The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
UT Arlington
Baseball tops UT-Arlington, 9-4
02.06.2007 | Baseball
ROUND ROCK, Texas -- The University of Texas used an aggressive attack on the base paths and a 3-for-3 day by Kyle Russell to post a 9-4 win over UT Arlington at The Dell Diamond on Tuesday.
The Longhorns stole nine bases on the day, including two each by Nick Peoples, Jordan Danks and Bradley Suttle. Russell went 3-for-3 with one double, one home run, two runs scored and three RBI as Texas evened its record at 2-2 on the season.
Texas drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning. Peoples reached on a throwing error by UTA's second baseman, stole second base, moved to third on a throwing error by the Mavericks' catcher and scored on a double down the leftfield line by Danks. With one out, Suttle singled to the left centerfield gap, scoring Danks and staking the Longhorns to a 2-0 lead.
Preston Clark accounted for a Texas run in the third inning, doubling down the rightfield line to start the inning, moving to third on a groundout by Suttle and scored on a sacrifice fly by Chance Wheeless, giving the Horns a 3-0 lead.
UT Arlington (0-1) scored its first run in the top of the fourth with a two-out home run by Mitch Putman, trimming the margin to 3-1.
Texas tallied three runs in the bottom fourth inning. Pat McCrory was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. He advanced to second base when UTA's shortstop dropped a ball on a stolen base attempt. Russell singled up the middle to plate McCrory. A sacrifice bunt by Travis Tucker advanced Russell to second. Russell stole third base and scored on a squeeze bunt by Peoples. Clark capped off the rally with a double down the leftfield line to drive in Peoples and give UT a 6-1 lead.
The Mavericks responded with three runs in the top of the fifth. With one out, Brock Wilson doubled and a fielding error by Wheeless on a grounder by David Newby put runners on the corner. Daniel Rieder followed with a three-run home run over the right centerfield gap, trimming the lead to 6-4.
Texas tacked one run each in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. In the fifth, Russell Moldenhauer reached on a throwing error. Clint Stubbs pinch ran for Moldenhauer, stole second base, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by McCrory and scored on a double by Kyle Russell. In the sixth, Texas scored without a hit. With one out, Danks drew a walk and stole second base. Clark was hit by a pitch and a fielder's choice groundout by Suttle put runners at the corners. Danks and Suttle pulled off the double steal, inflating the cushion to 8-4. In the seventh, Russell hit his first home run of the season in the seventh inning with a moon shot over the right centerfield fence for the final run.
Joseph Krebs (1-0) earned the victory in relief. He pitched 2.2 hitless shutout innings, striking out four Mavericks. Hunter Harris, the Texas starter, tossed 4.1 innings and yielded four runs, three earned, on seven hits and three strikeouts.
Dillon Gee (0-1) was saddled with the loss for UT Arlington. He pitched three innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits and two hit batsmen, while striking out three Longhorns.
In addition to Russell's performance, Clark went 2-for-4 with one run and one run scored and tallied two doubles in a game for the second this season to lead the Longhorns at the plate.
Wilson and Leo Radkowski each had two hits for the Mavericks and Rieder paced UTA with three RBI.
Texas returns to action on Friday with the first of a three-game series against Long Beach State. First pitch for the first game is 8:30 p.m. Central time.
