Longhorns move up to No. 23 in D1Baseball's top 25 after a strong showing vs. Texas Tech in Lubbock

After a Tuesday loss to Texas A&M and a series win in Lubbock over Texas Tech, the Texas Longhorns rose one spot to No. 23 in the latest D1Baseball top 25.

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Texas slugged 22 runs over the Red Raiders during game one, with every member of the Longhorn starting lineup recording a hit. Some of the offensive numbers were eye-opening, with Porter Brown and Rylan Galvan both driving in five runs. Brown slugged a 480-foot three-run homer with the West Texas wind into the Lubbock night to make it a 9-4 game, while Galvan hit one of two Longhorn grand slams.

The other four-run four-bagger was produced by true freshman Will Gasparino, who posted a 5-for-6 night with four runs and four RBI in the 22-8 win.

Lebarron Johnson allowed four earned runs in 4.1 innings on Friday, throwing 110 pitches. Ace Whitehead earned the victory in relief, allowing three runs in a windy environment on 82 pitches.

During the contest, it was reported that assistant coach Philip Miller, who has been on David Pierce’s staff since arriving at Texas, was no longer with Longhorn baseball. Texas released a statement on Friday night stating that Miller had taken a personal leave of absence.

The Horns dropped game two on Saturday, 7-2. Former Longhorn Gavin Kash was 4-for-5 for Tech with two RBI. Red Raider catcher Dylan Maxcey was 3-for-4 with four RBI. Texas starter Cody Howard allowed five earned runs in 3.1 innings. Max Grubbs allowed two unearned runs in 4.2 innings of relief.

The rubber match was a spirited contest. Texas was down 6-3 entering the fifth inning before Peyton Powell homered to cut the lead to 6-4. Then in the sixth, the Longhorns took a 7-6 lead thanks to RBI from Jack O’Dowd, Jared Thomas, and Powell.

O’Dowd and Powell did work again in the seventh, driving in a run apiece to make it 9-6 entering the last three Red Raider at bats. The Longhorns allowed one run in the seventh but quiet eighth and ninth innings locked up a 9-7 victory and earned a series win for Pierce’s ballclub.

Starting pitching lacked for the Longhorns in Lubbock. Johnson, Howard, and Charlie Hurley combined for just 8.1 innings and allowed 12 earned runs. The Longhorn bullpen was up to the task, working 18.2 innings and allowing nine runs (seven earned) for a 3.38 ERA. In addition to Whitehead’s quality work on Friday night, Saturday saw Grubbs pitch quality innings and Sunday featured junior college transfer Gage Boehm earning a 4.0-inning save.

In Lubbock the Longhorns hit .393, drove in 37 runs, walked 17 times, and struck out 18 times. They hit eight homers as part of 17 extra-base hits on the weekend.

The series at Texas Tech marks the end of a stretch where Texas played six ranked teams in seven games. The schedule looks to ease up as the Longhorns host UIW on Tuesday before the 4-7-1 Washington Huskies trek to Austin for a weekend series.

Other Big 12 teams in the top 25 were No. 12 TCU and No. 24 Texas Tech. Teams on Texas’ schedule to make the ranking were No. 2 LSU, No. 4 Texas A&M, and No. 9 Vanderbilt. One other team from the state of Texas made the ranking in No. 19 Dallas Baptist.

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D1Baseball Top 25

1. Arkansas Razorbacks
2. LSU Tigers
3. Oregon State Beavers
4. Texas A&M AGgies
5. Tennessee Volunteers
6. Duke Blue Devils
7. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
8. Florida Gators
9. Vanderbilt Commodores
10. Clemson Tigers
11. East Carolina Pirates
12. TCU Horned Frogs
13. NC State Wolf Pack
14. Alabama Crimson Tide
15. North Carolina Tar Heels
16. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
17. Virginia Cavaliers
18. Auburn Tigers
19. Dallas Baptist Patriots
20. South Carolina Gamecocks
21. Campbell Camels
22. UC Irvine Anteaters
23. Texas Longhorns
24. Texas Tech Red Raiders
25. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos

Big 12 Standings

1. Houston (3-0)
2. Oklahoma (3-0)
3. Kansas (2-1)
4. Cincinnati (2-1)
5. Texas (2-1)
6. West Virginia (2-1)
7. TCU (1-2)
8. Texas Tech (1-2)
9. Kansas State (1-2)
10. BYU (1-2)
11. Oklahoma State (0-0)
12. UCF (0-3)
13. Baylor (0-3)