No. 8 Texas baseball had to make a stand at the plate and on the mound against No. 2 LSU to avoid taking its first series loss of the season.
In a back-and-forth affair, trading runs in almost every frame, the Longhorns came out on top with late dominance at the plate. Torching seven Tiger pitchers with three retiring in the eighth, Texas split the series with an 11-7 victory Saturday night.
“We finally got some free bases at the end,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Kimble (Schuessler) got a big hit. (Jalin) Flores put the ball in play with the running third base. Just a really good team win against a really good team.”
Every batter was crucial for Texas to stay in the game, after scoring in two straight innings, the Longhorns were stopped with three consecutive groundouts in the sixth. Texas needed a spark to keep LSU from taking over this game in their next at-bat.
Leading off the batting order in the seventh inning, junior shortstop Jalin Flores did not get the right pitch, fouling the ball off and giving the fans along the left baseline a souvenir. Feeling out what LSU junior pitcher Connor Benge was giving him, Flores got the throw he was looking for.
Cashing in on the 0-2 count, Flores rifled the ball high and deep toward left field before dropping on the street that separates Yeti Yard and the Texas Tennis Courts for the massive 401-foot home run erupting the crowd to tie the game up 7-7.
“That point in the game, your job is to just pass it back to the next guy and try to get on as the lead-off guy,” Flores said. “The pitcher was doing his job, throwing strikes, and I was battling pitches, and threw me a cookie and I kind of got all of it.”
Looking to seal the deal in the eighth, sophomore infielder Ethan Mendoza shot a shallow line drive down the right foul line. Trying to reel in the hit, LSU senior right fielder Josh Pearson committed a major fielding error.
Attempting to get the ball, Pearson mistakenly kicked the ball into the outfield wall before being able to pick it up, giving the nimble Mendoza enough time to rush through the bases. By the time the ball reached the infield, Mendoza was on third ready to score.
LSU switched pitchers just before Flores came up to the plate for his fifth at-bat of the game. Despite the fresh pitcher on the mound, Flores hit a single up the middle of the field to send Mendoza home for the run.
Facing the heat with the rolling crowd of Longhorns hooting and hollering, redshirt sophomore pitcher DJ Primeaux walked junior catcher Rylan Galvan and freshman Adrian Rodriguez loading the bases for graduate infielder Kimble Schuessler.
“As an offense, you want to see as many bullpen arms as you can playing three-game series,” Flores said. “The crowd was really getting into it, so that was probably the coolest part.”
Fans on their feet, Schuessler hit a shallow ground ball toward right field, sending Flores and Galvan home, sealing the Longhorns’ 11-7 victory in the eighth.
Texas looks to take the series against LSU tomorrow at 2 p.m. at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas.
