No. 3 Texas baseball defeated USC Upstate 13-3 in eight innings on Sunday to sweep the Spartans in a three-game weekend series.
Josh Livingston, graduate student and designated hitter, hit a grand slam in the sixth to extend the lead to an eerily familiar 10-3. It was the second grand-slam that the Longhorns hit this weekend after only hitting two all of last season.
The Longhorns entered the ninth inning with a similar lead yesterday and nearly lost after a comedy of errors. Today, the Longhorns avoided a ninth inning collapse by avoiding the ninth inning entirely.
Livingston hit his second home run of the game in the eighth, bringing home junior first baseman Casey Borba on a game-ending two-run shot.
Livingston got four of his five hits of the season this weekend after changing his walk-up from Morgan Wallen’s “Working Man’s Song” to Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.”
“Taylor Swift, I feel like, has gotten me hits over the years. I kind of went back to that a couple days ago,” Livingston said. “I’m not going to say I’m a Swiftie, but I might be a little closeted Swiftie.”
Borba had a day of his own, going 2-2 with a walk and five RBIs. He crossed home plate three times, with two of those runs coming from homers from Livingston, his roommate.
Despite living with him all year, Borba was unaware of Livingston’s affinity for Swift.
“I did not know that (he was a Swift fan). He broke (‘Bad Blood’) out this week, and I was like, ‘Alright, I like this, let’s go,’” Borba said. “I’ve got to ask him about it when we get home.”
Borba’s five RBIs were a season high, though he credits his success to a change in approach and not in musical accompaniment.
Assistant coach Troy Tulowitzki has been getting the best out of Texas’ bats all year, evidenced by Sunday’s run-rule victory being the sixth the Longhorns have achieved in their first 15 games.
For Borba, it was actually taking his foot off the gas, which helped him get more runners across on Sunday.
“(I was) just looking for pitches over the plate that I can handle, trying to not hit a home run every time,” Borba said.
Texas’ pitchers were able to shake off the late scare from last night and hold the Spartans to just three runs.
Sophomore starting pitcher Dylan Volantis had his worst go of the year, giving up three earned runs in 4.2 innings. Prior to Sunday, Volantis had only given up one earned run all season.
Volantis, a converted reliever, threw seven innings nearly flawlessly in both of his first two starts. Now, he has struggled in the fifth inning of back-to-back games.
Freshman reliever Michael Winter went 2.1 innings, earning only one baserunner and notching three strikeouts. He picked up his first collegiate win less than 24 hours after he got his first career save.
Winter is one piece of a youth movement in Texas’ bullpen that has proven highly effective in the early stages of the season.
“They’re unbelievable, you wouldn’t even know they’re freshmen,” Livingston said. “The future of this program is in really good hands.”
Texas will look to enter conference play undefeated and win its first road game of the season against Texas State at Bobcat Ballpark at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
