In its final weekend game of February, Texas baseball celebrated Black History Month alongside a shutout series sweep for the first time since 2002, after shutting out Cal Poly 7-0 on Sunday and outscoring the Mustangs 15-0 over the weekend.
The Longhorns recognized the nine Black players currently on the roster in honor of Black History Month, made possible by the Texas Athletics History Makers program. Within the past five seasons, Texas has seen between 12-22% of its team being made up of Black athletes, making it one of the most diverse in Division Ⅰ baseball.
Redshirt senior Peyton Powell led the Texas offense into battle with a homer up right field at the bottom of the third. His solo act would be the Longhorns’ only run through five innings, but sophomore left fielder Max Belyeu stepped in and fired a home run to left field to advance Texas to a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning.
“It was good to get my confidence back,” Belyeu said. “The first weekend, because it was my first start, everything was kind of huge to me, but once I settled in, we got back to what works best for me.”
Belyeu recorded two home runs during the series, already showing improvement from his freshman year. Last season he had one double, two RBI and three runs scored. Head coach David Pierce described how Belyeu will be promising this season, seeing as he has a vast skill set.
“Once he starts having fun, he’s got major power,” Pierce said. “He can throw, run, and hit for power, so keeping him in a good comfort where he’s doing things he can control, I think that’s good for Max.”
From there, Texas hit the ground running, as Powell sent another home run cruising past the Taco Shack target during the bottom of the seventh. Not far behind was sophomore shortstop Jalin Flores with a homer of his own, nearly sending it all the way to the outdoor tennis facility across the street. An RBI to accompany Flores’ hit would bring Texas to 5-0 over Cal Poly to enter the eighth inning.
The Mustangs offense looked the most alive on Sunday than they had all weekend, registering nine hits and a double, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Texas defense at bay. At the top of the sixth inning, Cal Poly looked to be set up for success as senior Jake Steels stood on third and junior Ryan Stafford on second. A pop-up from senior Joe Yorke sent Steels running home, but Texas sophomore catcher Rylan Galvan wouldn’t let it slide–literally–and tagged him to cut his route short as fans erupted behind him.
“I’m so glad our staff was able to go out and perform. It’s what we’ve been waiting to see,” Powell said. “Playing a good team like Cal Poly and shutting them out, getting the sweep, it’s going to be a huge confidence booster going into this week.”
After claiming its first clean sweep of the season, Texas will stay at home as it faces St. John’s on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before heading to its first away series in Houston.
