No. 5 Texas falls to Texas A&M, 2-0

Two big swings were all the Texas A&M Aggies needed to win yet another rivalry game in College Station at Blue Bell Park, as right fielder Logan Britt homered to left field in the fourth inning and catcher Mikey Hoehner blasted a pitch over the left-center fence in the seventh inning to beat the No. 5 Texas Longhorns on Tuesday.

In the worst offensive performance for the Longhorns since the disastrous opening series in Arlington, the struggles against an SEC opponent continued, as Texas only managed four hits and failed to score facing A&M’s midweek starter, right-hander Nathan Dettmer, and left-hander Chandler Jowziak. Dettmer scattered three hits with two walks and six strikeouts over his seven innings and Jowziak convincingly shut the door on the Horns with three strikeouts and a hit allowed over the final two innings.

The Longhorns not only struggled to barrel the baseball, they also struggled to turn in the type of competitive at bats that have defined the team during their best moments this season. One of the best at bats came from Texas catcher Ardoin in the ninth inning with two outs as Ardoin slashed a single into right field. But it didn’t matter, as Tanner Witt, who replaced Mike Antico at designated hitter, grounded out to second base to end the game.

The Texas midweek starter, left-hander Pete Hansen, worked around two singles to lead off the game with two flyouts and a groundout, but the solo home run with one out in the fourth inning by Britt gave the Aggies the lead on a ball that Hansen left up and out over the plate.

With two outs, a single and a walk put Hansen in his second jam of the day. During an extended at bat, Hansen was able to get a strikeout swinging to end the inning. Hansen left after 70 pitches with a runner on first and one out. His final line — one earned run on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts over 5.1 innings.

In relief, right-hander Tanner Witt came in and gave up a single, but the Texas A&M baserunner was too aggressive rounding second base and was thrown out thanks to a nice throw from right fielder Douglas Hodo III, who read the situation correctly.

Witt came to the plate in the top of the seventh and pulled a home run foul before striking out. On the mound, he gave up the second home run to the Aggies in the game, a left-center blast by Hoehner to lead off the bottom of the inning.

Witt then misjudged a foul ball near the first base line, calling off catcher Silas Ardoin and first baseman Zach Zubia, but letting the ball foul behind him for a harmless strike. Eventually able to retire the side, it was an embarrassing moment in a subpar performance for the Longhorns.

And that’s about how it went for Texas in a game that left Texas A&M fans and players throwing the horns down in College Station once again.