Look out above: The Eagles' B.A. Vollmuth put a scare into radio broadcasters Kevin Kugler and Adrian Fiala when he sent a foul ball screaming into their booth in the sixth inning. The ball crashed into the wall behind them.
They said it: “Baseball is a cruel game, a brutal game. I think being in this environment for the first time created some nerves that turned into fear that eventually was the demise of what otherwise was a very courageous team.'' — Texas coach Augie Garrido, on Southern Mississippi.
Our call: The Golden Eagles showed plenty of grit, but their inability to throw strikes at the end cost them dearly. It's difficult to think that they'll be able to pick themselves up after a crushing loss, while Texas should be energized by stealing a victory in its opening game.
— Steven Pivovar
The take sign proved to be Texas' most effective offensive weapon Sunday night in the final innings of a 7-6 College World Series victory over Southern Mississippi.
Texas scored its final three runs on bases-loaded walks, including the game-winner when Brandon Loy drew a four-pitch walk to force in the winning run. Six of the Longhorns' final 11 batters walked, and a seventh, Travis Tucker, started the final “rally'' by getting hit with a pitch.
“That's a tough way to lose,'' Southern Mississippi coach Corky Palmer said. “I'd rather had someone hit a grand slam.''
The less-than-dramatic ending to the Bracket Two game took away from an otherwise impressive first CWS appearance by Palmer's Golden Eagles. They fell behind 2-0 and 4-2 before manufacturing three runs in the top of the eighth inning to take a 5-4 lead before 24,142 fans at Rosenblatt Stadium.
Southern Mississippi then lost control because its final three pitchers couldn't find the strike zone. Thirty-three of the 53 pitches thrown by relievers Collin Cargill, Josh Fields and Jonathan Johnston were balls.
That led Texas coach Augie Garrido to turn his hitters into spectators.
“They were going to get one swing, and I had a little bit of control over that,'' Garrido said. “They had to take it until they got two strikes.''
As it turned out, three of Texas' final four hitters didn't get a chance to swing. After Michael Torres popped out to open the ninth inning, Fields hit Tucker with a 1-0 pitch. Fields walked Brandon Belt on four pitches, and Palmer brought Johnston in to face pinch-hitter Tant Shepherd.
Johnston fell behind 3-1 to Shepherd but came back to strike him out. Johnston loaded the bases on a five-pitch walk to pinch-hitter Kyle Lusson to bring Loy to the plate.
Garrido pulled Loy aside before the freshman shortstop's at-bat.
“I told him to take the pitches to get timing and rhythm and not to just ignore the pitches,'' Garrido said. “I told him to be ready because he was only going to get one swing, and you'd have two strikes on you when you swing the bat.''
Loy's bat never left his shoulder. Johnston fell behind 3-0, then missed nside with the game's final pitch.
“We didn't throw strikes at the end,'' Palmer said. “We really didn't throw strikes all night long. Basically, that's why we lost the game because we walked people.”
Overall, 77 of Southern Mississippi's 171 pitches were balls. Texas finished with more walks (9) than hits (8). After the Golden Eagles took their 5-4 lead, the Longhorns came back with two runs in their half of the eighth when Loy and pinch-hitter Kevin Lusson drew bases-loaded walks.
“Once you get the bases loaded, it puts pressure on the other team to throw strikes,'' Loy said. “I think that pressure helped us out.''
Southern Mississippi had withstood pressure-packed environments to get to Omaha, winning five NCAA tournament games on the road in Atlanta and Gainesville, Fla. Now, the Golden Eagles face an even tougher task to extend their first stay.
They'll face North Carolina, a 5-2 loser to Arizona State in Sunday's first game, in a win-or-go-home game at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
“We've faced a lot of adversity this postseason,'' Southern Mississippi second baseman James Ewing said. “We've found ways to close other games out. Tonight we just didn't play well enough to win. They played just a little bit better than we did, and that was the difference in the game.''
Texas advances to a 6 p.m. winners game Tuesday against the Sun Devils. In doing so, the 47-14-1 Longhorns found another way to win in the tournament.
They've won in 25 innings. They've won by outpitching one opponent one night and then outhitting it the next. They've won with a walk-off grand slam that capped an eight-run rally in their final at-bat.
Sunday, Texas walked away with the ugliest of its six tournament victories.
“Championships are decided by the unexpected,'' Garrido said. “We could play 50 games against them and this wouldn't happen again. We were the benefactors tonight of some nerves that got the best of them at the end.''
Contact the writer:
679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com
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