The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Brown
No. 5 Baseball bests Brown in series finale, 11-1
03.13.2011 | Baseball
March 13, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas - The No. 5 Texas Longhorns scored multiple runs in four of the six innings they batted and Cole Green fanned a career-high 10 batters in an 11- 1 win over the Brown Bears at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Sunday.
The Longhorns drew first blood in the bottom of the second inning. Tant Shepherd deposited a two-ball, two-strike offering from Brown starter Lucas Whitehill into the visitor's dugout down the leftfield line to lead off the frame. With one out, Jacob Felts drew a walk and scored when Jordan Etier launched a triple to the wall in right centerfield to stake Texas to a 2-0 lead.
The Longhorns were patient at the plate, drawing 10 walks to go with their 10 hits and three hit-by-pitches.
Jacob Felts and Cohl Walla led the hit parade with three apiece. Felts went 3-for-3 with one walk, two doubles, two runs and one RBI. Walla went 3-for-4 with one double, one run and three RBI. Erich Weiss batted 2-for-3 with one triple, three runs, two RBI and one stolen base. Jordan Etier went 1-for-1 with two hit-by-pitches, one sacrifice fly, one triple and two RBI.
Green (1-2) allowed one run on seven hits and equaled a career high with 10 strikeouts while not issuing a walk in 7.0 innings to earn the complete-game win.
UT inflated the cushion to 5-0 with three runs in the home half of the third. Weiss singled to rightfield and Walla singled through the left side of the infield to start the frame and moved into scoring position with a wild pitch. Tant Shepherd drew a walk to load the bases. Jonathan Walsh bounced a grounder back to Whitehall on the mound, but catcher Matt Colantonio was unable to hold onto the put-out toss allowing Weiss to score on the error. Felts roped a single to centerfield to drive in Walla and Etier capped the scoring in the frame with a sacrifice fly to drive in Shepherd.
Brown (1-6) broke the scoring seal with a run in the top of the fourth. Pete Greskoff and Mike DiBiase led off the frame with singles and after Josh Feit struck out, Daniel Massey dropped a single in front of a diving leftfielder to load the bases. Graham Tyler bounced a groundout to third base to push Greskoff across and close the gap to 7-1.
Texas (11-5) responded with a pair of runs in the home half of the fourth. With one out, Mark Payton and Weiss were issued walks and moved into scoring position on a double-steal. Walla plated the pair with a double down the leftfield line to give the Horns a 7-1 advantage.
The cavalcade of runs continued for Texas in the fifth inning. Felts laced a double into the right centerfield gap, Etier was hit by a pitch and Paul Montalbano drew a walk to saturate the bases with Horns. After two outs were recorded on a ground ball by Mark Payton to first base and a subsequent throw home to retire Etier, Weiss bounced a triple off the wall in centerfield to drive in Loy and Montalbano. The scoring rally finished with an RBI single by Walla.
Lucas Whitehill (0-2) was saddled with the loss for the Bears. He yielded five runs, four earned, on five hits and four walks while striking out one over 2.0 innings.
Greskoff and DiBiase each had two hits for Brown which logged seven hits on the afternoon.
The Longhorns return to action on Tuesday when they host Texas State in a 6 p.m. contest at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Head Coach Augie Garrido
On Cole Green's performance: Cole Green looked a lot like a professional pitcher. He just went about his business and kept his composure. Early in the game he gave up a few singles, but he didn't get taken off of his game by it. That was what was impressive. He didn't worry about things or falter. He did a great job.
On the game overall: When you realize that the same guys, in the same uniforms, with the same numbers, performed both yesterday and today, you realize that a large part of this game is about attitude and mental toughness. Sure, Brown lost some pitchers and they walked us quite a few times, but our guys still had to work to keep themselves from not being struck out, competing with the inconsistency of the strike zone. We played with intensity, focus, and we are very happy with the results.
Senior pitcher Cole Green
On his performance: I was able to get ahead of batters and keep the ball down. Those are two things that I really wanted to do, but hadn't been able to lately. That made a huge difference in my performance and overall, made the game a lot more enjoyable for me.
On Tuesday's start helping his performance today: Starting the game Tuesday helped my confidence tremendously. It also helped me calm myself down a little bit and just have fun. Coach (Garrido) had been talking to me about just getting to the basics of my game, and starting when I did, I had enough time to find my rhythm and do just that.
On his pitching and strikeouts: My slider feels great, and I think the strikeouts are going to come. They aren't something that I want to predict or expect because they aren't something I am really working toward. I just want to remain consistent and the strikeouts will come.
Sophomore outfielder Cohl Walla
On today's performance: Last game we were a little more nervous, and I felt like we lacked focus. Today, we were calm and that made us mentally composed. We played smart baseball, and it worked out very well for us.
On Cole Green's leadership for the team: Today, his slider looked great. In fact, his pitching looked great overall. That made him confident and in turn, made us much more confident as a team.
Freshman third baseman Erich Weiss
On the offense: Coach (Garrido) always says to have a good at-bat in mind, and it appeared as though we did that today. It was a real mental battle at the plate, but everyone came through for the team, and it paid off on the scoreboard.
On getting ready for Big 12 Conference play: We are progressing. We wouldn't say that we are perfectly ready. I think everyone has certain things to tweak, and I think we are still growing confidence in one another. But all of these things are easy fixes for a team that is growing closer together. I know we will be ready.
