The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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Kansas
No. 7 Baseball doubles down on Kansas, 9-1
04.22.2011 | Baseball
April 22, 2011
LAWRENCE, Kan. - The No. 7 Texas Longhorns equaled a season high with 15 hits and registered season highs for doubles (7) and total bases (22) in a 9-1 win over the Kansas Jayhawks on Friday evening at Hoglund Ballpark.
Tant Shepherd led the hit parade, going 4-for-5, including a career-high three doubles. The tally for Shepherd was the most doubles for a Longhorn since Preston Clark recorded three in a 25-inning game against Boston College on May 30, 2009. Shepherd added three runs and one RBI.
Erich Weiss went 3-for-5 with one run, two doubles, one stolen base and three RBI. Jordan Etier went 3-for-5 with one double, one stolen base and two RBI. Mark Payton went 2-for-4 with two runs and was hit by a pitch. Brandon Loy added one double, one run and one stolen base. Kevin Lusson batted 2-for-4 with one run, one HBP and one RBI.
Texas' offensive arsenal overshadowed another outstanding evening for the Longhorns' pitchers. The pitching staff yielded two runs or less for the eighth consecutive game.
Cole Green (3-3) pitched 7.0 shutout innings, scattering six hits and two walks while striking out four. Hoby Milner pitched a perfect eighth inning, striking out one of the three batters he faced. Corey Knebel had a 30.2 inning scoreless streak snapped, allowing the Jayhawks' lone run in the ninth. It snapped a streak of 24 consecutive shutout innings by Texas pitchers.
The Longhorns pounced on the Jayhawks early with three runs in the top of the first inning. Loy started the frame with a double to the fence in leftfield. Payton laid down a bunt for a single and Loy came around to score when Kansas' third baseman made an ill-advised throw to an uncovered first base. Shepherd pushed the Payton to third with a sacrifice bunt and Weiss drew a walk to put runners at the corners. Paul Montalbano plated Payton with a sacrifice fly to centerfield, staking the Horns to a 2-0 lead. After Jonathan Walsh walked to push Weiss to second base, Lusson deposited a full-count offering into leftfield for an RBI single.
Texas added to the lead in the second inning with a two-out rally. Payton singled to leftfield and Shepherd followed with a double to centerfield to balloon the lead to 4-0.
Back-to-back two-out doubles by Shepherd and Weiss in the fourth inning inflated the Texas cushion to 5-0. Shepherd dropped his double down the leftfield line and Weiss laced his RBI two-bagger down the rightfield line.
In the sixth inning, Loy was issued a walk to start the inning, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Payton and stole third base. Loy was replaced by Shepherd at third base after getting caught in a run-down on fielder's choice grounder. Weiss sent Shepherd home with a single to centerfield widen the chasm to 6-0.
Texas duplicated the fourth inning in the eighth inning. With two outs, Shepherd doubled to leftfield and Weiss doubled down the leftfield line to give Texas a 7-0 edge.
The Longhorns' cavalcade of runs continued in the ninth. Walsh was issued a walk and Lusson was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Etier sent both runners home with a wall-banging double in right centerfield, staking Texas to the 9-0 advantage.
Kansas broke the scoring seal in the ninth inning. Casey Lytle hit a leadoff single off Knebel, moved to second on a wild pitch and stole third base with one out. Pinch-hitter Chris Manship singled to rightfield, driving home Lytle to taint the potential second consecutive shutout for the Longhorns.
T.J. Walz (5-4) was saddled with the loss. He allowed five runs one 10 hits and two walks while striking out four over 5.0 innings.
Brandon Macias went 2-for-4 for Kansas and recorded the Jayhawks' lone extra-base hit with a double. Lytle and James Stanfield each went 2-for-3.
The Longhorns attempt to record a three-game sweep when the battle the Jayhawks at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Hoglund Ballpark.
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