'Really just proud of the grit': No. 25 Texas rallies to another walk-off win over Kansas
Texas shortstop Jalin Flores insisted he didn't need to spend any time washing his jersey.
After his sacrifice flyout brought home the winning run in the ninth inning of a 3-2 victory over Kansas on Friday night, Flores was run down by his teammates in the outfield at UFCU Disch-Falk Field and doused with water bottles. Flores later joked with a Texas staffer that since his jersey was already wet, he just needed to dry it.
OK, so that might not be how laundry works. But what does work is UT's recent recipe for securing dramatic wins. Take a one-run deficit, add a clutch pinch hitter and something from Jared Thomas, finish it off with a swing by Flores, and voilà, there's a Texas win.
That's the exact blueprint No. 25 Texas used in a 5-4 win over Kansas on Thursday. And it worked again Friday.
With the win, Texas improved to 19-10 in Big 12 play. Depending on the outcomes of Saturday's regular-season finale against Kansas (29-20, 15-14) and the two games Oklahoma State (34-16, 17-9) must play at Houston, UT could still claim the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, which will start Tuesday.
"This team has gone through a lot this whole year, a lot of adversity, showed a lot of resilience," Flores said. "We're just not going to give up; we're not going to lay down. We're going to fight to the last out."
For Texas fans who need a recap, the Longhorns trailed 4-3 as they entered the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday night. Pinch hitter Casey Borba led off with a solo homer. Thomas later drew a walk and scored the winning run when Flores doubled to the fence in right field.
One day later, UT was down 2-1 as it entered the ninth inning's bottom half. With one out, freshman Will Gasparino drew a 10-pitch walk. Texas then sent pinch-hitter Jack O'Dowd to the plate, and the senior infielder, who was hitting under .200 on the season, singled into right field. Thomas followed O'Dowd with a hit of his own, and the game was then tied.
That brought Flores to the plate with two runners in scoring position. Flores lifted a 1-1 pitch from Kansas reliever Cooper Moore into center field. Pinch runner Jayden Duplantier was able to tag up from third base after the baseball was caught and score to end the game.
"I think those three guys in front of me deserve more of the spotlight than I do just because of their at-bats and how they stayed in it," Flores said.
On the mound, Andre Duplantier II was credited with the win after allowing two hits over 2⅓ innings of relief. Texas was limited to five hits, but two were recorded in the final frame.
"Really just proud of the grit and just never giving in. Whether we win the game or not, I'd say the same thing," Texas coach David Pierce said.
UT will close out the regular season at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Before the game, Texas will recognize nine players as a part of its senior day activities. One of those will be Lebarron Johnson Jr., who is also the announced starting pitcher for the Longhorns.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Longhorns get another dramatic walk-off win over Kansas baseball team
