He pulled out the memory Friday night, as he often does to pump himself up and get ready for a start.
Texas pitcher Adrian Alaniz took out the DVD of his best performance as a Longhorn and sat down to view the masterpiece.
“I watched the final two innings of my no-hitter against Oklahoma,” Alaniz said Saturday.
Now he’s got another tape to watch.
Alaniz didn’t throw a no-hitter Saturday, but his complete-game two-hitter against Miami of Ohio keyed the Horns’ 10-0 victory at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
“It’s kind of funny that I pulled that one out,” Alaniz said of his 2005 performance against Oklahoma. “The performances were really similar. I was just getting ahead of the hitters and throwing all my pitches for strikes. I really didn’t do anything different than I did in any of my other outings.”
It was the way Alaniz threw the ball, with confidence, with control, and for a strike whenever he wanted. It was effortless.
“He threw really good today,” Texas pitching coach Skip Johnson said. “I was really proud how he stayed with the process through the whole game. He got his rhythm set early with his fastball, breaking ball and changeup.”
Alaniz (5-1) kept Miami (3-5) frustrated all day, changing speeds and mixing pitches effectively to match his pinpoint control. He allowed just four baserunners and at one point retired 15 consecutive batters, a streak that was ended by Josh Prince’s throwing error.
The Longhorns (14-7) manufactured two runs in the first and second inning to take a 4-0 lead. They left putting the game away to Kyle Russell.
Russell, who’s having an All-America season, hit his ninth home run of the year and third of the series, turning on a two-out, two-strike pitch in the fourth inning for a three-run shot.
“I just closed my eyes and swung,” joked Russell, whose four-RBI day tied a career high and brought his season total to 25. “I’m seeing the ball well, that’s the only thing I can say. I don’t swing as hard when I hit the home runs. My problem last year was I swung too hard. This year I’m catching myself before I do that.”
While the Horns seemed to be batting forever, Alaniz worked through the Redhawks’ lineup quickly. He needed just 104 pitches to finish the game.
Singles by Jeff Carroll and Jordan Petraitis, a hit batsman and the error were the only blemishes for Alaniz.
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