FORT WORTH, Texas – No. 9 Texas Baseball bounced back in a big way on Saturday, routing No. 22 TCU 13-1 at Lupton Stadium. The Longhorns (17-9, 3-2 Big 12) exploded for 13 hits, including two doubles, a triple and a homer.
The heart of the Texas batting order – Eric Kennedy, Austin Todd and Zach Zubia – accounted for nine hits and 10 RBI. Kennedy had a career-high four hits, including a three-run triple. Todd had a three-hit and three-RBI night with a pair of doubles. Zubia drove in four runs on two hits, including a two-run homer.
Blair Henley pitched six innings with six strikeouts and allowed just one run. He picked up his third win of the season.
Texas got off to a good start in the top of the first, with Zubia blasting the Longhorns into the lead. The line-drive two-run homer was Zubia’s third of the season.
TCU got one run right back in the bottom of the first inning after loading the bases with nobody out. Henley was able to get a coax double play to limit the damage.
Texas expanded the lead to 6-1 with four runs on three hits in the third inning. Lance Ford started the frame with a base hit to left field. Duke Ellis walked and Kennedy loaded the bases with a perfect bunt for a hit.
Todd lined a single to right field that scored one run and kept the bases loaded. Zubia and Ryan Reynolds both worked bases-loaded walks to drive in two more runs. The final Longhorn run of the inning came home on a sacrifice fly by Masen Hibbeler.
The Longhorns added a run to the lead in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Todd to drive in Ellis and make the score 7-1.
Texas exploded for five runs in the fifth to go up 12-1 on the Horned Frogs. All of the damage came with two outs, starting with a walk by Michael McCann. Ford singled and Ellis walked to load the bases for the heart of the batting order.
Kennedy cleared the bases with a three-run triple to right field, the second three-bagger of the season for him. Todd drove in Kennedy with an RBI double to right-center and Zubia drove in Todd with a line-drive single to left field.
The Longhorns scored one more run in the seventh inning on a bases-loaded double play.
Jack Neely entered out of the bullpen in the seventh inning and pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Donny Diaz pitched a scoreless ninth inning to finish off the win.
Texas will go for the series win over TCU on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Lupton Stadium.