With the Southeastern Conference baseball’s opening weekend creeping up, Texas faced off against UT-Arlington on Tuesday.
Freshman pitcher Bryce Navarre and sophomore transfer infielder Ethan Mendoza led an eighth inning performance defensively and offensively to put the Longhorns on top. With their combined efforts, the pair of newcomers overcame a tie to win 7-4.
“(It was an) interesting ball game trying to get through the game without using the guys that do the bulk of the pitching for us,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “(We) played really good defense for a team that was not playing great defense a couple weeks ago.”
Heading into the eighth, the Longhorns were tied 3-3, thanks to runs from freshman infielder Adrian Rodriguez, Mendoza and graduate infielder Kimble Schuessler. However, at that point of the game, the Longhorns had not scored since the fifth, instead allowing the Mavericks to score twice in the sixth to tie it.
Navarre, who replaced sophomore pitcher Hudson Hamilton in the seventh inning, stepped up to the plate in the eighth and did not allow any hits or runs. The Montgomery, Texas, player forced a pop up and two fly outs to close out a perfect inning. Although Navarre was taken out of the game midway through the ninth inning, he finished with 43 total pitches, forcing 24 strikes, one strikeout and earned his first collegiate win.
“It’s always fun to get the ball and compete,” Navarre said. “Just one pitch at a time. Every count is a 0-0, just try to dominate the zone and be the best version of myself I could be for the team.”
On the other side of the inning, Mendoza got the ball rolling for the Longhorn offense after his batting resulted in a triple down the right field, allowing sophomore outfielder Will Gasparino and junior catcher Rylan Galvan to score. Mendoza’s hit was the first of the night, combined with two RBIs and two runs. The hit also kept Mendoza’s game hitting streak alive, bringing the total to 10 games with a hit.
“I take it one day at a time so even if I’m not in a groove, I come out there and get my best out to try and help the team win,” Mendoza said. “We look for pitches that we can put our best swing on and we try to do that.”
In the same inning, junior Jalin Flores hit an RBI to center field, allowing Mendoza to reach home and Rodriguez hit a single for junior outfielder Max Belyeu to score.
Texas will travel to Starkville to take on Mississippi State in its first SEC series. The first pitch is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m.
“We are looking forward to the experience (of playing in the SEC),” Schlossnagle said. “It’s an exciting time for Texas baseball to be a part of the SEC and our fans.”
