FROM PRESS RELEASE
AUSTIN, Texas — Riley Boening and Cole Green combined to allow just six hits and the No. 13 Texas Longhorns’ offense logged 14 hits in a 12-3 win over the No. 19 Nebraska Cornhuskers in Big 12 Conference baseball action Sunday afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
With the win, Texas (18-8, 5-4 Big 12) avoided being swept at home for the first time since 1996 when Cal State Fullerton took three from the Longhorns.
Boening (2-0) earned his second consecutive win with another impressive outing. He gave up three runs on three hits and three walks while striking out two over 6.1 innings. Green earned his first career save with 2.2 innings of shutout relief. He allowed three hits while striking out two.
Nebraska (21-4-1, 7-1-1 Big 12) broke the scoring seal with a run in the top of the first inning. Boening walked D.J. Belfonte to start the game and a sacrifice bunt and groundout put Belfonte at third base. Mitch Abeita drew a walk and Craig Corriston singled to leftfield, plating Belfonte.
After Boening struck out Cody Neer to work out of the jam, Texas responded with three runs in the bottom half of the first. Michael Torres hit a leadoff single, extending his hitting streak to 13 games. Travis Tucker was hit by a pitch. Jordan Danks laid down a sacrifice bunt, but Nebraska pitcher Aaron Pribanic elected to throw to third. His throw, which was late, sailed past the Huskers’ third baseman, allowing Torres and Tucker to score and put Danks on second. Brandon Belt singled up the middle to put runners at the corners and Danks scored when Russell Moldenhauer grounded into a double play, giving Texas a 3-1 lead.
The Longhorns inflated the cushion to 6-1 with three runs in the third. Moldenhauer hit a leadoff single up the middle. With one out, Kyle Russell singled to centerfield and an error on a ground ball by Tant Shepherd loaded the bases. David Hernandez doubled down the rightfield line to drive in a pair and Torres followed with a sacrifice fly plating Shepherd.
After allowing the Huskers’ run in the first, Boening cruised through the next five frames without giving up a hit before Nebraska touched him up for a pair in the seventh. Corriston doubled down the leftfield line and Neer hit a home run over the leftfield fence trimming the Texas lead to 6-3. Boening retired the next batter and Cole Green finished off the inning to get Texas to the bottom half of the inning.
Texas re-established a five-run lead with two runs in the home half of the seventh. With one out, Kevin Keyes singled through the left side of the infield and Preston Clark followed with a two-run home run over the leftfield fence, pushing the margin to 8-3.
The Longhorns closed out the game with four runs in the eighth. The inning featured an RBI single by Danks, an RBI groundout by Belt and a two-run home run by Keyes.
Russell logged his first three-hit game of the season, going 3-for-5 with one run. Keyes went 2-for-2 with one home run, two runs and two RBI. Hernandez hit 2-for-4 with one double and two RBI. Torres was 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Nebraska was led by Corriston who went 2-for-4 with one double, one run scored and one RBI. Pribanic was saddled with the loss for the Cornhuskers. He allowed six runs, five earned, on seven hits and three walks while striking out three over six innings.
Texas continues its six-game homestand with a 6:05 p.m. game against the Rice Owls at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Tuesday. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
HEAD COACH AUGIE GARRIDO
On Riley Boening: I thought Boening was extremely competitive on the mound and found a good competitive balance between aggressiveness and relaxation and performed at a very high level against what we know to be a very fine team. The pitching normally makes the difference and tonight it was the difference in our favor. We did a lot of good things offensively as well.
On the team picking up the win today to not be swept at home: I think the big thing about the team is that we really put it together yesterday and we came up short, but to have the spirit and the confidence and the trust in one another to come out and apply it again, in that situation was good. When a team makes the commitment that they made and lose they have the tendency to think they did their very best but still lost, so what’s the use. That wasn’t the attitude of our team. We had a very competitive attitude and were very responsive. I think we have something to build off of in the way of confidence the way we played today.
LHP RILEY BOENING
On the game today: The (Texas) hitters made it really easy on me today, they got me a lead and every time they (Nebraska) responded we did the same thing and it made it really easy on me pitching wise.
C PRESTON CLARK
On the victory today: We are a good team, we have shown it other times, but Nebraska is a tough team. You have to tip your hat to the way they played this weekend. They came out battling both games and it was a test to see how we would come back on the third game. Yesterday, even though we lost it was kind of a good loss as you could say I guess, we came together as a team and today we put it together.
RF KYLE RUSSELL
On going 3-for-5 today: It’s good to get hits. This game can be mentally frustrating at times when you don’t get them. It’s good to finally get some hits under my belt and come up from my team. It’s great to get the victory more importantly.
