No. 10/14 Baseball drops Big 12 opener to Kansas, 3-2

Friday, March 14

Austin, Texas

6 p.m.

University of Texas

14-5, 0-1

Kansas

13-4, 1-0

Kansas

Texas Longhorns

No. 10/14 Baseball drops Big 12 opener to Kansas, 3-2

03.14.2014 | Baseball

Box Score

Tres Barrera goes 2-for-4 with an RBI.

AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 10/14 Texas Baseball team fell to Kansas, 3-2, in the conference opener for both teams Friday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

Kansas (13-4, 1-0 Big 12) starting pitcher Wes Benjamin limited Texas to six hits on the evening, allowing just two run in 8 2/3 innings. The lefty struck out four to improve to 3-0 on the year.

Texas (14-5, 0-1 Big 12) starter Parker French took the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. The junior allowed the Jayhawks to get on the board early with two runs in the first in falling to 2-2 on the year.

Playing his first game of the season at first base, Tres Barrera led the Texas offense with a 2-for-4, one-RBI performance, and Mark Payton extended his nation-leading reached-base streak to 58 games with a 1-for-3 day.

The Jayhawks struck quickly, with leadoff hitter Justin Protacio singling to open the game. After a walk and another single loaded the bases with one out, Kansas took a 2-0 lead after a hit batsman and sacrifice fly.

French escaped the inning without further damage, and worked three straight scoreless innings afterwards.

Texas then cut the Kansas lead to 2-1 when it got its first leadoff runner on in the fourth inning after Brooks Marlow drew a walk. Marlow moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Payton, and came around to score when C.J Hinojosa ripped a double off the left field wall. Hinojosa, though, was stranded at third as the Longhorns were unable to tie it up.

Kansas came right back with a run the next half inning. A walk and single put runners on first and second for the Jayhawks, and Connor McKay drove in a run with a single up the middle.

The Texas bullpen, which came into the game on a 22 scoreless inning streak, kept the Longhorns in the game. Travis Duke came on in relief of French with two on and one out in the sixth, and after allowing a bloop single to load the bases, struck out two to escape the jam.

After Chad Hollingsworth worked 1/3 of an inning, Ty Culbreth followed with 2 2/3 scoreless innings in which he retired all seven batters he faced, including an inning-ending double play with a pair of runners he inherited.

Texas appeared to be in business in the sixth inning, when Ben Johnson led off the inning with a double and Payton gave the Longhorns runners on the corners with one out on an infield single. Hinojosa, though, popped up a ball in foul territory, and Kansas catcher K. Eldredge and first baseman Ryan Pidhaichuk collided. Eldredge made the catch, and Johnson tried to score from third but was thrown out to end the inning.

In the ninth, Jacob Felts started a two-out rally with a single, and pinch runner Weston Hall later scored on another single by Barrera. Kansas pitcher Jordan Piche', though, came on to earn the save with a strikeout to end the game.

Texas and Kansas resume the series Saturday at 1 p.m.