Longhorns blow a lead but freshman [tag]Kyle Russell[/tag] comes up with his first collegiate hit at just the right time. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth Russell drove a fastball into Minute Maid Field’s Crawford Boxes for a walk-off, 2-run home run and the win. (Video of the homer is below.) Big time hit in an important situation for Russell, who has big time potential. Though the offense came alive a little this weekend, hopefully Russell will get a few more at bats and an opportunity to prove what he can do.
Kyle McCulloch pitched seven strong innings but Kenn Kasparek’s wildness and poor defense let Rice tie things up in the eighth inning. Kasparek definitely has the stuff to be a closer, but he’ll have to grow into the role as the year goes on. Longhorn pitchers struck out fourteen batters during the game. Left handed freshman Kyle Walker came in the 8th, got the win, and looked very good doing it. He got all four outs via strikeout, didn’t give up a hit, and had unhittable stuff.
The offense didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard but some of the newcomers like Preston Clark and Brett Lewis have started to produce. Drew Stubbs is going to have to hit in the middle of the lineup for this team to make a run in Omaha, but right now he’s scuffling. He has to learn to lay off the curveball in the dirt.
The team has already come a long way in two weeks.
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