The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Lamar
Newcomers help No. 19 Baseball to 7-2 win over Lamar
02.21.2018 | Baseball
Four pitchers made their Texas debut on Wednesday night and the Longhorns tallied 10 hits in the win.
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AUSTIN, Texas—After falling behind in the first inning, No. 19 Texas Baseball (3-1) pounded out 10 hits and took advantage of four Lamar (1-3) errors to defeat the Cardinals, 7-2, on Wednesday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Four different pitchers made their Texas debuts on the night, including starting pitcher Nico O'Donnell. In the first inning, O'Donnell gave up a leadoff single before issuing a walk and a hit batter to load the bases. Lamar's Robin Adames then followed with a single through the right side to plate the game's first run but Texas right fielder Austin Todd threw out a Cardinal at the plate to prevent them from adding to their lead.
The Longhorns tied it up in the bottom of the second when Petrinsky singled up the middle for his first hit as a Longhorn. After a Joe Baker sacrifice bunt, Tate Shaw doubled down the right field line to knot the game at 1-1.
O'Donnell went 3.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits and two walks while fanning two before fellow freshman Bryce Elder (1-0) came on in relief. Elder tossed 1.2 hitless innings (he hit two batters) to earn his first career win.
Texas took the lead in the fourth inning and kept it for good. Petrinsky singled to open the inning and advanced to second when the shortstop threw the ball away. After a wild pitch moved Petrinsky to third, Zach Zubia lifted a sacrifice fly to put the Horns ahead, 2-1. Shaw then followed with a single up the middle and eventually came around to score on a pair of Cardinal errors to give Texas a 3-1 advantage.
After a scoreless top of the fifth, the Longhorns broke things open in the home half. Todd drew a one-out walk and Petrinsky followed with an RBI double, his first extra-base hit, to make it 4-1. One batter later, Zubia crushed a triple to straightaway center field to plate Petrinsky and put Texas on top, 5-1. After a throwing error allowed Zubia to score and Shaw to end up on third, Michael McCann lifted a sacrifice fly to right to give Texas a decisive 7-1 lead.
Lamar got one back in the top of the sixth thanks to a solo homer off of Matteo Bocchi, but Texas pitchers responded to shut out the Cardinals the remainder of the way. Matthew Whelan and Bryce Verplank threw a perfect eighth and ninth, respectively, and Texas came away with the win in its first midweek game of the season.
The Longhorns now travel to No. 23 LSU for a three-game series against the Tigers at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge.
