Texas Longhorn baseball secured a win over the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 12-5 in the College Station Regionals Friday night, finding their momentum on both sides of the ball.
After a slow start for the No. 3 seed in the tournament, Texas was able to generate some offense after No. 2 Louisiana pressured the team with two solo home runs, leading the score 2-0.
With redshirt senior outfielder Porter Brown and redshirt junior designated hitter Kimble Schuessler on first and third bases, sophomore catcher Rylan Galvan doubled to left field, sending Schuessler home and advancing Brown. Following that, freshman outfielder Will Gasparino singled, and the bases were loaded with a single out. Freshman infielder Dee Kennedy then singled for Texas for two RBIs and created a Texas lead 3-2.
After what seemed to be an easy stretch on the plate for Texas, a flustered Louisiana changed pitchers to stop Texas in its tracks. However, it seemed to only fuel the Longhorns more in the top of the fifth when bases were once again loaded, a walk and a single by sophomore first baseman Jared Thomas put up two more runs for Texas. With bases still loaded, sophomore shortstop Jalin Flores hit a grand slam to left field, his third this season, flying by the Cajuns in an unanswered 10-0 run, putting the score at 10-2.
While Louisiana tried to come back from the major upset, it only found two more runs in the bottom of the fifth and Texas retaliated with two more runs in the top of the sixth. The Cajuns managed to secure a single run in the bottom of the seventh to finish out the scoring of both teams for the remainder of the matchup.
Texas’ success stemmed from its strong plate discipline, taking advantage of weak pitching stretches to get on base. Texas held a .423 on-base percentage and finished with a collective .357 batting average in comparison to Louisiana’s .258.
Not only did the Longhorns succeed on the offensive front, they were able to play strong defensively, with no errors. Sophomore pitcher Max Grubbs held the win for Texas, pitching the first five innings and giving up four runs and throwing four strikeouts. Sophomores Cade O’Hara and Andre Duplantier II finished out the rest of the game through the final four innings. In total, Texas threw 140 pitches, 65 less than the Cajun’s 205.
With the win, Texas will now take on Texas A&M on Saturday at 8 p.m. CDT, where they will meet for the sixth time ever in postseason play, with the Longhorns seeking revenge after losing to the Aggies earlier in the season.
