Game Breakdown:
Innings 1-3: Not much happened during the first three innings. The teams combined for three hits but neither scored a run. Junior Josh Urban started on the mound for the Longhorns, surrendering no runs off of two hits.
Innings 4-6: The middle three frames were much like the first three. No runs came from the four hits. Freshman Travis Duke came in as relief for Urban in the sixth inning and struck out three through two innings of work. Duke finished the game with the win to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Innings 7-9: Freshman catcher Jeremy Montalbano drove in the Longhorns’ only run of the ballgame in the bottom of the seventh inning. Montalbano plated junior Jacob Felts with an RBI single to left center. Junior Ty Marlow came in as relief in the eighth before Corey Knebel closed for the Longhorns in the ninth.
Stock Up:
The junior came in to close for the Longhorns on Tuesday night and faced the minimum in his one inning of work. Knebel has been rocky in his last few appearances, posting a 3-3 record with a 2.68 ERA and several blown saves. Though he once led the conference in saves, he was ranked third in the Big 12 with seven saves before this week. With the victory over the Panthers, Knebel earned the save to tie for first in the Big 12 with eight saves on the season.
By The Numbers:
8: The Longhorns surrendered eight hits to the Panthers, but the Texas defense prevented them from scoring. Prairie View A&M outhit the Longhorns 8-5.
9: The number of one-run games that the Longhorns have won all year. Texas is currently 9-9 in one-run games on the season, 6-9 since the start of conference season in March.
32: Mark Payton has successfully reached base in 32 consecutive games. The junior had a single in the fourth to go 1-for-4 on the night.
What's Next For The Horns?
The Longhorns will host Kansas State this week in a three-game series starting at 6:35 p.m. on Friday. Texas is still looking for its first conference series win of the season to try to qualify for the Big 12 Championship in May. The Wildcats (31-14, 9-6) defeated TCU 2-1 at home this past weekend and are No. 3 in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma and Baylor.
