Tag: longhorns baseball

Melendez smashes two home runs as No. 1 Texas takes down South Carolina

No. 1 Texas bounced back in a major way over South Carolina, improving to 6-0 against the SEC this season.

The bats were on full display after rain put a hold on the series between Texas and South Carolina. The two offenses combined for 14 runs on 25 hits in a windy day at the ballpark, but three home runs gave Texas the 9-5 victory.

Ivan Melendez got the party started in the first inning as he drilled a two-run home run off the centerfield batter’s eye. It would not be the last time Melendez would strike in this game.

Texas ace Pete Hansen did not have his best stuff today. The Gamecocks scratched five runs on nine hits against the lefty but Hansen battled through six innings, picking up the win.

The turning point in the game took place in the top of the fifth inning. South Carolina retired the first two Texas hitters before the Horns exploded for four straight hits, taking a 7-4 lead. Trey Falitne blasted an opposite-field home run over the right-field wall.

After his two-run bomb in the first inning, Ivan Melendez gave the Horns some breathing room with a monster home run into the Texas bullpen. The Titanic added an emphatic bat flip for good measure.

Travis Sthele and Jared Southard threw three shutout innings in relief to take game one of the series.

Texas and South Carolina will play a rare Sunday doubleheader to finish up the three-game set.

Texas RHP Tanner Witt to miss remainder of 2022 season

Devastating news for Texas baseball.

Devastating news for Texas sophomore right-hander Tanner Witt, as the school announced he will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the 2022 season.

Witt was scratched from his start against UCLA over the weekend for “precautionary reasons.” A bullpen and further testing showed damage to his UCL.

Potential replacements to fill Witt’s Sunday role are Lucas Gordan and Andre Dulplantier.

Gordon is the most experienced, totaling 33 innings with a 2.41 ERA in his two seasons at Texas. Dulpantier is coming off Tommy John surgery himself, he is still trying to get his velocity back to his freshman form.

Luke Harrison is another potential replacement for the rotation. The freshman has been dynamite out of the bullpen so far this season. He has yet to give up a run in seven appearances this season.

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No. 1 Texas takes down Texas State in a 9-8 thriller

No. 1 Texas takes care of business in a 9-8 slugfest over Texas State.

No. 1 Texas baseball avoided dropping its second loss of the season in front of a rowdy crowd in San Marcos on Tuesday. The Longhorns took down Texas State in a 9-8 slugfest.

Preseason All-American closer Aaron Nixon has a flair for the dramatics. The sophomore walked the bases loaded in the ninth before closing the door on the Bobcats with a huge strikeout.

Texas cruised to a 3-0 lead through the first few innings of the ballgame before Texas State exploded for six runs in the bottom half of the third. Freshman Daylan Pena deposited to grand slam over the left-field wall to cap off the six spot and give the Bobcats all the momentum.

Texas did what all great teams do in the next inning. The Horns responded with a six-spot of their own to regain the lead. Ivan Melendez hit this three-run moonshot to put Texas out in front for good.

Texas received valuable innings from Coy Cobb, Travis Sthele, Luke Harrison and Aaron Nixon out of the bullpen to hold on for the 9-8 victory.

These two teams will meet up again on Wednesday at Disch Falk Field in Austin. Texas RHP Justin Eckhart will get his first start on the mound this season.

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Texas baseball holds steady at No. 1 after a 2-1 weekend in Houston

No. 1 Texas made a statement over the weekend.

No. 1 Texas flexed its muscles over the weekend against a stacked field at the Shriners College Classic in Houston.

The Longhorns went 2-1 on the weekend, highlighted by victories over No. 10 Tennessee and No. 12 LSU. Improving its record against SEC opponents to a perfect 5-0 on the young season.

Texas did lose the weekend finale to UCLA after Tanner Witt was scratched from his start for “precautionary reasons.” Witt’s long-term status is still unknown at this point.

D1Baseball kept Texas at the top of its latest top 25 rankings after the successful weekend at Minute Maid Park. Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and TCU join Texas as Big 12 teams who made the cut.

Texas will take its 11-1 record into San Marcos on Tuesday to battle it out against the red-hot Texas State Bobcats, who just took a series on road over No. 16 Arizona.

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Shiners Children’s College Classic: Preview and pitching matchups

Houston is the place to be for college baseball fans this weekend.

David Pierce has to be happy with what he has seen from his squad early on.

No. 1 Texas has passed the eye test of the 2022 season thus far. The Horns are undefeated at 9-0, outscoring opponents 73-9 over that span.

The Longhorns are playing well in all facets of the game. Allowing less than one earned run per game while hitting .300 as a team will get the job done.

Texas is coming off a weekend sweep of future SEC foe Alabama and a midweek blowout over Sam Houston State.

The competition will heat up for Texas this weekend at the 22nd annual 2022 Shiners Children’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Texas will face No. 17 Tennessee, No. 7 LSU and UCLA. Baylor and Oklahoma are the other Big 12 teams joining Texas in the field.

Texas went 1-2 during the event in the COVID shortened 2020 season.

Here is a look at the projected pitching matchups in each of Texas’ games for the weekend.

Social media reacts to Ivan Melendez’s monster performance for Texas baseball

Ivan Melendez got the attention of the entire country with his two home runs on Sunday.

Ivan Melendez coming back for another season is one of the major reasons Texas baseball is ranked No. 1 in the country and a popular pick to win the national championship.

The first baseman had a breakout 2021 campaign hitting .319 on the season with a team-high 13 home runs. Melendez decided to return to Texas after getting selected by Miami in the 2021 MLB draft.

Melendez proved to the nation that his power has not gone anywhere with two mammoth home runs in Sunday’s victory over in-state rival, Rice.

The first bomb extended Texas’ lead to 6-1 in the fourth inning over the Owls. He took a 1-2 pitch over the centerfield monster on a ball that measured 451 feet.

It did not take long for Ivan to strike again. With two runners on in the sixth inning, he blasted another three-run homer over the left centerfield wall. This time it flew 441 feet in the air.

The “Hispanic Titanic’s” big day at the plate sparked lots of reactions on social media:

Ivan Melendez hits two massive home runs as Texas completes the sweep of Rice

Texas outscored Rice 36-3 over the weekend.

The opening weekend of 2022 could not have gone any better for No. 1 Texas.

The Longhorns dominated the Rice Owls 14-2 on Sunday to complete the three-game sweep. Texas outscored Rice by a total of 36-3 on the series.

Tanner Witt picked up the win in his first career start. Witt battled through some traffic most of the day but limited the Owls to just one run over five innings. He struck out his fourth Owl of the day with two runners on to keep the Texas lead at 2-1 in the fourth.

The Texas offense exploded after Witt’s big strikeout. Trey Faltine led off the bottom half of the fourth with a laser over the left field wall. Four batters later Ivan Melendez sent a three-run bomb over the monster to extend Texas’ lead to 9-1.

The “Hispanic Titanic” would add another three-run homer two innings later as the Horns cruised to a 14-2 victory.

Key stats:

  • SP Tanner Witt: 5.0 IP, five strikeouts and one earned run allowed.
  • 1B Ivan Melendez: 2-4, six RBI and two home runs
  • LF Eric Kennedy: 2-3, four runs scored
  • SS Trey Faltine: 1-4, home run and two RBI

Up next for Texas is a road trip to Texas A&M Corpus-Christi for two mid-week games against the Islanders.

Two Longhorns named to Golden Spikes Award watch list

The Golden Spikes Award is given annually to the best player in college baseball.

The Golden Spikes Award is given annually to the best player in college baseball.

On Tuesday, USA Baseball announced its 2022 Gold Spikes watch list which included 55 players across the country.

Texas starting pitchers Pete Hansen and Tanner Witt were named to the list.

Hansen enters the 2022 season as the ace of the Longhorns staff. He boasts a career ERA of 1.58 over 108 innings pitched. Hansen was also named preseason Big 12 pitcher of the year.

Witt will move into the weekend rotation after a phenomenal freshman season out of the bullpen. Opposing batters hit just .194 against Witt’s electric fastball and wipeout breaking ball last year.

12 Longhorns have been named a Gold Spikes Finalist but none have ever captured the award, most recently Kody Clemens in 2018. Hansen and Witt will have the chance to change that this season.

Texas begins the 2022 season on Friday, Feb. 18 at home against the Rice Owls.

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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:

LOOK: Texas’ pitching staff headlines Baseball America’s February cover

Texas has a chance for a special season and it all starts on the mound.

Most publications have Texas ranked No. 1 to start the 2022 college baseball season and for good reason. Texas returns the majority of an Omaha lineup and will boast one the best pitching staffs in America.

Texas’ weekend rotation of Pete Hansen, Tanner Witt and Tristian Stevens headlined Baseball America’s college baseball preview magazine cover. Baseball America labeled the Horns “armed and dangerous” and “the best pitching staff in the nation.”

All three pitchers in Hansen, Witt and Stevens had fanatic seasons a year ago.

Hansen posted a 9-1 record with a 1.88 ERA. The southpaw was named preseason Big 12 pitcher of the year by coaches around the league.

Witt will move into the starting rotation after a freshman All-American outing from the pen in 2021. The hard-throwing righty held opponents to a .194 batting average and finished with a 3.14 ERA.

Heading into last season Texas had some question marks in the weekend rotation behind eventual first-round pick Ty Madden. Tristian Stevens stepped into the Saturday role and was excellent all season. Stevens finished the season as an All-Big 12 selection.

Texas has a chance for a special season and it all starts on the mound.