Rodney Terry’s first pitch might have been Texas’s good luck charm, as the Longhorns run-ruled Abilene Christian 20-0 in six and a half innings. The Longhorns allowed just two hits and pitched their first shutout of the year in their most dominant showing of the season.

Kobe Minchey drew the start on the mound and improved to 2-0 in his appearances, allowing just one hit in three innings pitched. The true freshman is yet to give up a run on the season in seven total innings.

“He kind of went through a lull mentally, he was trying to fix a lot of things and now he’s just back to competing and attacking the strike zone and his stuff is good,” Texas head coach David Pierce said. “I think he was probably going to go to Blinn Junior College. He was one of those diamonds in the rough that you don’t really find any more. And we found him, we liked him, and we just felt like he’s got a chance to be a great pitcher for us.”

The Longhorns’ offense made it easy for the pitchers, as junior catcher Garret Guillemette, in a designated hitter role, opened up the floodgates for Texas with a two-run homer, followed up by a solo bomb by redshirt junior left fielder Porter Brown in the next at-bat to race out to a quick three-run lead.

Texas scored eight runs in just three hits in the top of the second, feasting on the Wildcats’ rough pitching in a half-inning that eclipsed half an hour. The Longhorns tacked on four more to make it 15-0 after three innings. 

“It felt contagious for sure,” freshman first baseman Jared Thomas said of the Longhorns’ offensive outburst. “When you have your four and five-hole go back to back in the first inning and you’ve got a three run lead with a pitcher who’s going up there throwing strikes, it’s pretty easy for the offense to go up there and do their thing.”

Redshirt junior Zane Morehouse pitched an inning of hitless relief before junior Charlie Hurley tossed two, and redshirt sophomore Andre Duplantier II completed the shutout in the seventh.

The Longhorns pounded out five more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning from solely pinch hitters to make it a 20-run game.

“Real complete game, move on, light practice, get ready for OU,” Pierce said following the game.

The 14th-ranked Longhorns will look to carry the momentum into the weekend’s series against the Sooners.