The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
11-3
Hawaii
6-7
No. 10/17 Baseball comes back for 3-2 win over Hawaii
03.07.2014 | Baseball
Felts provides game-winning hit in the eighth inning.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Jacob Felts broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning with a run-scoring single to right field and the No. 10/17 Texas Baseball team won its sixth game in a row with a 3-2 win over Hawaii Friday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Mark Payton scored the game-winning run, racing around from second on Felts' single and narrowly eluding the tag of Hawai'i catcher Trevor Podratz to lift Texas (11-3) to its 11th in win the last 12 games. John Curtiss came on to pitch the ninth and earned his first save of the season.
It marked the second game-winning hit of the season for Felts, who gave Texas a walk-off win over UTPA with a run-scoring single in the 11th inning on Feb. 25.
The game was a pitcher's duel throughout. Texas' Parker French came into Friday's matchup having allowed just two earned runs in 18 innings, while Hawai'i's Matt Cooper hadn't allowed any in his 21 innings.
Hawai'i got on the board in the first inning, taking advantage of a Texas error and the lone walk French issued, combined with a pair of singles from Juliene Jones and Jordan Richartz to make it 2-0.
Texas, though, came into the game with a 5-2 record when the opponent scores first, and tied it up in the fourth. Felts led off the inning with his first career triple, and Andy McGuire followed two batters later with a double down the left field line to make it 2-1. With two outs, Collin Shaw singled to center field to bring in McGuire and tie it up.
French settled down after the first inning, facing the minimum in the second, third and fourth innings with the help of a groundball double play in the third. He also worked 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh, with the help of some great defensive plays. In the seventh, shortstop C.J Hinojosa made a diving stop to his right, hopped up and threw to first to just beat the runner. McGuire got the second out of the inning with a leaping catch on a hard-hit liner. The freshman third baseman also had a bare-handed grab to end the sixth.
After Texas' two-run fourth inning, Cooper retired the side in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. He had set down 10 in a row until Payton led off the eighth with a single.
Cooper (2-1), who struck out seven in 7 1/3, took the loss, while Texas' Travis Duke (1-0) earned the win after pitching 2/3 of an inning in relief of French.
Texas, which improved to 6-1 in games decided by two runs or less this season, has allowed just five earned runs in its six-game winning streak.
Texas and Hawai'i resume the series with a doubleheader Saturday at noon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Duke, Travis (1-0)
L: Cooper, M. (2-1)
S: Curtiss, John (1)
Batting:
RBI: Jones, J. 1 ; Richartz, J. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Doi, M. 1 ; Aliviado, K. 1
Batting:
2B: McGuire, Andy 1
3B: Felts, Jacob 1
RBI: Felts, Jacob 1 ; McGuire, Andy 1 ; Shaw, Collin 1
SH: Hinojosa, C.J 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Payton, Mark 1 ; Felts, Jacob 1 ; McGuire, Andy 1
