Texas splits a doubleheader with San Jose State, but what is going on at shortstop?

The Texas Longhorns closed out a long Friday on a positive note.

Grand slams hit by Eric Kennedy and Tanner Carlson powered Texas to a 24-3 win over San Jose State in the second game of a doubleheader at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The blowout helped UT bounce back from a 6-4 loss to the Spartans in Friday's opener.

Those 24 runs were the most scored by the Longhorns in a game since a 25-1 win over Texas Southern in 1995.

"I thought we did a great job of responding in game two after somewhat getting humiliated and just giving the game away," UT coach David Pierce said. "I think it's important for them to stay locked in. It's our job too to do a better job of making sure that they're paying attention to detail in our work, in our prep, so those types of things don't happen. But it happened, and it's frustrating, but at the same time, I liked the response."

In the first game, Texas got a two-run home run from Garret Guillemette in the first inning and eventually took a 3-0 lead. San Jose State, however, rallied and later passed the Longhorns.

After a 105-minute break between the games, Texas jumped out to another early lead. Behind a solo shot by Peyton Powell in the first inning and Kennedy's grand slam in the second, UT went ahead 8-0, and the Spartans never got closer than five runs.

Texas produced a season-high 22 hits in its shellacking of the Spartans. Five of those hits were home runs by Kennedy, who homered twice and produced a career-high eight RBIs; Powell; Carlson; and Cam Constantine, a fourth-year infielder who went deep for the first time in his collegiate career.

"It's very contagious because, I mean, one person hits and then it seems like everybody's hitting," said Dylan Campbell, who doubled three times. "So we've got to build off that and take it into tomorrow or Sunday or whenever we play next. We've just got to build off that."

Texas and San Jose State combined for 44 hits in the two games. There was a significant footnote on the UT defense, though.

Texas started Jalin Flores at shortstop in Friday's first game. Cade O'Hara was the starting shortstop in the nightcap, and both Jayden Duplantier and Flores made appearances at that position over the final three innings. Flores, O'Hara and Duplantier are all freshmen.

That was the third time this week that junior Mitchell Daly did not play in the field. Daly had been UT's starting shortstop in 46 of its first 49 games, and he had proved to be a solid defender with six errors in 194 chances.

But Daly, who struck out twice as a late-game designated hitter in the second game, is hitting just .224 this season. Over the previous two weekends, Daly went 1-for-18 in six games at TCU and Kansas. He was pulled in the sixth inning of a 7-6 win over Kansas last Sunday.

"I just think he's kind of in a funk and he needs to find his confidence and regroup," Pierce said. "We need to stick with him and try to do everything we can to help him and help him get out of that because he's a talented young man that can really help us the rest of the way."

Key play: With two outs in the first game's eighth inning, the Longhorns held a 4-3 lead. San Jose State moved two runners into scoring position, so Texas turned to its bullpen. The Spartans then took the lead without putting the ball in play.

On a full-count offering to Hunter Dorraugh, Andre Duplantier II threw a wild pitch that allowed Theo Hardy to score. Guillemette attempted to get Hardy out at the plate after he tracked down the ball, but the Texas catcher's throw was also wayward, and that error brought home the winning run.

That sequence led to Texas reliever Zane Morehouse (4-3) being tagged with the loss. Lebarron Johnson Jr. (6-2) earned the win in the second game.

Notable number: 29. With a third-inning single in the opening duel and a first-inning double in the second showdown, Campbell extended his hitting streak to 29 games. Campbell's hitting streak became a school record once it hit the 26-game mark last Sunday, and it is now the fifth-longest run in Big 12 history.

Up next: Weather permitting, Texas (34-18) and San Jose State (24-23) are set to close out their series at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Pierce said right-handed pitcher Tanner Witt (0-1, 21.60 ERA) will throw for an inning or two in his third appearance of the season.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas, San Jose State baseball teams split Friday doubleheader