The No. 2 Texas Longhorns recovered from blowing a four-run lead in the ninth inning by taking the series against the Ole Miss Rebels with an 8-2 win on Sunday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field fueled by 11 hits and a strong start from sophomore left-hander Dylan Volantis.
After hitting three home runs and striking out 18 times on Friday, Texas notched 13 hits and two strikeouts in Saturday’s win before the Longhorns scored four of their first five runs on Sunday via home runs.
In the first inning, junior catcher
Carson Tinney slugged his first weekend home run in burnt orange and white, a mammoth two-run, 465-foot shot over the batter’s eye in center field.
Junior first baseman Casey Borba continued his hot stretch, hitting his sixth home run in seven games by sending a high fastball over the Yeti Yard in left-center field in the fourth inning, a two-run blast.
Texas added another run in the fourth on an RBI groundout by junior second baseman Ethan Mendoza and had also scored on a sacrifice fly by senior right fielder Jayden Duplantier in the second. In the sixth, the Horns aded two more runs in a two-out rally started by a pinch-hit single from freshman Maddox Monsour, who scored from second when a double-steal attempt resulted in a throwing error on the pitcher. Mendoza, who had drawn a walk after Mounsour’s single, was plated on a single by Tinney.
After four strikeouts over the first two games, Tinney was impressive on Sunday, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBI. Borba and freshman left fielder Anthony Pack Jr. also had multi-hit performances.
Volantis had to work through a jam when Ole Miss opened the second inning with a double and a single to put runners on first and third with no outs. After a big full-count strikeout, Volantis quickly got ahead of the next two batters, striking out one on three pitches and inducing a weak fly out to right field.
It wasn’t until the fifth inning that Volantis faced trouble again when a leadoff double and a wild pitch put a runner on third with no outs. The lanky lefty almost got out of his second jam unscathed, striking out the next two batters and throwing two strikes against third baseman Judd Utermark before allowing an RBI single through the right side as the Rebels cut the lead to 6-1.
In throwing 102 pitches over six innings, Volantis set his career high with 11 strikeouts, allowing one run on five hits with one walk and one wild pitch, giving way to freshman right-hander Sam Cozart, who made his first weekend appearance after four straight impressive midweek performances, including three straight starts.
Cozart quickly dealt with adversity when junior center fielder Aiden Robbins misplayed a ball in center field to lead off the seventh, his first error with the Longhorns, and then gave up a double to right field on his next pitch, but was able to retire the next three batters to limit the Rebels to one run.
In the eighth, Cozart struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 inning, then struck out two more after a bunt single to led off the ninth inning, finishing his three-inning appearance with five strikeouts, two hits allowed, and the single unearned run.
Cozart’s ability to dominate a powerful SEC lineup made a compelling case for his move into the weekend bullpen after the high-leverage struggles of junior right-hander Thomas Burns and junior left-hander Haiden Leffew on Friday that raised concerns about their reliability to close out games in conference play.
But the determination of whether those pitchers just had bad outings on the same evening will have to wait with a road trip to No. 6 Auburn looming next weekend after Texas hosts Tarleton State in Austin on Tuesday.
