Longhorns' bats ignite, overwhelming Ohio State. Star pitcher dominates, clinching a flawless tournament sweep and proving national championship aspirations.
No. 3 Texas baseball completed a BRUCE BOLT Bolt College Classic sweep with its 10-3 victory over Ohio State.
The Longhorns' dominant victory over the Buckeyes was their third of the weekend at Daikin Park in Houston, also picking up an 8-1 win over No. 9 Coastal Carolina, and a 5-2 win over old Big 12 foe Baylor.
For the third straight week, star left-handed pitcher Dylan Volantis took the mound for Texas, and once again, he didn't disappoint.
Volantis got himself into a jam in the second inning, failing to retire his first two batters. But he responded resoundingly, striking out the next three Buckeyes to step up to home plate.
The 6-6, 220-pound sophomore didn't allow his next batter to reach base until the 5th inning, where he got himself into more trouble.
Eventually, a wild pitch from Volantis would lead to his first earned run of the season. Thankfully for the Horns, Brett Crossland entered the game for him and limited Ohio State's damage to just one run.
Still, Volantis finished the outing with a stellar stat line of 4.2 innings pitched, one ER, eight strikeouts, and three walks.
However, the big story for Texas on Sunday afternoon was its offensive explosion in the third inning.
First baseman Casey Borba opened the inning with a leadoff walk, and the Longhorns embarked on a scoring spree from there.
All it took was seven plate appearances for Texas to put five runs on the board, driving Buckeyes starter Pierce Herrenbruck out of the game.
But even that didn't stop the bleeding for Ohio State.
Temo Becerra was the first batter up to face reliever Owen Graf, and he was not phased by the pitching change, sending a two-run homer into the Crawford Boxes for his third blast of the weekend, making it 7-0 Longhorns.
That was the last of Texas' scoring in the third, but it still managed to get through its entire batting order, inflicting insurmountable damage to the Buckeyes.
When Texas reliever Cal Higgins recorded the final out in the bottom of the ninth inning, the final score read Texas 10, Ohio State 3.
The Longhorns' win over the Buckeyes keeps their record spotless at 11-0 and further proves to the nation that they are national championship contenders.
Texas returns to action in Austin on Tuesday when it takes on Houston Christian at 6:30 P.M. at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.