No. 2 Texas baseball faces a tough challenge on the weekend heading into hostile territory for the Lone Star Showdown series against arch-rival No. 18 Texas A&M Aggies in College Station.
Before that Southeastern Conference series, standing in the way was a matchup against the Incarnate Word Cardinals on Tuesday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
And the Longhorns would not get ahead of themselves and overlook the task in front of them, blasting the Cardinals and winning 16-4 in run-rule fashion. The win was also the Longhorns’ first run-rule victory during the midweek since March 3, when the Longhorns took down the Houston Christian Huskies 16-3.
“We’ve proven both positively and negatively that our focus hasn’t been consistent in the midweek games, and we talked about it,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Today (we) tried to approach it a different way in terms of my conversation with the team, and I thought we responded well.”
The Longhorns came out firing and stayed on the attack throughout the night, as they scored a run in all but one inning in the seven-inning affair. The Texas offense was explosive in its 16-run ballgame, recording 11 hits with all but one starter recording a hit.
Texas got the game started with a two-spot in the first and then piled it on with back-to-back six-run innings in the second and third innings, breaking the game wide open to take a 14-3 lead into the middle innings.
Adding exclamation points to the Longhorns’ offensive turnout would be two solo home runs in the fourth and sixth innings courtesy of junior catcher Carson Tinney and junior infielder Ethan Mendoza, giving the Longhorns their 16-4 lead. The pair of solo jacks would be the only runs the Longhorns scored via the long ball.
Over the Longhorns’ last three games, Tinney has been simmering at the plate with four round-trippers in those ballgames, and those four have come in his last 10 at-bats.
“Technically, he’s finding his move a little bit,” Schlossnagle said. “He’s a little more smooth with what he’s doing. He’s using the whole field, … he’s a guy who’s so strong, his bat is so fast, and he can do some things other (players) can’t do.”
The homer in the fourth inning cleared the batter’s eye in center field, flying 431 feet, and marked Tinney’s 11th of the season.
“I’m a big guy,” Tinney said. “So that helps me get some power, give and take to that. … I’m just a big guy, and when I make contact, it’s pretty hard.”
The solo home run for Mendoza in the sixth inning would also be of significance, as it was his eighth home run of the season — which matches his home run numbers from his first two seasons combined, as he hit five as a sophomore and three as a freshman.
The Longhorns will look to get back out on the diamond as they head out on the road, traveling to Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park in College Station for a three-game series against Texas A&M.
The first game of the three-game tilt is set for Friday at 7 p.m.
