COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KXAN) — It probably doesn’t take the sting out of last year’s 10-2 loss in the College World Series, but Tuesday the No. 21 Texas Longhorns topped rivals Texas A&M 5-2 at Blue Bell Park.
The Aggies made it interesting in the ninth, drawing a walk and a hit batter to start the inning, but then reliever Zane Morehouse put early control troubles behind him. He got Ryan Targac to ground out, and then struck out both Kaeden Kent and Kasen Wells to strand two runners in scoring position.
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It was the Longhorns’ first win in College Station since 2011 and it increased the nation’s longest active winning streak to 15 games.
Texas had 15 hits with just one for extra bases. Porter Brown, the reigning Big 12 Conference player of the week, doubled to left-center in the first inning to plate Dylan Campbell and Peyton Powell. Brown finished the day 2-for-5 with three RBIs.
After that, the Longhorns smacked a bunch of singles and then let their pitching do the work. Texas used five pitchers to navigate the Aggies’ lineup starting with Lebarron Johnson Jr. He pitched the first three innings and allowed one run on two hits with two strikeouts, and then the bullpen took over. Heston Tole, David Shaw, Lucas Gordon and Zane Morehouse combined to finish in with Morehouse credited with his third save of the season.
Texas A&M had six hits with first baseman Jack Moss accounting for two of them. The Aggies grounded out 10 times, struck out eight times and grounded into two double plays.
The top of Texas’ lineup went a combined 9-for-14 led by Eric Kennedy’s 4-hit night. He raised his average to .394 going 4-for-6 with two runs scored, and Powell went 3-for-4 with a pair of walks to stay above .400 on the season at .416, Campbell finished 2-for-4 with an RBI. The Longhorns had opportunities to pile on but hit just .267 with runners in scoring position and left 15 runners on base.
Texas (19-7, 3-0 Big 12 Conference) is on the road again this weekend to take on No. 17 Oklahoma State for the 3-game series starting Friday. Texas A&M (15-10, 1-5 SEC) has lost four consecutive games and they’ll host Ole Miss for a 3-game set starting Friday.
