in the second before keeping them at bay through six innings.

This past Tuesday, the Longhorns (7-5) defeated UT-Pan American at home, 6-1. The win broke the Longhorns’ four-game losing streak which saw Texas lose to Sam Houston State in a midweek game before being swept for the second year in a row by Stanford on the road. Junior third baseman Erich Weiss and sophomore second baseman Brooks Marlow both headlined the Texas offensive efforts while freshman pitcher Chad Hollingsworth got his third win of the season in as many starts.

Weiss logged three RBIs to add to the three earned last weekend during the Longhorns’ 0-3 series loss at Stanford. The junior is hitting .302 for the season and joins freshman C.J. Hinojosa and junior Mark Payton as the three starters hitting above .300 for the year.

Marlow notched the Longhorns’ first home run of the season, a two-run shot over the right field line. The sophomore, who until recently had not been featured in the starting lineup, has four hits and two runs with two RBIs through eight games played.

UC Santa Barbara is sporting an 8-4 record and is currently riding a four-game win streak. The Gauchos dominated St. Mary’s, 10-1, this past Monday and swept San Jose State in a three-game series the weekend before. The Santa Barbara offense is hitting .280 on the season with a team ERA of 3.25.

Texas will follow up this weekend’s series with UC Santa Barbara with a Tuesday matchup with Oral Roberts and a series against Texas Tech at home next weekend.

Published on March 8, 2013 as "Homestead conitinues for Horns".