The No. 19 Longhorns beat No. 12 South Carolina 8–5 Sunday afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, completing a three-game sweep of a ranked opponent for the first time since 2019.
“What a great weekend,” head coach David Pierce said. “We had a team that went out and played consistent baseball. I’m just really proud of our players.”
Pierce and several players have boasted about the team’s ability to win games in different ways, like Texas did over the weekend. Texas leaned on stellar pitching and solid defense the first two days, but a four-run fourth inning helped carry the Longhorns to their most complete performance of the season.
“It felt like we did not have to rely on the bunts or the steals today,” redshirt senior catcher DJ Petrinsky said.
The Longhorn batters started off hot early, scoring a run in each of their first four innings. All nine Texas starters recorded hits, including a pair of doubles and five walks.
But that was no surprise to Petrinsky.
“Throughout the fall we really put our trust in each other,” Petrinsky said. “Everybody that goes up there [to bat], we believe they’re going to get it done. It definitely showed this weekend.”
Texas’ pitching wasn’t far from its elite mark in the first two days, either. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Kolby Kubichek got the start for Texas but worked his way into a jam in the fourth inning. But instead of pulling the redshirt sophomore with one out and runners on first and second, Pierce stuck with Kubichek the remainder of the inning. He quickly got the remaining two outs and finished the inning unscathed.
“I was going to the mound to go to Witt, and I knew if Kolby was right mentally, I was sticking with him,” Pierce said. “All I told him was ‘I trust you.’”
Freshman pitcher Tanner Witt relieved Kubichek and pitched three innings, striking out six batters, as he only gave up two hits and one run.
After dropping their first three games of the season, the No. 19 Longhorns are now 11-5 and currently playing their most complete baseball of the season. Texas pitchers only gave up 21 hits and six runs over the three-game series and outscored the Gamecocks 15–6.
“We still remember Arlington,” Pierce said. “That keeps us locked in. After that weekend we had a meeting there in the tunnel and basically said ‘We’re going to remember this meeting, we’re going to remember how we started.’”
With conference play set to begin next weekend in Waco against Baylor, the Longhorns feel confident in their abilities and talents. With slow methodical wins through pitching and defense the previous two days and then starting to get into a rhythm batting, Texas is starting to figure itself out at the right time.
