In a closed-dome Minute Maid Park on Sunday, fans found themselves in need of an umbrella, because No. 15 Texas and No. 9 Vanderbilt showered them with home runs. The opponents combined for a total of seven home runs for the afternoon and sent at least one flying for five straight innings.
Despite racking up the hits, Texas baseball wasn’t able to sustain the momentum it had generated so early and ultimately fell 14-11 against Vanderbilt on the final day of the Astros Foundation College Classic.
Consisting of an electrifying display of offensive power, Texas came in hot against Vanderbilt with three home runs and two doubles, all within the first three innings. The Longhorns seemed to have a full turnaround from their 0-2 start of the tournament and ignited a spark that would carry them through a scoring run that lasted four innings.
Sophomore infielder Jalin Flores led Texas into the first inning with a double to left center that brought sophomore Jared Thomas in to score, with a home run from redshirt junior catcher Kimble Schuessler not too far behind. At 3-0, Texas allowed a home run and two RBI’s from Vanderbilt to bring the score to 3-2 as it entered the second inning.
But Texas didn’t look like it was going to give up the lead anytime soon. Senior infielder Jack O’Dowd answered with a homer of his own against his former team to bring the score up 4-2. The Texas defense stepped in to accommodate the Longhorns’ energy and laid out a double-play to leave the Commodores scoreless in the second inning.
Texas continued to boast both a dominant offense and defense, looking as confident and controlled as it had all weekend. After redshirt senior outfielder Porter Brown knocked his second home run of the weekend at the top of the third, freshman outfielder Will Gasparino recorded a double and two RBI before passing home plate off a wild pitch. Brown would hit another home run for the Longhorns at the top of the fourth to let Flores score, bringing Texas’ lead to 10-3.
“I was really proud of our position players, I thought we fought all weekend at home plate,” head coach David Pierce said. “We made some really good two-strike adjustments and got some good pitching, so that’s very encouraging.”
However, the Commodores didn’t allow the Longhorns to get too comfortable and left Texas scoreless for four straight innings while registering two homers in the fifth in an attempt to get back in the game. Vanderbilt raised the stakes in the seventh inning, finding a burst of momentum that would put the Commodores in the lead 14-11 as the ninth inning approached.
The Longhorns came up short after Vanderbilt pitcher and junior Ryan Ginther ended the game with two strikeouts, leaving Texas with a complete 0-3 shutout in the tournament.
“The game lasts longer than five innings, so you got to play the game until the end,” Pierce said. “We just got to get our confidence going and get back on the attack.”
Texas will return to Austin on Tuesday for one of the most anticipated games of the season as they face non-conference rival Texas A&M.
“Our team loves to fight, we love these competitions,” Flores said. “This is what we love to do, so there’s no change as we keep moving forward.”
