The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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UT San Antonio
Barrera helps lead No. 6 Baseball past UTSA, 14-2
02.17.2015 | Baseball
Tres Barrera went 5-for-6 with six RBIs, including a three-run homer
AUSTIN, Texas -- Tres Barrera went 5-for-6 with six RBIs and three more Longhorns had three hits apiece to lead the No. 6 Texas Baseball team past UTSA, 14-2, Tuesday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
On the 40th anniversary of the first game ever played at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, the Longhorns (3-2) earned their 1,400th victory at the ballpark thanks to an offensive eruption.
The 14-run outburst marked the first time a Texas offense has scored 14 runs in a game since April 7, 2012 against Texas Tech, and the 20 hits were the most since May 30, 2009 in a 25-inning game against Boston College.
Barrera's five hits included a three-run home run, an RBI double and two RBI singles. It marked the first time a Longhorn had six RBIs in a game since Kevin Lusson did it on May 23, 2010, and the first time a player had five hits in a game since Michael Torres on March 20, 2008.
The first three batters in the lineup, Ben Johnson, Collin Shaw and C.J Hinojosa, each had three hits, and combined for five RBIs and four runs scored between them. Johnson and Hinojosa also added doubles to their lines.
Freshmen Michael McCann and Michael Cantu added two hits apiece, including a double from McCann. Cantu had three runs scored in the game and drew two walks while McCann scored once.
Barrera drove in his first two runs with an RBI single and an RBI double in the first and third innings respectively, and Ben Johnson added an RBI double in the fourth to give Texas its first three scores of the game.
In the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded, two outs and the Longhorns holding a 3-2 lead, Johnson came through again, this time with a hard single up the middle that slipped under the center fielder's glove, allowing everyone on base, as well as Johnson himself, to score and give Texas a comfortable 7-2 advantage. Johnson was credited with two RBIs on the play, giving him three on the evening.
The Horns tacked on seven more runs in the eighth, highlighted by a three-run blast over the left field wall by Barrera. Later in the frame, after two bases loaded walks by Zane Gurwitz and Shaw, and an RBI infield single by Hinojosa, Barrera lined a single up the middle for his fourth RBI of the inning, capping the score at 14-2.
Freshman pitcher Connor Mayes (1-0) picked up his first collegiate win by starting and tossing three scoreless innings with two strikeouts, while only surrendering two hits.
The rest of the pitching staff combined to go the final six innings allowing only two earned runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out five Roadrunners. The bullpen received scoreless outings from Jon Malmin (2 IP), Travis Duke (1 1/3 IP), Jake McKenzie (1 1/3 IP) and Andy McGuire (1 IP).
UTSA starter Aaron Burns (0-1) took the loss after allowing a run in 1 1/3 innings as UTSA fell to 2-2 on the season.
The Longhorns return to action Friday night at 6 p.m. when they open a four-game set against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at UFCU Disch-Falk Field (Feb 20-22).
Quotes - Head Coach Augie Garrido
On Collin Shaw's diving catch: He is really a great defensive outfielder and that's why we left him [in right field]. Some people have asked why don't you play him in center and now you know why, because right field is the most difficult field to play defensively in this ball park and he plays it and makes it look pretty easy.
On tonight's performance: We want to take advantage of what the defense will give us; we cannot do that from pitch to pitch right now, our minds just don't work that fast. I have to remember that there are freshmen and sophomores playing. When you're really playing championship baseball you can give one sign and it contradicts what you wanted to do on the last pitch. So now you go from pitch to pitch to pitch and you still do that with confidence. We aren't there yet, that's what I mean by one-dimensional. But we are hitting better than ever, so we are going to be thankful for what we got and work on what we don't got.
On freshman RHP Connor Mayes: I think he was a lot more comfortable, a lot more relaxed on the mound, the environment suited him. That's why we got him out there in Rice and he did well there but he didn't have the same electricity in his stuff as he did here and that usually comes from relaxation and focus. He felt very confident. He is a good pitcher.
On if it was tough keeping the team motivated: We asked them to motivate each other. The dugout is one of the things we have to work on, but they have to be responsible for recognizing the little things the players are doing on the field that can very easily go unnoticed - taking an extra base, a good defensive play, taking ball four on a 3-2 count, all those little details that go along with playing quality baseball and being consistent both offensively and defensively need to be recognized by the guys on the bench. We aren't there yet.
