Sophomore shortstop David Hamilton continues to pile on the statistics against his hometown team.
On Tuesday night, he added another spectacular performance to his highlight reel, going 4-5 on the night and hitting his fifth career home run in a rain-delayed 6-2 win against the Texas State Bobcats.
“We had some really nice performances offensively, especially with David Hamilton,” head coach David Pierce said.
In three games against Texas State, Hamilton is batting .750 (8-12) with three home runs and seven RBIs. Add into the mix a walk-off grand slam back on May 1 and you have a San Marcos-native who has absolutely punished his hometown’s flagship university.
“(Hamilton’s raised performance against Texas State) is interesting because a lot of times that happens with good pitchers, and they’ve got good stuff, and you see the ball well,” Pierce said. “Certain teams do the same thing, and he’s definitely a thorn in their side right now.”
The rain delay, which lasted a total of two hours, put a damper on starting pitcher Matteo Bocchi’s night, but not before he threw four complete innings, only allowing one run on five hits. Bocchi, though, believed he could have put in another inning or two before his day should’ve been over.
“Honestly, I was kind of upset,” Bocchi said. “But I don’t really like lighting, because I’m kind of scared of it. I think I could have gone one or two more innings. But with the rain delay, I started getting cold and my body started getting tight. I haven’t started in a long time, so I don’t have that many pitches in my arm.”
It was a special day for Bocchi. A native of Parma, Italy, this was the first time that his parents were able to see him pitch in the United States. Bocchi pitched at Odessa College for the last two seasons before transferring to Texas this past year.
“This was the first time (my parents got to see me pitch in the United States),” Bocchi said. “They had a chance to go to Odessa, but they ended up not coming, because I was like, ‘If you really want to come, come next year at Texas, because it’s a much better place.’”
The Texas win now brings the Longhorns’ total record to 34-18 on the season with only three games left before the Big 12 tournament. Those three games, a home series against TCU, will be pivotal in determining Texas’ fate once the postseason arrives. Texas will likely need all three to have the opportunity to host a regional tournament.
Two teams in the Big 12 are currently slated to host regional tournaments — neither reside in Austin. Texas Tech, which is currently the fifth-ranked team in the nation, is fourth overall in conference, but is scheduled to host a regional in Lubbock. As is Oklahoma State, who is currently first in the conference.
Look for Texas to use everything it has and exhaust every avenue in order to get its shot at hosting. The series against TCU will begin Thursday at UFCU Disch-Falk Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
