The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
18-10
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
9-16
A complete game, a grand slam and a homecoming lead Baseball to 12-2 win over TAMU-CC
03.28.2017 | Baseball
LHP Nick Kennedy struck out 11 in a complete game while Tate Shaw hit a grand slam and Corpus Christi native Michael Cantu went 2-for-4 with a homer in the win.
AUSTIN, Texas—After falling behind 2-0 in the first, Texas Baseball scored 12 unanswered runs to defeat Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 12-2 in seven innings on Tuesday night at Whataburger Field, home of the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks.
The Islanders got out ahead of the Longhorns in the first thanks to a solo homer and a couple of singles off Texas starter Nick Kennedy, but the lefthander would shut TAMU-CC down from then on.
Trailing 2-0, the Longhorns rallied in the top of the second. Kody Clemens, who went 3-for-3 on the night, opened the frame with a walk and Ryan Reynolds was hit with a pitch. After a couple of fielders' choices, Travis Jones was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two away. Then, it was Tate Shaw's turn. The Longhorns left fielder, who robbed a home run in Sunday's game, took the 1-2 pitch over the wall for Texas' first grand slam since Mark Payton in 2012.
With a 4-2 lead, the Longhorns never looked back.
After trading zeroes in the third, Texas poured it on in the fourth, all with two outs in the inning. Jones drew a walk and stole second before Shaw earned a free pass of his own. After Kacy Clemens was hit with a pitch, the Islanders made a pitching change. A Korey Rasure wild pitch allowed the runners to advance, putting Texas out in front 5-2 with Boswell at the plate. The redshirt-junior proceeded to stroke a hard single to right field, plating both runners and putting the Longhorns out in front 7-2.
Still with two outs, it was hometown hero Michael Cantu's turn. The Corpus Christi native roped a double to right-center to score Boswell and give the Longhorns an 8-2 advantage.
Cantu then moved up on a wild pitch before Kody Clemens' infield single allowed him to score, finishing off the Longhorns' five-run fourth and putting them out to a 9-2 lead.
In the sixth, it was Cantu who once again did the damage. With two away and Shaw on second, Cantu launched a two-run homer to left, his second long ball of the year, to put Texas up 11-2.
One inning later, the Longhorns notched their 12th run of the ballgame, enough to trigger the run rule.
Kennedy finished with his first career complete game, throwing a career-best seven innings while striking out a career-high 11 in the ballgame. The 11 strikeouts are tied with Morgan Cooper for most by a Longhorns pitcher this season.
On the day, three Longhorns finished with multi-hit games: Cantu (2), Kody Clemens (3) and David Hamilton (2). Shaw finished with a career-high five RBI in the game while Cantu drove in three and Boswell, two.
Texas next heads to Lawrence, Kansas, for a Big 12 Conference road series against the Kansas Jayhawks beginning on Friday night.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kennedy, Nick (4-0)
L: Holland, Nolan (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Cantu, Michael 1 ; Clemens, Kody 1
HR: Shaw, Tate 1 ; Cantu, Michael 1
RBI: Shaw, Tate 5 ; Boswell, Bret 2 ; Cantu, Michael 3 ; Clemens, Kody 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Travis 2 ; Shaw, Tate 3 ; Clemens, Kacy 1 ; Boswell, Bret 1 ; Cantu, Michael 2 ; Todd, Austin 1 ; Hamilton, David 2
SB: Jones, Travis 1 ; Clemens, Kody 1 ; Hamilton, David 1
HBP: Jones, Travis 1 ; Clemens, Kacy 2 ; Reynolds, Ryan 1
Batting:
HR: Jozwiak, Cullen 1
RBI: Jozwiak, Cullen 1
SH: Burts, Itchy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jozwiak, Cullen 1 ; Marbach, Luke 1
SB: Yates, Dawson 1
