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Wednesday - April 9, 2008

Game 32: Texas State at Texas

Coach Augie Garrido notched his 500th win as head coach of the Texas Longhorns this evening as the Horns beat the Texas State Bobcats 5-3 in a game played at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock. I managed to get to the park early and took my camera. I hope that's good news for the readers of this blog!

A mini-huddle before taking the field:

Chance Ruffin started for the Horns:

And, no...you're not imagining things. That's Preston Clark behind him playing 1b.

In the top of the 1st, Field walked and was then erased when Witek hit into a fielder's choice (5-4). Randell then hit into a double play (6-4-3).

In the bottom of the 1st, Michael Torres (2b) reached on a lead-off walk but was stranded at 1b when Travis Tucker (3b) popped out to 2b, Jordan Danks (cf) flew out to rf, and Russell Moldenhauer (dh) flew out to cf. Here's Michael diving back to 1b during the 1st inning (Jordan Danks was at the plate):

Notice the ball, which appears to be hovering over the woman's head. Heh.

In the 2nd, Goldschmidt flew out to cf, Theriot grounded out to 1b (3-1), and Loftin flew out to cf. Here's Chance Ruffin covering 1b on the Theriot ground out:

Yikes!

In the bottom of the 2nd, Kyle Russell (rf) flew out to rf, Preston Clark (1b) flew out to rf, and Cameron Rupp (c) flew out to cf. Sigh.

In the 3rd, Farrow reached on an error by 2b (Travis Tucker booted the ball back toward the infield). Babcock popped out to 2b. Dennis flew out to cf. And, Field grounded out to the pitcher (another nice defensive play by Chance Ruffin).

In the bottom of the 3rd, Kevin Keyes (lf) grounded out to 3b. David Hernandez (ss) singled up the middle and then advanced to 2b on a wild pitch. Michael Torres then hit a homerun off the top of the fence in lf. Woo hoo! Texas up 2-0. Travis Tucker and Jordan Danks then struck out to end the inning. Here's David at 2b waiting for Michael to hit his homerun:

Here's Michael demonstrating a very nice homerun trot:

Texas sent Stayton Thomas to the mound to start the 4th:

The Bobcats went 3-up/3-down in the 4th: Witek grounded out to 2b, Randell flew out to lf, and Goldschmidt struck out swinging (Cameron could not hold onto the ball so had to throw down to 1b to complete the out).

In the bottom of the 4th, Russell Moldenhauer grounded out to 2b. Kyle Russell flew out to cf. Brandon Belt, pinch-hitting for Preston Clark, singled up the middle, and then moved to 2b when Cameron Rupp singled through the left side. Alas, they were stranded when Kevin Keyes popped out to 2b.

In the 5th, the Bobcats went down in order again: Theriot flew out to lf, Loftin grounded out to ss, and Farrow popped out to 3b (in foul territory).

In the bottom of the 5th, David Hernandez struck out. Michael Torres then singled through the right side. Travis Tucker singled up the middle. Michael dug hard and slid safely into 3b on the play:

Jordan Danks then singled through the right side, scoring Michael and moving Travis to 3b. Jordan stole 2b with Russell Moldenhauer at the plate. Russell hit a sac fly to lf, scoring Travis. Kyle Russell flew out to rf to end the inning. Texas up 4-0.

In the 6th, Field reached on a 2-out error by Michael Torres at 2b. Witek reached on an infield single to 3b (that, frankly, could also have been ruled an error), moving Field to 2b. Skip Johnson made a visit to the mound and Randell flew out to rf (1st pitch).

In the bottom of the 6th, Brandon Belt singled through the left side and moved to 2b when Cameron Rupp singled through the right side. Here's Brandon at 2b:

And, Cameron at 1b watching Tommy Harmon coaching 3b:

Kevin Keyes then struck out for the first out of the inning. David Hernandez singled up the middle, scoring Brandon and moving Cameron to 2b. Texas up 5-0. Michael Torres reached on a 4-6 fielder's choice, moving Cameron to 3b. Travis Tucker ended the inning when he lined out to 3b.

Texas sent Pat McCrory to the mound at the start of the 7th:

Goldschmidt reached on an error by Travis Tucker at 3b. Theriot struck out looking. Loftin singled to lf, moving Goldschmidt to 2b. And, Farrow grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Yes!

In the bottom of the inning, Jordan Danks grounded out to 1b. Russell Moldenhauer struck out but reached 1b on a wild pitch that bounced all the way to the backstop. Kyle Russell struck out (looking). Brandon Belt drew a walk. Cameron Rupp then struck out (also looking) to end the inning.

The Horns sent Cole Green to the mound at the start of the 8th:

Babcock started things off by hitting a double off the 1b bag and down the rf line. Dennis then hit a come-backer to Cole on the mound. Cole made a nice play, looked the runner at 2b back to 2b, and then threw the batter out at 1b. Field then doubled down the rf line, scoring Babcock. Witek grounded out to ss, moving Field to 3b. Randell doubled to lf. He hit a ground ball right at Travis Tucker at 3b. He crouched down to field the ball and it took a late high hop over his head. Field scored on the play and Randell ended up at 2b. Texas up 5-2. Goldschmidt flew out to rf.

As things seemed to be getting a little dicey after the first couple of hits in the top of the inning, I looked over at the Texas bullpen to see who might be up and found this:

Okey-dokey. And, by the way, as soon as the Horns went into the dugout for their half of the inning, Brandon Belt trotted out to the bullpen to warm up. So, that explains the lack of action in the bullpen earlier. I guess.

In the bottom of the 8th, Kevin Keyes started things off with a single to lf. He was erased when David Hernandez reached on a 1-6 fielder's choice. David stole 2b on the first pitch to Michael Torres. Michael lined out to 1b. Very nice play by the Texas State first baseman. Travis Tucker grounded out (1-6-3, the ball ricocheted off the pitcher's glove toward ss) to end the inning.

Texas sent Brandon Belt to the mound at the start of the 9th:

Marcus Tackett went into the field at 1b (taking Russell Moldenhauer's spot in the line-up, I think). Here's Marcus being defensive at 1b:

Theriot grounded out to the pitcher. Loftin hit a double to the cf/rf gap. Cervantes, pinch-hitting for Farrow, struck out looking. Loftin moved to 3b on a passed ball with Babcock at the plate. And, then scored on a wild pitch. Babcock grounded out to ss to end the game. Texas wins 5-3.

Here's a shot of Mr. 500 Wins at Texas:

Congrats, Coach. Good job...to you and all the players and assistant coaches that helped you get to 500 wins at Texas.

Posted by Joanna at 1:16 AM