Augie Garrido keeps Baseball offense simple in weekend series against Hornets
Feb. 18, 2013
Mallory Majcher, Texas Media Relations AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Baseball kicked off their season with a series win in the 2013 season opener against first time opponent Sacramento State. Lights-out pitching performances and a strong, consistent offense lead to high hopes for this young Texas squad. Head Coach Augie Garrido feels that the success of the strong offense was a result of their simple hitting plan and staying aggressive. "At the plate, we tried to keep it simple," said Garrido. "We had a simple hitting plan and [the team] ended up with 14 hits and six runs [on opening night]....We're trying to be aggressive and we're saying. `When in doubt, run.'" Junior outfielder Mark Payton led the team offensively, hitting .583 with seven hits, three runs and five RBI in 12 at-bats. Payton feels that the team's performance this weekend will resemble their play throughout the season. "We safely squeezed twice, we stole a couple bases, and that is who we are going to be this year," said Payton of the 2013 Texas Longhorns. "That is how we are going to have to win games." Pitching performances from sophomore pitchers Parker French (1-0) and Dillon Peters (1-0) show promise moving forward for the Texas pitching staff. French, who recorded his first win in a 6-5 victory on Friday night, pitched seven scoreless innings allowing just three hits and no walks while striking out five. Peters allowed just two runs on five hits in seven innings, securing the 6-3 victory and a series win for the Horns on Sunday afternoon. Ty Marlow recorded the first save of the season on Friday night after the Hornets rallied in the bottom of the eighth. Marlow, who came in with bases loaded, finished the game preserving the Longhorns' one-run lead.
"We fell down. We gave up five runs in the eighth inning, but we came back," said freshman C.J Hinojosa of the adversity faced in Friday night's game. "We couldn't ask for a better win." Hinojosa, who made his UT debut, made his mark in the lineup hitting .545 with six hits, two RBI and one run on 11 at-bats. The newcomer showed extreme confidence, a skill Garrido emphasizes for his players. "Coach talks a lot about confidence up there, so I just went up with a lot of confidence and it paid off." Texas will face UT Arlington on Tuesday (Feb. 19) at 6 p.m., then enter a three game series against the Nebraska Cornhuskers the weekend. All games will be broadcast live on the Longhorn Network. Gametracker live stats will be available on TexasSports.com with live twitter updates @Texas_Baseball. |
|
