At Texas baseball games, there is a tradition called “Seventh-Inning Stretch,” where the announcer encourages the fans to stretch before the last few innings are played. On Tuesday, the No. 15 Longhorns used it as a chance to regroup during an underwhelming 1-0 lead against unranked Incarnate Word.
The momentum changed for the Longhorns in the bottom of the seventh as they scored three runs. The seventh-inning performance finally gave Texas a more comfortable lead, and the hosts came out victorious 6-0.
“My job is to manage the game and their job is to play it and have all kinds of fun with it,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said about not having to talk to the players during the middle of the seventh inning. “I’ve always felt like the practices belong to the coaches and the games belong to the players.”
It took a minute to get the game going as the Cardinals also struggled to make it home.
In the first inning of his collegiate debut, freshman pitcher Jason Flores struck out Incarnate Word senior out-fielder Daniel Calabrese, while Texas freshman third-baseman Adrian Rodriguez hit an RBI single to get sophomore second-baseman Ethan Mendoza back to home plate.
“(The first inning) eased me a lot,” Flores said. “I went back in the dugout just talking to myself, good self-talk. I was just getting my mind right, trying to stay calm.”
However, the 1-0 lead remained just that for five more innings, and the Longhorns only registered two more hits until after the stretch. It was not until junior catcher Rylan Galvan, the ninth in the hitting order, stepped up to the plate and hit a home run to right field that helped Texas out of the slump. Sophomore left fielder Tommy Farmer IV, standing at first base, scored with Galvan.
“(The home run) felt good,” Galvan said. “I finally caught a good barrel, knew I had to get (the ball) up and put a good swing on it. (We) just had to get that (ball) up. That was really the approach going into that inning and we executed well.”
In the same inning, Mendoza scored a home run to the opposite side of the field, giving the Longhorns a 4-0 advantage at the end of the seventh. Mendoza started the season ninth in the batting order but was the Longhorns’ leadoff hitter versus the Cardinals.
“I try to have fun and I think that’s what we’re all trying to do out there,” Mendoza said. “I don’t really care where I bar or if I’m on the bench. I just want Texas to win.”
The Longhorns carried the seventh-inning momentum into the next, recording two runs and four hits. Subbing in as a designated hitter, sophomore Casey Borba hit a triple down the right-field line, allowing junior shortstop Jalin Flores to find home plate. Later in the inning, Borba scored after Farmer IV hit a double.
Texas baseball will return to the mound in Nevada to take on Washington in the Las Vegas Classic on Friday at 8 p.m. Texas will also meet Texas Tech and Illinois during the weekend tournament.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Daniel Calabrese and Adrian Rodriguez’s positions. This has been corrected. The Texan regrets this error.
