One out into the bottom of the 11th inning, redshirt junior catcher Kimble Schuessler popped a ball up to right center field. The ball was caught low and junior pinch hitter Caden Cummings left first base without tagging. The San Diego outfielder realized what happened and Cummings was thrown out at first, ending the game with a double play.
After 11 innings of baseball, No. 16 Texas fell 6-5 to San Diego after failing to perform on both sides of the ball.
Senior right-handed pitcher Charlie Hurley started on the mound for Texas and got off to a slow start. In the first inning, he gave up two hits and one run, putting the Longhorns in a hole early. In the second and third innings, he found his stride with back-to-back 1-2-3 performances before walking three batters in the fourth.
“He started sinking the ball and he got in such a really good rhythm and had consistency on all his pitches,” head coach David Pierce said. ‘“Then he just hit a wall and it wasn’t because of fatigue, I’m not sure what it was, … but we’ve got to make some adjustments.”
Having to go to the bullpen early meant eight Texas pitchers saw action tonight. Freshman Easton Tumis followed Hurley and was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam.
“I wanted to see Easton Tumis be what he’s been this early spring and he was outstanding,” Pierce said. “His first outing in Division One baseball at the University of Texas was bases loaded in a clutch situation and he gets a strikeout there, so I’m proud of him.”
The pitching and defensive struggles carried over to the offense as Texas had little success hitting the ball. Texas finished the game with 10 hits opposed to San Diego’s 12.
The only early offense spark came early in the game. With two out and two on base, redshirt senior Peyton Powell launched a ball just past the right field fence for a three-run home run in the third inning. The home run lifted No. 16 Texas over San Diego to take a 3-1 lead.
“I’m just always trying to find a good pitch to hit, and fortunately for me, it went over the fence and gave our team a good little three-run shot,” Powell said. “But at the end of the day, we didn’t come out with the dub, so it doesn’t really mean that much.”
Powell’s home run just barely missed the Taco Shack “free tacos” sign and gave Texas a small edge. San Diego tied the game in the seventh and Texas was unable to respond as the game went into extra innings, tied at 5-5.
In the 10th inning, San Diego’s Ryan Ward completed the feat that Powell almost did in the fifth inning and hit the “free tacos” sign above the Texas bullpen for a two-run home run.
During the extra innings, Texas was able to produce runs when it needed to most but ultimately came up short. The Longhorns had several base running errors that were avoidable, including earlier in the game when freshman pinch runner Dee Kennedy was thrown out attempting to steal third in the eighth inning with one out and the top of the order up to bat.
“(Stealing third) wasn’t a great decision,” Pierce said. “It was really just poor baseball and just too many mistakes.”
Texas and San Diego are now tied at 1-1 in the series. Redshirt junior Tanner Witt will start the final game between the teams on the mound on Sunday.
