Following a blowout loss to Baylor on Sunday, Texas was able to bounce back with a strong defensive showing against the University of the Incarnate Word on Tuesday night, thanks in no small part to redshirt freshman pitcher Pete Hansen.
The Longhorns were able to get back into their groove early on and scored four runs in the first two innings while shutting out the Cardinals. Texas went on to score six more runs, including a late three-run homer from redshirt sophomore infielder Peter Geib, and defeated Incarnate Word 10-1 behind an extraordinary performance from Hansen.
The redshirt freshman retired 17 of the 19 batters he faced in 4.1 innings of work and struck out four batters.
Hansen left Incarnate Word’s batting group in shambles, not allowing the Cardinals to score in his 4.1 innings on the mound.
Head coach David Pierce said in the post game press conference that he was pleased with how Hansen played Tuesday night and knows he still has room to grow.
“Pete went out and still isn’t quite there; we understand that,” Pierce said. “He still is kind of cutting the ball and the velocity is not there, but he’s pitching. He did a really nice job of just going for the third (strike) and pitching in and out, hard and soft. It was good.”
The Longhorns’ offense was also clicking against the Cardinals after only scoring two runs on Baylor Sunday afternoon. Texas scored 10 runs on 10 hits and had nine RBIs, with freshman infielder Dylan Campbell hitting the first home run of his collegiate career. He finished with one run on two hits and three RBIs.
The same could not be said for Incarnate Word’s offense as they struggled against the Longhorns’ defense. Hansen and the rest of Texas’ bullpen kept the Cardinals’ batters in check as they allowed just one run on nine hits.
Incarnate Word was led at the plate by sophomore infielder Zach Limas, who recorded the team’s only run on one hit.
The Cardinals’ struggles defensively were just as dire.
Texas knocked seven runs on seven hits on freshman starting pitcher Bryson Walker in his six innings on the mound, bouncing back drastically from its two-run performance against Baylor on Sunday afternoon.
The Longhorns’ execution on both sides of the field is something Pierce took note of and is something that has him excited about the team’s potential moving forward. Texas will look to build on Tuesday’s victory Friday night against Oklahoma in the first of a three-game series.
“I thought we did a nice job in our prep earlier today,” Pierce said. “A lot of extra work in the outfield, a lot of extra work offensively. This team just continues to impress how they like to work.”
