WVU falls flat in loss to Texas

With this three-game set starting a day earlier than normal, Mazey chose to go with recent midweek starter Carson Estridge while giving usual leadoff starter Ben Hampton at least a couple of extra days of rest. That move certainly made sense, but the Horns made it moot.

Texas (36-18, 13-9) jumped on the freshman early, loading the bases with none out in its first at-bat. The Longhorns drove one home with a soft single by Brown, but Estridge got three strikeouts around that hit to limit the damage to one run. In the second, though, Estridge set himself up for a tougher time, walking the first two batters (numbers eight and nine in the UT batting order). The Horns happily capitalized with a two-RBI single to move their advantage to 3-0, and when Estridge was removed, reliever Maxx Yehl gave up a 3-run homer to Brown that made the score 6-0 after two.

Brown’s next two at-bats were just as productive. He smacked a pair of two-run homers, off Yehl and Grant Siegel, respectively, putting the game far out of reach at 11-0.

Longhorn starting pitcher Lucas Gordon approached Brown’s level of dominance, hurling seven innings of shutout baseball. He struck out eight while allowing only four hits and a walk, and allowed just three runners to reach scoring position in winning his sixth game of the year against just one loss. WVU (39-14, 15-7) finally got on the board in the eighth against reliever Chase Lummus, as Braden Barry doubled home Landon Wallace with a cosmetic run, and Evan Smith added another with an RBI single in the ninth, but that was far too little against Texas’ 12-hit attack.

Estridge was charged with the loss, his first of the year against three wins, as he allowed five runs and five hits while retiring only five Texas batters.

Game two of the series is set for a first pitch of 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Disch-Falk Field in Austin. Texas righthander Lebarron Johnson Jr. (6-2, 2.76 ERA) is set to square off against WVU righty Blaine Traxel (7-4, 3.23 ERA) as the Mountaineers again look for the single win they need to secure at least a share of the league’s regular season title.

SEAMS AND BARRELS

Texas leadoff hitters reached base in each of the first six innings, courtesy of three hits, two walks and an error. Four of them scored.

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WVU pitchers issued four walks, with three of them going to batters in the No. 8 and No. 9 spots in the order.