Pitching, defense lead Longhorns to much-needed series win over TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas (KXAN) — A double play with an outfield assist for the final two outs secured a 3-2 win for the Texas Longhorns and a big series win on the road Sunday against TCU.

Texas followed up an 8-4 win on Saturday with the series clincher and can now go for a road sweep of the Horned Frogs on Monday. The series was moved back a day due to severe weather in the Fort Worth area Friday.

The game's final play heavily featured Texas left fielder Porter Brown who transferred from TCU before the season began. Brown charged in from a medium-depth position in left field to catch a Logan Maxwell fly ball for the second out of the inning. TCU catcher Karson Bowen tagged up at third base and tried to score the tying run, and while Brown's throw wasn't perfect, it didn't need to be. Texas catcher Garret Guillemette caught it left of home plate outside of the batters' box but had plenty of time to slide back toward the plate to tag Bowen who didn't bother to slide.

Brown said after the game he was thinking about a lot of things fresh off making the defensive play of the game against his old squad.

"It feels like a big fever dream," he said. "I got a little nostalgic coming here when we came up for practice Thursday, but it's great to win a series."

After they were swept at home by Oklahoma and knocked out of first place in the Big 12 Conference, a series win was almost a requirement to get back in the regular season title hunt. A sweep Monday would fortify the Longhorns' position even more to make a run, and head coach David Pierce was delighted at how his team bounced back.

"They've played so hard and they played clean," Pierce said. "Both games have been right. We executed defensively and in the short game, and we pitched outstandingly. I'm so proud of those pitchers right now. They've been taking some bullets, and to go out and attack the zone the way they did, and (Lebarron Johnson Jr.) LBJ was the guy that we keep looking for."

Johnson threw 6.1 innings of relief after taking over for DJ Burke to start the third inning. He struck out six and didn't allow any runs on three hits in 85 pitches. Most importantly for the Texas pitching staff, he didn't walk anybody.

David Shaw allowed one hit, a Bowen single, but induced the fly ball by Maxwell that led to the game-ending twin killing to earn the save.

Peyton Powell was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a double and Jack O'Dowd scored twice for the Longhorns. Powell hit his double in the third inning to score O'Dowd, and then he plated O'Dowd again in the eighth with a single. Dylan Campbell hit a sacrifice fly in the third to score Jared Thomas. TCU outhit Texas 7-5.

Texas (30-15, 10-7 Big 12 Conference) can move into a three-way tie for second place in the Big 12 with a win over TCU on Monday to complete the sweep. The series finale starts at 1 p.m.

Oklahoma State and Kansas State are both 11-7 so far while West Virginia leads the conference at 11-4.