The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Baseball defeats Alumni, 9-2, on Fan Appreciation Day
02.04.2017 | Baseball
The Longhorns open their 2017 season with a February 17 contest against No. 23 Rice.
AUSTIN, Texas—Despite the less than ideal weather, the annual Texas Baseball Fan Appreciation Day and Alumni Game brought springtime baseball back to UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Saturday, with the Longhorns defeating a team of Alumni and other current Texas players by a 9-2 final.
Right-handed pitcher Morgan Cooper took the hill for the home White team and faced a batting order made up of pro-Longhorns. Big leaguer Drew Stubbs led off, followed by major league farmhands Ben Johnson (Kansas City Royals) and Erich Weiss (Pittsburgh Pirates), Philadelphia Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp, and prospects Tres Barrera (Washington Nationals), Brooks Marlow (Houston Astros), Mark Payton (New York Yankees) and C.J Hinojosa (San Francisco Giants).
Cooper caught both Stubbs and Johnson looking to open the ballgame before getting a groundout from Weiss to end the first frame.
The White squad was kept off the board in the bottom half, but after Cooper sat the next three Alumni down in order, White got the offense going.
Junior Bret Boswell opened the bottom half by taking a 1-0 Nolan Kingham offering over the newly renovated right field wall to give White a 1-0 lead.
Catcher Michael Cantu followed with a double before Travis Jones popped a one-out single into left to expand the lead to two. Zane Gurwitz and freshman David Hamilton then roped back-to-back doubles to make it 4-0 in favor of the White team. After a pitching change, freshman Ryan Reynolds drove a double to left to give White a five-run second inning.
After two quicks out in the top of the third, Stubbs provided the first and only blemish to Morgan Cooper's afternoon. The centerfielder took the first pitch he saw over the right field wall to put the Alumni/Orange team on the board.
Cantu and Kacy Clemens answered back in the bottom of the third with back-to-back doubles and White led 7-1 after three complete.
The Alumni exited the ballgame after the third frame, giving way to the Orange side.
Travis Jones—who switched allegiances after the third—and Austin Todd each added a base hit for the Orange, but the White squad was able to add to its lead and cruise to a comfortable 9-2 win.
Jon Malmin followed Cooper with 2.2 innings of work while Beau O'Hara and Chase Shugart tossed a combined 2.1 innings to finish it out for White. Beau Ridgeway entered after Kingham and allowed two runs in 1.2 innings of work. Tyler Schimpf followed Ridgeway with two innings before Parker Joe Robinson tossed two scoreless and Kevin Roliard shut out White in the eighth.
With this Alumni tune-up behind them, the Longhorns open the 2017 season at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, February 17 against No. 23 Rice at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
POSTGAME NOTES
• Gurwitz and Reynolds led the way with three hits apiece while Hamilton and Boswell each drove in two.
• White racked up eight doubles on the day, with Hamilton and Cantu each registering two.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach David Pierce
On the team's performance:
"I thought we swung the bats really well today – one through nine with the White team and then the Orange team had some guys step in and do well. We need to attack the strike zone better with certain guys, but overall it was a very productive day. I was really pleased with our defense. It was great to have the alumni back on campus."
On whether Morgan Cooper's performance is what Pierce will expect of him for the rest of the season:
"Well, that's a lot of expectations because that's right, that was really good and it's been really good. The one thing we like to do is extend him, and he'll get extended next week to get ready for our opening series."
On where the team is at right now:
"We're still progressing. We're trying to get better every single day and guys are starting to understand and feel their swings and understand defensively the work they have to put in to be a good defender. And then just trying to understand themselves a little better and trying to create this chemistry that doesn't just happen, that has to happen when we play outside competition. I'm really pleased with the effort and the attitude and the response that we're seeing."
On the home runs that were made possible by the newly shortened fences:
"Well, it's the hitter's job to thank me whenever they hit a home run and come into the dugout. (laughs) No, it's really fun to watch. It's going to create what we want. It's definitely an alignment that's similar to everywhere in the country that we play and that's what we needed."
On visiting with alumni:
"I spoke to a lot of them. They always have a great energy when they come back on campus to see their teammates. It's good to see their successes. It was great to see Coach Gus and Coach Garrido."
RHP Morgan Cooper
On how it felt to throw in the Alumni Game:
"It was good. The main thing is just getting work in. It's nice that it's against other people than our own team. It's also fun, but the main thing is just to get work in."
On evaluating his performance:
"I felt good, my arm felt good. I thought I was throwing all my pitches really well. I don't really want to put a grade on it, but I thought it felt good and I threw well."
On whether scrimmages like these prepare the team for their opener against Rice:
"Coach Pierce told us this is kind of like the dress rehearsal. It's a glorified practice I guess. It's fun to come out here with all the fans and see all the old guys and stuff, but for us, it's just getting work in. So the main thing for us was taking it seriously and getting something out of it, facing new hitters."
