Baseball rebounds with 9-3 win over UConn to take the series

Sunday, February 26

Austin, Texas

Noon

University of Texas

5-3

UCONN

4-3

UConn

Texas

Baseball rebounds with 9-3 win over UConn to take the series

02.26.2017 | Baseball

Box Score

Ryan Reynolds hit his first collegiate home run and Jake McKenzie threw 4.2 innings of one-hit baseball in the win.

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AUSTIN, Texas—Thanks to a stellar 4.2 innings of relief from Jake McKenzie and a strong rebound from the Longhorns offense, Texas Baseball defeated visiting UConn, 9-3, on Sunday afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The win gave head coach David Pierce and the Longhorns their first series victory of the season after winning Friday night.

For the second time this season, the Longhorns got a crucial outfield assist to keep the opposing team off the board—this time, it came in the first. With UConn's Anthony Prato attempting to score from first on a double, Zane Gurwitz hit David Hamilton with the throw before the freshman shortstop fired a strike to home to get the out and prevent a Huskies run.

In the bottom half of the frame, the Texas offense struck. Hamilton reached on a one-out walk before fellow freshman Ryan Reynolds launched a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall for his first collegiate home run.

Kacy Clemens followed with a walk and his first career stolen base. Then, with two outs in the frame, Bret Boswell came through with his first of two hits on the day to score Clemens and give the Longhorns an early 3-0 lead.

UConn responded with a run in the second and another the third inning off freshman starter Blair Henley before McKenzie entered in relief with runners on second and third and just one out. The junior then got a lineout double play to end the frame and maintain the Longhorns lead.

McKenzie (1-0) went a career-long 4.2 innings for Texas and allowed just one base runner, a two-out single in the sixth. He fanned four Huskies and did not have a single three-ball count versus any of the 14 batters he faced.

The Longhorns offense came alive behind McKenzie as well. A Kacy Clemens double scored Reynolds, who reached base safely four times in the ballgame, in the third inning before Clemens himself came around to score on a passed ball to make it 5-2.

In the sixth, Boswell, Michael McCann and Gurwitz combined for three hits and a run to expand the Longhorns lead to 6-2.

With McKenzie quieting the Huskies bats, the Longhorns tacked on three runs in the bottom of the seventh thanks in part to a Patrick Mathis two-run single.

UConn picked up a run in the eighth off of Tyler Schimpf, but that would be all as freshman Kevin Roliard closed the door in the ninth to seal the series win.

Texas returns to action on Tuesday night with a 6:30 p.m. CT game against Lamar.