| Hookem
At UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Sunday, Texas prepared for its 12 major opponents with an 8-5 victory over No. 12 South Carolina and a sweep.
The three-race victory was Texas’ fifth consecutive victory. He also completed the first sweep of the UT series for a qualifying team since going 3-0 against No. 2 LSU at home in 2019.
Texas (11-5) will open Big 12 next weekend with a series at Baylor. The Longhorns were chosen to finish third in the conference’s pre-season survey.
“I feel so much better (compared to this team),” said senior catcher DJ Petrinsky. “I think we are starting to hit bats, we are starting to play as a team. We have definitely made some strides.”
Most: No. 13 Texas 91, No. 12 Oklahoma State 86: Big 12 tournament an indelible moment for Smart, Horns
Ranked 19th last week in the D1Baseball poll, Texas beat South Carolina 4-1 on Friday. The Longhorns continued with Saturday’s 3-0 win.
UT ended those two victories in about three hours. On Sunday, it took more than two hours to get through the first four entrances.
Texas came out of the fourth entry with an 8-2 advantage after scoring on each of the frames. During its attacks on these entries, Texas produced seven hits. The Longhorns also drew four times, stole three bases and benefited from three mistakes in South Carolina. Eight members of the Texas team reached the base in the first four entries, and Mitchell Daly was still running as the outlier of the batting order.
Texas built its lead behind RBI doubles from Ivan Melendez and DJ Petrinsky, and Cam Williams, Zach Zubia and Trey Faltine contributed consecutive scoring singles. UT also scored on two sacrificial flies.
“It looked like we didn’t have to rely on jewelry or thefts today,” said Petrinsky. “It helps that we still do that, but we hit a few balls. Those doubles definitely helped.”
Texas chased South Carolina starter Julian Bosnic in the middle of a fourth-round hitting attempt. But, like its counterpart, Texas’ Kolby Kubichek was mired in a Sunday crisis.
Texas Baseball: Texas 4, South Carolina 1: by delivering Gamecocks in their first defeat, UT gets his biggest win
A right-handed sophomore, Kubichek had five hits, one of which was Wes Clarke’s ninth home run of the season. Kubichek hit three Gamecocks and launched a wild run of scoring.
Kubichek ended up working four entries on Sunday. Of his 92 shots, none was more important than the 10 he launched to close the fourth inning.
With the Longhorns leading 4-2, Kubichek hit Joe Satterfield of South Carolina with a unique offer. With two runners on board and Clarke arriving, Texas coach David Pierce called a meeting on the mound. Pierce had Tanner Witt ready in the bullpen, but he canceled his internal fields and only Petrinsky joined him for an argument with Kubichek.
Pierce decided to keep Kubichek in the game. Kubichek responded with a strike out from Clarke. He then had South Carolina cleaning hitter Josiah Sightler fly to the alert lane in the right field.
Pierce told reporters that he considered calling Witt when he got off the bench. Kubichek’s attitude, however, helped to convince him to bet on its holder.
“If he was ready to deliver the ball to me on time, we would go to Witt and go to that confrontation,” said Pierce. “But I liked the way he approached me. He looked me in the eye and said ‘Coach, I can beat you right here’. “
For subscribers: Golden: The guys on the Shaka show are creating the right hoop culture in Texas
As Kubichek left the game after the fourth entry, Witt ended up winning the victory after throwing three two-stroke relief entries. Cole Quintanilla and Aaron Nixon then finished the game against South Carolina (11-3), who scored twice in the ninth inning.
Around the bases: Texas is now 6-0 at all times against South Carolina. This includes 5-1 and 12-6 wins in 1975 and 2002, which won national championships for the Longhorns. … The Texas quartet of pitchers have combined to register a dozen eliminations, which are tied for UT’s second best total this season. … A graduate transfer from St. John’s, Texas outfielder, Mike Antico, reached the base in 14 consecutive games. … The Longhorns return to the field on Tuesday for a home game against UT-RGV.