The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
10-3
Valparaiso
4-6
No. 10/17 Baseball wins fifth straight, 7-1 over Valparaiso
03.04.2014 | Baseball
Seven pitchers combine to hold Valpo to one run on four hits.
AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 10/17 Texas baseball team won its fifth straight game Tuesday evening with a 7-1 win over Valparaiso at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Seven Texas pitchers combined to hold the Crusaders to one run on four hits, with starter Blake Goins (1-0) earning his first collegiate win after tossing three scoreless innings.
The Longhorns have surrendered just four earned runs during their five-game winning streak – a stretch of 47 innings – for a 0.77 ERA.
Ben Johnson led a balanced offensive effort with a 2-for-3, two-run, two-RBI performance, while Brooks Marlow was 2-for-3 with two walks. Each of Texas' four-through-nine hitters contributed at least one RBI as the Longhorns won for the 10th time in the last 11 games to improve to 10-3 on the year.
Texas jumped on Valpo (4-6) early, plating three runs in the first off of two hits. With runners on the corners, Kacy Clemens put down a squeeze bunt that scored Mark Payton for the first run of the game. Then with two on and two outs, Johnson pulled a 2-2 pitch through the left side of the infield to make it 3-0.
Goins made quick work of the Crusaders in his first two innings, retiring the side in order in the first and second. He worked around trouble in the third when Valpo loaded the bases with two outs by inducing an inning-ending double play.
Valparaiso got its lone run in the fourth inning on a RBI groundout. Michael Norman led the Crusaders offensively, finishing with two of their four hits.
Also contributing on the mound for Texas were Josh Sawyer, Chad Hollingsworth, Ty Culbreth, Jon Malmin, Ty Marlow and John Curtiss – all of whom worked one inning. It marked the season debut for Marlow, who had been dealing with elbow tendinitis.
Texas added a single run in the fourth inning when Collin Shaw's RBI groundout scored Johnson. The Longhorns extended the lead to 7-1 in the fifth. Jacob Felts laced a double down the left field line to plate Clemens, Tres Barrera singled to score Felts, and Andy McGuire had a RBI fielder's choice.
The Longhorns return to action Friday at 6 p.m., when they open a four-game series with Hawaii at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Goins, Blake (1-0)
L: LUNDEEN, D (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: PALACE, N 1
Base Running:
RUNS: KOWALCZYK, K 1
Batting:
2B: Felts, Jacob 1
RBI: Clemens, Kacy 1 ; Felts, Jacob 1 ; Johnson, Ben 2 ; Barrera, Tres 1 ; McGuire, Andy 1 ; Shaw, Collin 1
SH: Clemens, Kacy 1 ; Barrera, Tres 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Payton, Mark 1 ; Hinojosa, C.J 1 ; Clemens, Kacy 2 ; Felts, Jacob 1 ; Johnson, Ben 2
SB: Johnson, Ben 1 ; McGuire, Andy 1
