Texas able to hold off Northwestern, win game one of the double header, 10-7

The Texas Longhorns were able to put Friday’s loss behind them and came out strong against the Northwestern Wildcats in game two.

Nolan Kingham notched the win in game one of the double header, despite giving up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 3 earned runs in a soggy game at The Disch. Overall, Kingham did a good job of keeping Texas in the game — he battled throughout despite facing a large number of base runners and appeared to ultimately put his last start behind him.

The ‘Horns wasted no time getting on the board, as a two-run, 1st-inning home run from second baseman Kody Clemens put Texas up 2-0.

The Wildcats got to Kingham in the 3rd, scoring three runs after an RBI double by Jack Dunn, and a two-run homer off the bat of Willie Bourbon.

Texas would counter right back after third baseman Ryan Reynolds joined the home run party in the 4th after a leadoff walk to first baseman Sam Bertelson. The score remained 4-3 in favor of the Longhorns until the bottom half of the 6th when Texas appeared to put the game out of reach after a four-run inning made it 8-3. The Longhorns were able to capitalize on some Wildcat miscues on defense after going 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position on Friday.

After relieving Kingham in the 6th, Andy McGuire stayed on the mound for the 7th as Northwestern got two runs back, making it a 8-5 ballgame. Duke Ellis gave the Longhorns an insurance run in the bottom half of the 7th inning after he ripped a line drive that found its way over the left-field fence for his first career home run as a Texas Longhorn. In a humorous moment, Ellis paused rounding second base, unsure whether the the ball made its way out of the ballpark.

Jake McKenzie entered the game offensively in the 8th in his first game back since injuring his shoulder in the opening series against Louisiana. He casually doubled in his first at-bat back, but did not advance any further than that after Reynolds grounded out to end the 8th inning.

In efforts to save his bullpen, David Pierce stuck with McGuire into the 9th inning until bringing on closer Beau Ridgeway. The Wildcats attempted a 9th inning rally as they scored two runs off of Ridgeway making it 10-7. The Texas closer ended up battling his way through the rest of the inning and recorded the save as Northwestern stranded two runners in scoring position to end the game.

It was very encouraging to see Texas taking advantage of timely hits and errors, battling as a team to walk away with an important victory.

The second game of the double-header is currently underway on LHN. Lets win two!