AUSTIN, Texas – Lance Ford drove in six runs and hit his first two career home runs to lead Texas Baseball to a 10-2 win over No. 17 West Virginia Sunday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
The Longhorns (25-21, 6-11 Big 12) snapped a six-game losing streak, including a string of four-straight one-run losses.
Ford finished the game 3-for-5 with six RBI and two three runs scored. In addition to his two homers he also hit a double and scored in the fourth inning. Masen Hibbeler, Eric Kennedy and Michael McCann all had multiple hit games.
Ty Madden had one of the best outings of his young career, pitching six innings and allowing just one earned run on six hits. He got two key double plays to get out of jams.
West Virginia scored an early run and held a 1-0 advantage before Ford blasted the Longhorns into the lead in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer to right field, the first of his career.
Texas added to its lead with an unearned run in the third inning after an error and a run-scoring double play.
WVU got a run across in the fourth inning and had the bases loaded but Madden was able to get a huge 4-6-3 double play to get out of the inning.
The Longhorns got three runs in the fourth inning to go up 6-2. Ford started the inning with a double to left field and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Michael McCann that was thrown away. Duke Ellis followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Hibbeler and Kennedy both followed with RBI singles to drive in two more runs.
Ford continued his big day at the plate in the sixth inning, launching a grand slam to right field to extend the Longhorns lead to 10-2.
Matteo Bocchi made the final three innings uneventful, as he allowed just one hit in three scoreless frames to earn his second save of the season.
Texas heads back on the road for a midweek game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Whataburger Field, home of the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks.