The No. 6 Texas Longhorns recorded a second straight 40-win season for the first time in 15 years with a 12-7 victory over the Missouri Tigers on Saturday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field that earned head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s team the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament next week, ensuring a double bye before playing next Friday.
The Longhorns scored 12 runs without the benefit of the long ball, sending 11 batters to the plate
in a six-run fourth inning that earned Texas an 8-2 lead on five hits as Missouri hit two batters and walked two more.
In the eighth, the Tigers got to redshirt senior right-hander Cody Howard at the end of a strong outing by notching five runs, four credited to Howard, to narrow the deficit to 8-7.
Texas responded in a heartening sign for the looming postseason, scoring four runs on three hits in the bottom of the frame, keyed by leadoff back-to-back doubles, three walks, a run scored on a wild pitch, and an RBI single.
In the ninth, freshman right-hander Kaleb Rogers recorded the final out with a strikeout in the first appearance of his career impacted by the season-ending surgery of senior right-hander Max Grubbs and the anticipated passage of new NCAA eligibility rules that will allow players five years to play five season of college athletics.
