Tied at 5 runs each with no outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning, Air Force shifted its lineup to have five infielders, leaving a huge gap in center field.
It all looked the same to freshman second baseman Dee Kennedy as he stepped up to the plate. His first hit of the night was the only one that mattered.
Kennedy took advantage of the hole in center field, driving a single straight to center field, bringing home redshirt senior left fielder Porter Brown for the walk-off win.
“Some guys really had some good at bats,” Head Coach David Pierce said. “But what I liked the best is that we just played to the end. You do that, you got a chance and good things can happen.”
Playing through every out of the nine innings was crucial for the Longhorns as they trailed until the ninth inning. Sophomore shortstop Jalin Flores rallied the team and tied the game with a two-run home run.
On the ninth pitch of his at-bat, Flores did what he’s done all season: hit home runs. His seventh home run of the season came with perfect timing, with the Longhorns down two runs with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.
With senior Peyton Powell on second base, he launched his home run into left field, sending it just past the Yeti Yard, giving Texas its first chance at a lead all night, tying the game at five.
Texas was unable to finish the game in nine, needing just one more inning to complete its comeback.
After almost three and a half hours of baseball, tempers flared in the top of the 10th inning. Air Force’s catcher Walker Zapp slid into Flores who was turning a double play to end the inning, resulting in one ejection on the Texas coaching staff.
Texas was unphased, and despite a slow pitching start, bounced back from losing its series against Washington to take the victory.
“You have so many ups and downs throughout the season,” Pierce said. “And we’ve been in a little bit of a lull.”
Although the season that has so far been headlined by pitching struggles out of the bullpen, the Texas pitchers avoided the same fate tonight. After redshirt sophomore Grant Fontenot gave up two runs in the first inning and redshirt sophomore Cody Howard gave up another in the second, redshirt junior Chase Lummus and senior Heston Tole took the mound.
Lummus and Tole combined for six strikeouts in just over four innings, only giving up three total hits and only walking one batter against some of the hottest hitters in the country.
The duo was unable to finish the game, leading to redshirt junior Andre Duplantier entering the game in the seventh inning, striking out three but giving up two runs. Redshirt sophomore Gage Boehm took the mound in the 10th and kept Air Force off the board, setting Texas up with its best shot to win the game.
“Every team (that) comes in here, they bring their A game,” Pierce said. “Air Force played really well tonight, and fortunately we won the game.”
For the second and final game of the Salute to Service series, Texas and Air Force will return to UFCU Disch-Falk Field at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. With the win, Texas moves to 12—8 on the season.
