AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas hammered three home runs and scored eight runs in the ninth to turn what looked to be a series loss into a win with a 13-8 victory over Houston on Sunday at Schroeder Park.
After the Cougars took an 8-5 lead into the final inning thanks to an Ace Reese solo home run in the eighth, the Longhorns’ offense roared to life. After Jared Thomas scored on a throwing error, Peyton Powell tied the game with a 2-run home run to spark the huge inning. Jalin Flores followed with a solo home run on the eighth pitch of the at-bat to give the Longhorns the lead, then Max Belyeu blasted a 2-run shot to extend it to 11-8. Rylan Galvan and Thomas each hit RBI singles to pile on and secure the win.
After dropping the series opener to the Cougars 9-1 on Friday, the Longhorns bounced back to take a 6-5 win Saturday to set up Sunday’s series rubber match. Texas managed just two hits Friday but rebounded to smack 25 in the final two games of the series.
Galvan had a tremendous game at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Galvan hit a 2-run home run in the third inning to give Texas an early 2-0 lead, but that lead quickly evaporated following Harold Coll’s 3-run homer in the bottom half.
Freshman Will Gasparino collected three hits with three runs scored while Thomas and Dee Kennedy each had two hits. Texas struck out 14 times but 11 came before the end of the seventh inning when the Longhorns started to get deep into Houston’s bullpen.
MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters
David Shaw picked up the pitching win in relief for the Longhorns. Texas used seven pitchers in the game with Lebarron Johnson Jr. getting the start. He lasted 2.2 innings and his control issues flared up with four walks and two wild pitches. He allowed three earned runs on five hits in 74 pitches. It’s the fourth start in a row that he didn’t go longer than three innings.
Texas (22-15, 9-6 Big 12) sits in fourth place in the Big 12 Conference and they’ll return home to take on UT-Rio Grande Valley at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Longhorns host a key 3-game weekend series against TCU starting Friday.