The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
UT Pan American
Boswell gives No. 8 Baseball 5-4 walk-off win over UTPA
02.25.2015 | Baseball
Bret Boswell drove in the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth
AUSTIN, Texas -- With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and runners on the corners in a tie game, Bret Boswell ripped a base hit up the middle to give No. 8 Texas a 5-4 win over UT Pan American Wednesday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
The win moved Texas to 8-2 on the year and increased its winning streak to seven games. Boswell's hit was the first walk-off win for the Horns since Mark Payton's dramatic three-RBI double to defeat Baylor last year on April 4.
UT Pan American's starting pitcher Parker Gallegos kept the Texas offense off balance for 6 1/3 innings, holding it to just two runs (one earned) on five hits before being chased from the game. The Longhorns then rallied for two more runs off of the bullpen in the eighth to set up Boswell's game-winner in the ninth.
Boswell paced the offense for the evening, going 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs including the game-winner. Texas scored three of its five runs in the final two innings, with Boswell having a hand in each of them, scoring one run and driving in two.
Zane Gurwitz contributed a 1-for-3 night with a walk and the game-tying RBI, Collin Shaw had an RBI double and Ben Johnson extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the fifth inning. C.J Hinojosa added a hit and an RBI and Brooks Marlow had a base knock, two walks and a run driven in.
Ty Culbreth picked up the win for Texas after throwing a scoreless ninth inning. After 6 1/3 scoreless frames tonight from the bullpen, its ERA dropped to 0.82 on the season. Jon Malmin (1 1/3 IP), Jake McKenzie (1 IP), Travis Duke (1 IP), Kirby Bellow (1IP) and Kyle Johnston (1 IP) each contributed to the zero earned runs for the pen in the game.
Longhorn starter Connor Mayes lasted 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks, but did not factor into the decision thanks to an excellent effort from the bullpen and some late-inning heroics from the Texas offense.
The Broncs got on the board first with two runs in the top of the second inning. Following back-to-back singles and a fielder's choice, Manny Loredo singled through the right side to bring home the game's first run. Later in the frame, with the bases loaded and two down, a fielding error from Mayes while attempting to cover first base on a ground ball allowed the second run to score.
UTPA struck for two more runs in the third and fourth innings to extend the lead to 4-1. In the third, a walk, pass ball and a base hit from Logan Landon brought home Victor Garcia, Jr. In the fourth with Jon Malmin pitching, the Bronc's scored their fourth run on a sac fly from Cole Loncar following an error, walk and double steal.
The Horns would finally get on the board in the bottom of the fifth on a Hinojosa RBI single. With two outs and runners on first and second via a fielder's choice and a Johnson infield single, Hinojosa laced a ball right back up the box to bring home Patrick Mathis from second and make the score 4-1 Broncs. However, the rally ended there as Gallegos endured an ending inning groundout.
Texas got another run back in the bottom of the seventh via Collin Shaw's ninth double of the season.
In the bottom of the eighth and with Marlow standing on first, UTPA went to the pen for a left-hander to face the lefty Boswell, but he smashed one in the left-center gap for an RBI double. Following a wild pitch and a line out, Gurwitz placed a single just out of reach of the shortstop, driving in Boswell for the tying run.
Shaw walked to begin the ninth, and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Tres Barrera was then intentionally walked, and a Marlow fly out that advanced Shaw to third put runners on the corners for Boswell, who won it on the single up the middle.
Isaac Martinez (0-1) took the loss for the Broncs, who fell to 5-3 after the game tonight.
The Longhorns will look to continue their winning ways when they open up a three game-set vs. San Diego, beginning Friday at 7:30 p.m. at UFCU-Disch Falk Field.
QUOTES
Head coach Augie Garrido
On the attitude during the game: I think it went this way – I think that they actually came in with a better spirit about them, about playing hard and playing as a team. We were kind of out there and not connected. It started in infield and outfield. There wasn't anything dramatically wrong during that period of time, in infield and outfield, but we actually just kind of let balls roll in and out of our glove and were just careless, just careless stuff. Things have been pretty easy for this group for the last three games or so. When we were at Rice, we hit balls hard right at people and they were outs. But then we have had a nice feast on balls that are going through the infield, in between the outfielders, and things have been pretty sweet for everybody offensively. Well tonight when we hit a ball hard in the first four innings, it was about like that (slumped over). The body language revealed that they wish they would've had a hit. I think that there's nothing too wrong with that, except we actually got beat in those first four innings at being a team. That shows just how important teamwork is in this game. Their spirit actually outplayed our spirit, and that's where it is. Now what happens in the fifth? Now we realize we're four runs behind and we need to do something. So what do you do? You start to try, don't you? As soon as you try, you fail. As soon as you try, you fail in this game. Now they're trying to drive in runs. How many pop-ups did we have? How many easy fly balls did we have? How many easy slow rollers? We mishit the ball during that period of time, and it's the same guys that were hitting everything insight four games in a row. That's how fragile and how important the mind is as it affects the performance of the players. That's how final line there is between being very, very good and not very good, and that's what I saw happen, and I think that's the lesson in it for them.
On Connor Mayes' performance: He got rushed. There were a lot of uncharacteristic kind of things that happened in the first four innings all based on what I've just been talking about. All based on that. You start to try, you lose your trust in being yourself.
On slow-paced pitching from UT Pan-American: It didn't get any better the second time than it did the first time. What it took was for them to start to really take their mind off of the results and get back to the results of seeing the ball and hitting it. That's my take on it, that's what I think.
Senior RF Collin Shaw
On using this game as a learning experience: I definitely think that we came out a little flat, and it was good to see us get reconnected in about the sixth or seventh inning and put some rallies together. That's what Coach [Garrido] talked about, learning from it for the future. It's good to get in a tight ball game, as well, at home and pull it out.
On what made things difficult offensively early: He came out, he did his job, and he attacked the mitt. Actually, he was throwing more balls than strikes, but we were swinging at them. I guess that turns them into strikes. We were just getting away from our approach and probably taking too big of swings than what we should've been instead of just sticking to our approach early on.
On confidence in the lineup: Everybody has confidence in one through nine that they're going to go up there and do their job, which is all you can ask at the end of the day. Every at bat matters, every pitch matters in college baseball, and that's kind of the fun in college baseball.
Freshman infielder Bret Boswell
On his last at bat: I thought it was a little down and in, but the umpire called it a strike, so I just had to get back in there. I kind of got my mind right. I just thought I was going to get a hit and was looking to go up the middle with it and just put a good swing on it.
On coming back with a fast ball (regard to the last at bat): Yeah, I was kind of thinking about that, but I was just looking for something close. Anything to swing at, really.
On pressure coming from behind: It's a great learning experience. It was tough. We came out slow. Everybody was kind of getting nervous toward the middle part of the game, but then something just happened, something just changed. You could just see it in the dugout. The atmosphere changed. We all just started battling and good things happened.
