Tag: dylan campbell

Texas Baseball: Horns come in at No. 4 in Big 12 preseason poll

Texas has lots to prove on the baseball diamond this season.

The Big 12 Conference announced its 2023 preseason coaches poll on Thursday. Texas checks in as No. 4 on the list behind Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and TCU.

Here is a complete look at how the coaches voted ahead of the season.

  1. TCU (5)
  2. Oklahoma State (4)
  3. Texas Tech
  4. Texas
  5. Oklahoma
  6. West Virginia
  7. Kansas State
  8. Kansas
  9. Baylor

The 2023 Longhorns are going to have a ton of fresh faces in the lineup following back-to-back College World Series appearances. Texas lost the majority of its production from last season, including the likes of Ivan Melendez, Pete Hansen and Murphy Stehly.

David Pierce even hit the reset button on the coaching staff in the offseason, making two new hires to the program.

This season’s roster includes a handful of returning veterans and a talented group of newcomers. Dylan Campbell and Lucas Gordon broke out on the scene for Texas late last season. In addition, Eric Kennedy is a rock-solid player back for his senior year.

Texas has lots to prove on the baseball diamond this season with hopes for another trip to Omaha in June.

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Texas outfielder Eric Kennedy to return for the 2023 season

Huge news for Texas baseball!

Big news for Texas baseball as outfielder Eric Kennedy is set to return for the 2023 season.

The senior was not selected in the 2022 MLB Draft but turned down free agency opportunities to return to the Longhorns for another year.

The return of Kennedy serves as a massive boost for the Texas program who lost eight players to the MLB Draft and saw multiple seniors move on.

Kennedy has played a key role in helping Texas reach the College World Series in back-to-back seasons. He is a rock solid defender in the outfield and constant threat on the base paths. Kennedy is a career .285 hitter with 14 home runs and 45 stolen bases.

David Pierce’s 2023 roster is starting to take shape. Kennedy, Dylan Campbell and Mitchell Daly bring back tons of experience in the lineup along with a solid group of incoming transfers joining the program.

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Social media reacts to Texas baseball’s comeback win over ECU

Dylan Campbell’s clutch walk-off has social media buzzing.

The Longhorns came all the way back from down 7-2 to come out with a 9-8 win over East Carolina.

Home runs off the bat of Douglas Hodo and Skyler Messinger tied the ballgame in the bottom of the eighth, setting the stage for Texas outfielder Dylan Campbell’s heroics.

The sophomore ripped out the hearts of the purple and gold faithful with a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth and a walk-off single in the ninth.

Campbell has been one of Texas’ best hitters down the stretch this season and came through when the Horns needed him most.

Texas and East Carolina will face off again tomorrow with a trip to Omaha on the line. Expect Texas to empty the tank from a bullpen perspective. David Pierce said in his postgame presser that every pitcher would be available if needed.

Here is how social media reacted to Texas’ miraculous comeback victory.

Dylan Campbell plays hero as Texas beats ECU 9-8

Late inning heroics forced a winner-take-all game three in Greenville.

There will be baseball played tomorrow in Greenville as Texas has forced a winner-take-all game three against East Carolina. The Longhorns trailed 7-2 heading into the seventh inning before a miraculous comeback started off the bat of Douglas Hodo.

The Texas centerfielder launched a two-run home run over the right field wall to cut the Pirates’ lead to 7-4.

More fireworks came in the bottom half of the eighth inning. Back-to-back singles from Murphy Stehly and Austin Todd put runners on the corners for Skyler Messinger.

Messinger flipped the script of the ballgame as he sent a three-run bomb to right to tie the ballgame.

That was not all for Texas in the frame. Dylan Campell would provide Texas the lead with a solo shot of his own against ECU’s top arm Carter Spivey.

East Carolina would not go away in the ninth. Down to their last out, Jacob Starling smoked a ball just inside the left field foul pole to tie the game yet again. All the momentum and energy went to the ECU side.

Texas stayed calm and composed in the bottom half of the ninth. Ivan Melendez smiled as he led off the inning with a single, followed by a couple of walks to load the bases with two outs.

Dylan Campbell hit a two-strike pitch off the right field wall to walk off the Pirates and send this series to three games. The winner of Sunday’s affair will clinch a ticket to the College World Series.

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No. 1 Texas beat Alabama 6-1, improving to 8-0 on the season

The No. 1 Texas Longhorns are firing on all cylinders.

The No. 1 Texas Longhorns are firing on all cylinders early in the new season. Texas took down Alabama 6-1 on Sunday to complete the series sweep and improve to 8-0.

The pitching staff continued its dominance over the weekend, holding the Tide to just one run in three games. Texas has only allowed four earned runs in eight games.

Tanner Witt backed up fantastic starts from Pete Hansen and Tristian Stevens with a gem of his own. Witt allowed just one run on four hits while striking out nine Bama hitters in six innings of work. His final strikeout of the game got the momentum back on Texas’ side.

The offense took the lead for good in the bottom half of the sixth as Trey Faltine drove in two on a laser to left field. Dylan Campbell followed with an RBI single as Texas broke the game open 4-1.

Three clean innings out of the bullpen from Lucas Gordan and Aaron Nixon along with a couple of insurance runs gave Texas the 6-1 victory.

Up next is a mid-week trip to Sam Houston State on Tuesday.

 

Texas Baseball: Five players with breakout potential

Big seasons from these players could put Texas over the top.

The 2022 Longhorns do not have many question marks entering the new season. Texas returns a star-studded pitching staff as well as a very experienced lineup from a team that was right on the doorstep of playing for a national title.

For that reason, most media outlets have Texas ranked as the preseason No. 1 team in the country.

Much of the success of the Horns’ 2021 season came from breakout stars Mike Antico and Ivan Melendez along with freshman All-Americans Tanner Witt, Mitchell Daly and Aaron Nixon. Even Tristian Stevens who was an older guy stepped up and became an All-Big 12 weekend pitcher.

On paper, Texas has another Omaha caliber roster but if the Horns have a few breakout players similar to last year, the sky is the limit for this group.

Here is a list of five players who could have breakout seasons this spring and put Texas over the top:

Highlights from Saturday’s Alumni Game as the Texas Exes show out

The Texas Alumni held off the current Longhorns in an offensive slugfest.

No. 1 Texas baseball welcomed back 15 former players for the annual Alumni Game on Saturday.

The Texas Exes jumped out to an early lead on the current roster and held on for an 8-6 victory. Both offenses swung the bat well as the teams combined for 14 runs and 21 hits.

The star of the show was Sophomore Dylan Campbell, who started for the Alumni team. Campbell went 4-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. His three-run bomb off Pete Hansen in the second inning put the Alumni squad up 4-0.

David Hamilton (2017-2019) added on to the alumni lead going 2-3 with two runs scored.

The current squad started to heat up in the middle innings.

Murphy Stehly launched a solo home-run to lead off the third inning. Mitchell Daly and Ivan Melendez followed with extra-base hits to make the score 6-2.

Texas scored runs in the next three innings to cut the lead to 7-6 on an Eric Kennedy two-run single.

The Alumni squad would respond with a run of their own as last season’s centerfielder Mike Antico (2021) hit a moonshot over the right-field wall to extend the lead to 8-6.

The current Horns would threaten in the bottom half of the seventh but Duke Ellis (2018-2020) would rob Trey Faltine of a game-tying base hit.

Here are some of the highlights of Saturday’s ballgame: