Horns Fall to Gators in Frustrating Series Finale

 A rocky start and an inability to capitalize on opportunities plagued the No. 1 Texas Longhorns Sunday afternoon as they dropped the series finale to the Florida Gators by a score of 4-1 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The loss marks the Longhorns’ first home series defeat of the season.

The game began ominously for Texas when the very first pitch sailed inside, hitting the batter. This unfortunate trend continued throughout the contest, with Texas pitchers plunking a total of four Gator hitters.

“Super disappointed. Had a lot to play for. Had a lot out in front of us. Pretty disappointed, in everything,” a visibly frustrated Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle stated after the game.

Florida rookie right-hander Aidan King stole the show, delivering a dominant performance over seven shutout innings. King allowed just two hits and three walks while striking out a career-high nine Longhorn batters.

Texas righty Jason Flores (4-2) took the loss, surrendering two runs on two hits and two walks, while also hitting two Gator batters in his outing. “Moving forward, as a coaching staff, we got to figure out the five or six or seven best pitchers are and got to get them in the right spots, to give us a chance to win ballgames and advance our season,” Schlossnagle commented on his pitching staff.

Offensively, Florida was powered by Luke Heyman, who had two hits and an RBI. Blake Cyr, Brody Donay (with a home run), and Ashton Wilson each contributed a hit and an RBI. The Gators managed to put eight runners on base via hits, two through walks, and four by way of hit batsmen.

Adrain Rodrigue drove in the lone run for Texas on a bases-loaded walk. The Longhorns were limited to just four hits on the day, although they did draw seven walks. “It’s hard to manufacture runs when you can’t get the lead-off hitter on base,” Schlossnagle lamented.

The Longhorns will look to rebound as they move forward in their season as they travel to Oklahoma to conclude the regular season.