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The No. 6 Texas Longhorns secured a double bye in next week’s SEC Tournament by taking the final regular-season series agains the Missouri Tigers on Friday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field thanks to an 11-6 victory.
Junior catcher Carson Tinney was huge for the Horns, blasting a two-run home run in the third inning and a grand slam in the fourth as Texas opened up a 10-0 lead after freshman left fielder Anthony Pack Jr. went back to back with Tinney.
The first home run showcased Tinney’s ability to battle, as the Notre Dame transfer fouled off seven pitches before driving a 3-2 offering into the home bullpen in right field. At 357 feet, it was one of Tinney’s shorter home runs this season, but the ability to use the whole field was impressive.
Tinney got all of the grand slam, smashing a bad 2-1 pitch out over the plate 456 feet at 111 miles an hour off his barrel.
“Just trying to hit the barrel. See what happens when I hit the barrel,” Tinney said of his approach at the plate.
With the two home runs, Tinney became the fifth player in program history to reach 20 home runs in a single season, a remarkable achievement matched by his four home runs over the batter’s eye in center field at the Disch.
“I’m just super grateful to be here. Honestly, the opportunities that Coach Schloss has given me to come out here and perform, I’m really just grateful to be here. It’s a really, really big blessing in my life to be a part of this university and I’m grateful for the accomplishment, but more importantly, I’m proud to be a part of this team,” Tinney said.
With 14 hits overall, the Longhorns boasted six players with multi-hit performances, including more momentum for junior third baseman Casey Borba’s recent power surge, as the California product hit his fifth home run in eight at bats, flashing some opposite-field ability of his own, a rarity for the pull-heavy slugger.
Sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez also had an impressive outing, finishing 3-for-4 with a run scored.
Senior right fielder Jayden Duplantier also had two hits after replacing junior Aiden Robbins in the third inning due to illness. And redshirt senior center fielder Dariyan Pendergrass, starting his second straight game in his return from injury, reached base twice in four plate appearances, and scored twice.
“Obviously Tinney had some big swings, but Pendergrass getting on base, Gumbo getting down a push bunt that really got that inning going, and I thought Rodriguez did a really nice job tonight,” Schlossnagle said.
In the third inning, after Borba led off with a solo home run and Pendergrass singled to right center on an 0-2 pitch, Duplantier’s speed on his bunt attempt forced a throwing error by the Missouri pitcher that allowed Pendergrass to score. Then Tinney’s two-run home run helped blow the game open for Texas.
On a difficult night to pitch at the Disch with the wind blowing out, redshirt senior left-hander Luke Harrison avoided the early difficulties that have often plagued him in recent starts, pitching six scoreless innings to start the game before he lost his effectiveness in the seventh when he gave up a one-out single, hit the next batter, allowed another single, and walked the next batter on a full count. Harrison departed after his 103rd pitch, his second-longest outing of the season in pitch count.
“I thought he was outstanding,” Schlossnagle said of Harrison. “Obviously, he was running out of gas, but senior on his last home start, yeah, I give him a chance to finish the game 1,000 times out of 1,000 up 10 runs.”
Junior right-hander Thomas Burns wasn’t able to limit the damage, giving up a three-run double on an 0-2 pitch, but redshirt junior left-hander Ethan Walker traded a run for an out and Walls finished the inning before a clean eighth inning, handing the ball to freshman right-hander Sam Cozart, who struck out two while working around a one-out single in the ninth.
Texas goes for the sweep on Saturday at 2 p.m. Central on SEC Network+.
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