The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
34-20, 11-12
West Virginia
32-22, 12-12
Seniors lift Baseball to 9-4 win in regular season finale
05.21.2017 | Baseball
Kacy Clemens hit a grand slam and Zane Gurwitz drove in three on senior day at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Box Score | Quotes
AUSTIN, Texas—On a day meant to recognize them for their time on the 40 acres, it was the seniors who stepped up. Texas Baseball (34-20, 11-12 Big 12) rode a first-inning Kacy Clemens grand slam and a three-RBI day from fellow senior Zane Gurwitz to a 9-4 win over West Virginia (32-22, 12-12) on Sunday afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Just moments after the 2017 senior class—Clemens, Gurwitz, Bret Boswell, Morgan Cooper and Jon Malmin—was honored on the field, Kacy Clemens found himself in a bases loaded opportunity and the first baseman delivered. On the first pitch he saw, Clemens hit an opposite field blast to give the Longhorns a 4-0 lead. The slam was the second of the season for Clemens, who reached safely in all four of his trips to the plate on the day.
Right-hander Kyle Johnston (3-1) kept the Mountaineers off the board through three innings before Jackson Cramer added a solo homer, the first home run allowed by Johnston this season, to make it 4-1. West Virginia then tacked on another run in the fifth off Johnston and one in the sixth to make it 4-3, but the Longhorns responded in the bottom half of the inning.
Clemens opened the inning with a walk—one of three he drew on the afternoon—and Zane Gurwitz followed with a ground rule double to plate him and make it 5-3 in favor of the Longhorns. Two batters later, pinch-hitter Ryan Reynolds singled through the left side to extend the lead to 6-3.
West Virginia answered with another solo homer in the eighth, but Texas plated three—thanks to both Gurwitz and Reynolds once again—in the home half to push its lead to 9-4 and seal the series win.
With the win, Texas finished sixth in the Big 12 Conference standings. The Longhorns head to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Championship and will play No. 3 seed Oklahoma at 7:30 p.m. CT Wednesday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnston, Kyle (3-1)
L: Strowd, K. (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Gonzalez, I. 1 ; Cramer, J. 1
HR: Cramer, J. 2
RBI: Gray, K. 1 ; Austin, C. 1 ; Cramer, J. 2
SH: Galusky, J. 1
SF: Gray, K. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gray, K. 1 ; Cramer, J. 3
Batting:
2B: Gurwitz, Zane 2
HR: Clemens, Kacy 1
RBI: Clemens, Kacy 4 ; Gurwitz, Zane 3 ; Reynolds, Ryan 2
SH: Boswell, Bret 1 ; McCann, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mathis, Patrick 1 ; Clemens, Kody 1 ; Jones, Travis 1 ; Clemens, Kacy 3 ; Boswell, Bret 1 ; Gurwitz, Zane 2
SB: Clemens, Kacy 1
