Seventh-inning slam helps KU upset Texas, putting Horns' hosting chances on the brink
Texas head coach David Pierce didn’t want to give Kansas second baseman Kodey Shojinaga a chance.
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Already 2-for-3 with two singles, Shojinaga was intentionally walked with first base open in a 2-2 tie game in the seventh so reliever Travis Sthele could face the 0-for-3 Janson Reeder with the bases loaded and two outs.
Reeder and Sthele battled, with the count eventually going full at 3-2. Garret Guillemette called a low-and-away fastball that caught too much of the plate, and Reeder crushed a grand slam 414 feet to give the Jayhawks a lead they would not relinquish.
No. 1 seed Texas lost the opening game of the Big 12 Tournament to the Jayhawks, 6-3. The Longhorns will face Kansas State in an elimination game at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
Sthele replaced starter Lucas Gordon after the Longhorn ace gave up two earned runs on seven hits in 5.0 innings, walking one and striking out five. Kansas’ sixth was quiet versus Sthele, with a flyout and two strikeouts.
The Longhorns then tied the game in the bottom half of the inning when Porter Brown’s two-out single drove in Dylan Campbell to knot things at two.
The seventh would not be as kind to Sthele. Collier Cranford recorded a one-out single, then Mike Koszewski drew a walk. A groundout put two runners in scoring position, bringing up Shojinaga.
The walk was issued, and Reeder came to the plate. A 3-1 fastball from Sthele missed wildly, setting up the 3-2 pitch. On the sixth pitch and the fifth fastball of the at bat, a strike at the bottom of the zone that missed its target, Reeder put KU ahead for good with his blast into the right field seats.
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Jack O’Dowd was responsible for two of the three Longhorn runs via solo homers. In the fourth, he hit the fifteenth pitch of his at bat versus Collin Baumgartner 419 feet into right field. O’Dowd forced the count full before fouling off seven pitches and then hitting his blast.
Brown added his RBI single in the sixth. With two outs in the ninth, O’Dowd smashed a ball 422 feet for his second homer of the day. It was not enough as all it did was put the score at its final total.
Sthele took the loss. Baumgartner earned the win while Thaniel Trumper’s three innings of one-run ball netted him his second save. Kansas plays TCU in the winners’ side of the Big 12 Tournament.
The loss puts Texas’ chances at hosting a regional in the NCAA tournament in a tremendously precarious position. Texas entered the game ranked No. 20 in RPI. The neutral site loss to Kansas, who was and remains outside of the top 100 in RPI, dropped the Longhorns to No. 26. Other results at the Big 12 Tournament and across the country could raise or lower that standing before Thursday morning’s contest.
Texas woes at Globe Life Field also continued. The Longhorns are 0-4 at the home of the Texas Rangers this year and 5-10 at the park overall. Plus, Texas has yet to win Game 1 of the Big 12 Tournament as a No. 1 seed under Pierce.
The hosting chances are not dead. A few wins could improve their RPI to a position that, along with the rest of the Longhorns’ resume, the NCAA selection committee deems worthy of hosting a quartet of teams at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Thanks to a Reeder grand slam, one loss tomorrow or even on Friday could shut the door on those chances.
