Morning storms in the Austin area cleared out just in time for Texas’ 10-2 victory in game two of its series with Kansas State, and despite very gusty winds, it ended up being a gorgeous day.
For designated hitter Zach Zubia, it was a good thing the sky opened up and sun began to shine.
In the second inning, with the bases loaded and the Longhorns already having scored three runs, Zubia hit a rocket to right center field that cleared the fences for a grand slam to extend the lead to 7-0.
“We had great at bats in that inning,” head coach David Pierce said in his postgame interview with Texas Sports. “Zach got a pitch up in this wind and hit it just well enough to get out of there for his first grand slam.”
On top of the grand slam, Zubia also added an RBI single and knocked in another run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
All in all, Zubia was responsible for scoring six of the Longhorns’ 10 runs.
Even with a sizable lead for most of the afternoon, the Longhorns’ game plan at the plate did not change. Texas continued to move guys over with sacrifice bunts to provide even more opportunities to score.
“We continued to bunt there in consecutive innings because we got the leadoff on,” Pierce said. “Put little more pressure on them, put a guy in scoring position and see if somebody can come through and that’s exactly what happened.”
On top of the strong offensive performance this afternoon, the Longhorns received a great performance from starting pitcher Blair Henley.
Henley was credited with the victory after his seven innings, where he allowed one run on six hits and struck out seven Wildcats.
“I think (Henley) has just matured so much,” Pierce said. “He’s just grown up so much right in front of us even as a junior. But the thing that I enjoyed watching him today was how well he commanded the fastball and everything played off of it.”
Henley now has six wins on the season, three more than any other Longhorn on the roster. His record on the year now stands at an impressive 6–1, with several more starts to come as Big 12 play heads down the back stretch.
