The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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Kansas
No. 19 Baseball falls to Kansas in series finale, 7-2
03.16.2008 | Baseball
AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 19 Texas Longhorns were doomed by a four-run sixth inning and lost to the Kansas Jayhawks 7-2 in Big 12 Conference baseball action Sunday afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
With the score tied 2-2, Kansas took control of the game with four runs in the seventh. With one out, Nick Faunce and Robby Price drew back-to-back walks off UT reliever Brandon Workman. With Marcus Tackett replacing Workman, John Allman loaded the bases with a single to centerfield. The Jayhawks took the lead when Preston Land drew a bases-loaded walk, plating Faunce. Ryne Price drove in a pair with a single up the middle, scoring Robby Price and Allman. The rally ended when Buck Afenir hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Land, inflating the cushion to 6-2.
The Jayhawks added a run in the eighth. Tony Thompson hit a leadoff single up the middle and Faunce and Robby Price followed with bunt singles to load the bases. Thompson scored the game's final run when Allman grounded into a double play.
Kansas (11-7, 1-2 Big 12) broke the scoring seal with a run in the top of the second inning. Erik Morrison was hit by a pitch, moved to second on passed ball and scored on a single through the right side by Thompson.
The Jayhawks increased the margin to 2-0 with a run in the fourth. Morrison singled up the middle, advanced to third on a single by Afenir and scored on a sacrifice fly by Joe Southers.
Brandon Belt tied the game at 2-2 with a home run in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Tant Shepherd singled through the left side of the infield and scored on Belt's dinger over the fence in left centerfield.
Workman (2-1) was saddled with the loss for Texas (12-5, 2-1 Big 12), allowing two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out two in 2.1 innings of relief.
Sam Freeman (3-0) earned the win for the Jayhawks, yielding just two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three over six innings. Andres Esquibel earned his first save of the season with three innings of shutout relief. He gave up two hits and one walk while striking out one.
Allmen led the Kansas offense, going 3-for-5 with one run scored. Morrison was 2-for-3 with two runs and Thompson added a pair of hits.
The Longhorns return to action Monday with 6 p.m. game against UTSA at Wolff Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Augie Garrido
On the game: Basically, I feel like their pitcher did a great job of keeping the ball in the strike zone, staying ahead on the count, challenging our hitters, keeping runners off base and getting ground balls. They made 14 ground ball outs in the game. Without trying to analyze that anymore, it's just the way it went. I feel like we can come back on the offensive side. I think it's a responsibility that when we get behind like we did and we have three innings left in the game we should see that as something very doable for our offense, but that didn't happen. We didn't get things going and keep them going throughout the lineup when we really needed too. We gave them a couple of bases with walks and they took advantage of them, they had some big hits and we didn't respond.
On taking two out of the three games: We look at that differently. This game is always a glass is half full or half empty. They won today's game and they deserved to win. They out-hit us, they out-pitched us and usually that's a pretty good formula for success.
CF Jordan Danks
On the game: I don't want to say that we have that Sunday curse back. Last year we would have a weekend series and we would win two straight on the bat and Sunday would give us trouble. We're a different team this year. We try to battle it to the end and we just didn't see that today.
On the team's energy: Right off the bat they scored two runs and coach is always talking about this game is a momentum game, it's a battle for the momentum and they took it early on. When (Brandon) Belt hit that home run we got it back, but the very next inning they scored four more runs and took it back from us. Really they just fought harder for the momentum and they deserved to win today.
LF Preston Clark
On the team's performance: I think everyone saw the same thing. We didn't play the fundamentals of the game today and it hurt us. Things that we work on in practice we didn't accomplish those things in the game. It hurts, but the first two days we did it and I think we just got ahead of ourselves in this last game.
