No. 22 Texas baseball bludgeons Sam Houston State for 10-3 victory

They had us the first half, I’m not gonna lie.

But after falling behind 3-0, the Texas Longhorns rode two explosive outbursts in the fifth and sixth innings to defeat the Sam Houston State Bearkats 10-3 on Tuesday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

Senior Matteo Bocchi made his first start of the season for Texas, and he delivered a very Matteo result — over four innings, Bocchi gave up four hits, one walk, and two runs (both earned), but also recorded eight strikeouts.

Unfortunately, in those four innings, the Longhorns couldn’t get him much help on the scoreboard. In fact, Texas opened up the first four innings of play with four consecutive 1-2-3 innings from the plate.

Meanwhile, SHSU was able to constantly put runners on and pressure on the Texas defense. The only clean inning from Bocchi came in the first, and SHSU eventually broke the stalemate in the third with two runs.

Pierce called on the bullpen to open up the fifth inning, and freshman Ty Madden was tabbed to take the mound. In his first inning of relief, Madden allowed a run that pushed the SHSU lead to 0-3.

But once this game crossed the midway point and entered the bottom of the fifth, the Longhorns bats finally came alive.

In fact, really the best way to list this inning out is to present it in a, well, list format.

• DJ Petrinsky doubles to open inning [0 outs, 0-3]
• Failed pickoff attempt advances Petrinsky to third base [0 outs, 0-3]
• Zach Zubia double, scores Petrinsky from 3rd [0 outs, 1-3]
• Ryan Reynolds double, scores Zubia from 2nd [0 outs, 2-3]
• Tate Shaw double, Reynolds scores [0 outs, 3-3]
• SHSU pitcher change
• Michael McCann walks
• Bryce Reagan strikes out swinging, but McCann advances to 2nd on wild pitch, Shaw advances to third on wild pitch and scores on throw [1 out, 4-3]
• Duke Ellis pinch hits and SHSU makes a pitcher change
• Ellis walks
• Lance Ford grounds out to first, runners advance to second and third [2 outs, 4-3]
• Austin Todd singles, Ellis and McCann score [2 outs, 6-3]
• SHSU pitcher change
• Petrinsky pops up to end inning

Told you that was a lot!

In all, the Longhorns were able to bat around the order to the tune of five hits and two walks to put up six whole runs on the Bearkats.

In the incredibly prolonged blink of an eye, Texas took a 3-0 deficit and came out of the fifth inning up three runs.

But, unfortunately for the Oregon State uniform imposters, the Texas run didn’t stop there.

Texas would add four more runs to the board in the bottom of the sixth, in an extremely similar way to how they scored in the fifth — spraying the ball around the field to advance base runners a few bases at a time.

Shaw, Reagan, Ellis, and Ford all recorded one RBI each in the winning, with Shaw’s coming via a single, Reagan and Ellis getting theirs with walks on bases loaded, and Ford through an RBI ground out.

The Longhorns tacked on four hits that inning with three walks and left two on base. After six innings in Austin, the Texas lead was up to 10-3.

The Bearkats tried to muster up a rally oat plate in order to get back into a game they once were cruising through. Slamming the door shut on any kind of SHSU comeback, freshman Ty Madden pitched his butt off after giving up a run to start his appearance.

Madden went four innings in relief, with three hits, one walk, and one run earned allowed, but also struck out seven. After the fifth inning with the Longhorns out in front, Madden only allowed one hit and one walk, no runs, and struck out five in three innings.

With the game well decided, fellow freshman Mason Bryant came on in the ninth for the Horns and retired the Bearkats batters in order to end the game. After falling behind early, Texas picked up its seventh win of the season with a final score of 10-3. Texas is now 7-2 on the year.

The Longhorns have a quick turnaround for their next game, with everyone’s preferred CAP choice UTSA coming to town for a quick one game matchup. That game is set to start at 7:00 p.m. Central on Longhorn Network and 104.9 The Horn. Pitchers have not yet been announced from either team.

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