Texas blanks Boise State 7-0 to remain undefeated

In 1980, the Boise State Broncos disbanded the baseball program. Now it’s back, and not only is Boise State still looking for the first win in its new iteration, the Broncos are also looking for the first run after Texas Longhorns junior right-handed Bryce Elder pitched a gem in Friday’s 7-0 victory at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

Elder allowed the first two batters to reach base in the second inning, but only faced two baserunners in his final five innings. In 7.0 innings of work, Elder struck out 11 while giving up three hits and a single walk.

Some early run support surely helped him settle in quickly, as the Longhorns struck in the bottom of the first when senior right fielder Austin Todd reached on an infield single and senior center fielder Duke Ellis double into the right-field corner. Junior first baseman Zach Zubia followed with a ground-rule double over the short fence in left field to score both players.

In the fourth and fifth innings, Texas added single runs on an RBI single by junior third baseman Cam Williams and an RBI groundout by freshman shortstop Trey Faltine. Then, in the eighth inning, the Longhorns loaded the bases before taking advantage of the scoring opportunity with a walk by pinch-hitter Silas Ardoin, a single by Todd, and a wild pitch.

Todd finished 3-for-5 with the RBI and run scored, while Ellis added two hits of his own. The freshmen largely struggled, however, with designed hitter Douglas Hodo III striking out in all three of his at bats and leaving three runners on base before giving way to Powell. Freshman second baseman Brenden Dixon also failed to record a hit in his three plate appearances. Hodo is hitting .111 in 18 at bats and Dixon is hitting .100 in 20 at bats.

Senior catcher DJ Petrinsky had a rough day at the plate, too, striking out four times.

On the mound, though, the Longhorns continued to dominate with two strikeouts by junior right-hander Dawson Merryman in the eighth inning and three strikeouts by freshman right-hander Jared Southard in the ninth to give Texas pitchers 16 punch outs on the day.

First pitch on Saturday is at 2 p.m. Central on Longhorn Network.