Abilene Christian starting freshman pitcher Tyler Morgan came into the game looking for his first win of the season, but the Longhorns had a different plan in mind in their 18-0 victory.

Texas redshirt junior infielder Zach Zubia got Texas going in the bottom of the first, hitting a double to left center field to score redshirt senior outfielder Mike Antico. The Longhorns never looked back, piling up four more runs in the first inning to take a commanding 5-0 lead over the Wildcats, leaving Morgan in shambles early in the game. Texas continued to play with its foot on the gas and took advantage of Morgan’s poor pitching and scored every inning.

Texas head coach David Pierce gave credit to his starting pitcher, redshirt sophomore Ty Madden, as well as his batters’ successes in the first few innings of the game for the win Friday night.

“Ty went out and pitched five great innings,” Pierce said. “We did a nice job early on with the offense setting the tone of the game.”

After struggling offensively in their two-game series against Nevada earlier this week, the Longhorns saw runs come easy to them Friday night. By the start of the third inning, Morgan had thrown 90 pitches, and the Longhorns had scored six runs.

Texas was led by a trio of batters. Zubia, freshman infielder Mitchell Daly and redshirt sophomore infielder Ivan Melendez scored one run each and had dominant performances Friday night, piecing together five hits combined.

Although that trio of players had a great game, other Longhorns stepped up and made big plays to help blow out the Wildcats. Redshirt junior infielder Cam Williams had a key double in the bottom of the first which led to two scores and gave Texas its early lead.

Redshirt freshman outfielder Douglas Hodo III also had a big play, hitting his third homer of the season to pull the life out of ACU’s bullpen.

The Longhorns also received tremendous help from Madden, who dominated at the mound.

Although he got into some trouble in the top of the fourth with bases loaded, he was able to recover and retire the Wildcats by striking out freshman infielder Sebastian Randle. Madden held Abilene Christian scoreless as Texas pitched its third shutout of the season under his lead.

The Longhorns will look to extend their win streak to 12 as they play their second game of the series against ACU on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s the Friday night game. We’re 1-0 in the series, and we’ve got to regroup and be ready to play tomorrow,” Pierce said.