Texas baseball has come back to life as they won this past weekend’s series over Baylor, making it two series wins in a row. There were several key pitching performances that propelled the Horns into the win column.
Chance Ruffin pitched a complete game in game one, giving up one run on seven hits to lead the Horns to a 12-1 win at Baylor. Texas had 16 hits, playing small ball all game to manufacture runs with ease. The Longhorns had 14 singles and two doubles to go along with Ruffin’s masterful performance. Jordan Danks, David Hernandez, Preston Clark, and Brandon Belt each had three hits on the evening as the Bears were no match for Texas’ big bats.
In game two, the Horns left a dozen runners on base in losing 6-1. They had several scoring opportunities, but couldn’t capitalize with the timely hit. Another good pitching performance, this time by Austin Wood, wasn’t enough as he got no help from the Longhorn hitters.
The score was 0-0 until the seventh when Wood gave up a home run, and then the wheels fell off. Wood gave up another bomb before being taken out of the game with the Horns down 3-0. The rally was finally halted after several walks, inflating the score to 4-0. The Longhorns were unable to recover as they only scored one run on a sac fly by Tant Shephard in the eighth inning.
Another unmatched pitching performance by Kenn Kasparek in game 3, as he recorded an eight-inning shutout and scattered three hits. Cole Green came in to pitch the ninth and got the save. Kasparek has not given up a run since April 22. In that span, he has thrown a no hitter and Sunday’s two hitter, stretching his scoreless innings count to just under 22 innings.
Kasparek was named the Louisville Slugger National Pitcher of the Week after working 17 innings this week without giving up a run, and only allowing two hits. Congrats to Kenn Kasparek for his dominate performances.
The Horns’ hitting was mediocre at best, stranding another 10 runners in game three, and only recording two runs. Brandon Belt paced the Longhorns with two hits and one run batted in, in an otherwise poor hitting performance for the second straight game for the Horns.
Texas has a much needed break this weekend. Hopefully, the rest will give them time to repair the hitting problem that plagued them against Baylor. With masterful pitching performances, and better hitting, there is still a chance for the Horns to make the playoffs.
This article appears in May 2 • 2008.