The No. 2 Texas Longhorns defeated the Ole Miss Rebels 11-2 on Saturday to even the weekend’s series.
After using seven pitchers in its first loss of the season on Friday, Texas flipped the script and only used two in the next win.
Graduate student starter Luke Harrison ate the innings that a short-handed Texas needed him to, throwing seven innings without earning a run. His efficient day was highlighted by a second inning in which he came one foul ball short of throwing an immaculate inning.
Harrison managed to have a relatively low pitch count despite allowing six of the seven lead-off hitters he faced to reach base.
“I wish he’d stop doing it,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “But he’s been through a lot as a player and [pitching coach Max Weiner] has done a good job with all of our pitchers just moving on to the next play.”
Harrison, who is in his fifth year with the Longhorns, received a standing ovation as he left the field.
Junior reliever Ethan Walker aided the Longhorns’ war with attrition by throwing two scoreless innings to close the game.
Offensively, the Longhorns played the smallest ball they have all season, scoring 11 runs while only getting two extra-base hits.
All 11 of Texas’ hitters got on base, and all but two got a hit. While the Longhorns have not been contact-adverse this season, this is the first time they have had this kind of offensive output without a few more long-balls.
“We had a lot of balls fall in, we had some flares fall in,” Schlossnagle said. “That’s what’s crazy about baseball, you know? You can hammer balls, and you’re out, and you can flare them and it [ends up] a hit.”
If anyone stood out for the Longhorns, it was junior leadoff man Ethan Mendoza, who finished with two hits, a walk and three RBIs.
Mendoza was equally impressive in the field, a product of playing behind the groundball-oriented Harrison.
He, for one, relished the opportunity to flash some leather.
“When the game comes and they’re feeding us balls, it’s really fun,” Mendoza said. “We like strikes and like guys putting balls in play.”
“Fun” sums up the entire game for the Longhorns.
Fan-favorite senior utility-man and pinch-runner Jayden Duplantier impressed, notching his second multi-hit game and first extra-base hit of the season.
The crowd at UFCU Disch-Falk Field provided energy to a team that needed it after Friday night, relishing the first weekend of conference play.
“It was a great environment,” Harrison said. “It felt awesome to see ‘the Dish’ packed again.”
Texas fans will pack “the Dish” again tomorrow as the team looks to capture its first in-conference series of the year tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT.
