Jared Spencer's electric start lifts No. 5 Texas above No. 3 Georgia to start the series

This weekend was expected to be a long one for Texas pitchers.

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The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs not only entered the series 29–2 on a nine-game win streak, they possessed the most dangerous collection of hitters in the nation. No team has hit more home runs, and the Bulldogs entered Friday’s game with the second-most runs scored by any team in college baseball.

But none of these facts seemed to faze LHP Jared Spencer, Texas’ newest ace in burnt orange. Sporting his iconic ginger locks and a wicked slider, Spencer went 7 2/3 innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts, allowing just one run on two hits as Texas cruised to a 5–1 victory.

Spencer’s night featured a solid heater and nasty stuff. His fastball was hitting 96 throughout the game, and his slider was devastating on two-strike counts. Even the best of the best in Georgia’s lineup couldn’t keep up.

“One inning, save. One pitch at a time,” Spencer said about his approach. “That’s something that (pitching coach) Max (Weiner) always repeats to us, and that’s something that I kept in the back of my mind the whole night.”

This level of dominance didn’t come out of nowhere for Spencer, a top transfer acquisition from Indiana State who had great performances against Washington and Louisville earlier this season. But the southpaw had struggled in conference play. In his three Friday starts, Spencer collected a 7.16 ERA and failed to finish the sixth inning in any of his contests. Mississippi State, of all teams, gave him five runs on eight hits.

But tonight was different for Spencer. He was hitting the strike zone constantly, forcing batters into weak contact early in counts. His sixth inning best exemplified this, getting through the top of Georgia’s order in just nine pitches and allowing him to continue throughout the game. Even after a first-pitch homer to lead off the seventh, Spencer was able to calm down and finish the inning without any more damage.

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On the offensive side of the ball, CF Will Gasparino continued his power surge, slamming another home run in the fifth inning. The sophomore has seven homers in his last six games, earning last week’s National Co-Hitter of the Week honor, and continues to be one of the best hitters in college baseball. His homer was a beauty—a no-doubt shot with a nice bat drop at the end.

“At the end of the day, we’re playing a sport that we all love to play, and we’re just trying to have fun,” Gasparino said. “We’re all just trying to compete our asses off.”

Additionally, 3B Casey Borba had a home run of his own—a missile off the bat into the left field bullpen, scoring 1B Kimble Schuessler, who had the team’s first RBI of the game on a fourth-inning double before trotting the bases on the Borbomb™.

Even without the services of Max Belyeu and Adrian Rodriguez, Texas was able to blanket the nation’s best offense and get on the scoreboard early—a testament to the depth of the team and the culture cultivated by first-year head coach Jim Schlossnagle.

“Really good win for us,” Schlossnagle said. “Spencer, obviously, was just outstanding and had to be against a great offense. We got a couple big swings in the game, and I thought Jalin (Flores) played outstanding at shortstop.”

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Texas rises to 24–4 on the year and 9–1 in conference play, kicking Georgia down the rankings and continuing a tie with Tennessee, who run-ruled and no-hit Texas A&M earlier in the night. The Longhorns and Bulldogs will square off again tomorrow, this time for a 2 p.m. matinee at the Disch, with a chance for Texas to secure a series win.