I copied and pasted this off Rivals.com
This week the burnt orange faithful had three more chances to catch the Longhorns on the diamond before the fall practice session ended. The format was not the same, but the Texas Longhorns took part in the annual Fall World Series at the Dell Diamond. Texas participated in three seven-inning inter squad scrimmages on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Augie Garrido showed off his talent and depth this week and the Horns showed the ability to hit the long ball. The veterans showed they can still get it done and one freshman really stood out for the Horns.
Game one highlights
Austin Wood got the start for the white team and seemed a little out of rhythm in the first inning, giving up three runs. The lefthander really settled down in innings two, three and four when he went on cruise control, giving up only one hit in those three innings. He kept his fastball down in the zone and started to be effective when he was changing speeds.
Travis Tucker led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run over the left field wall for the orange squad. Kevin Keyes and Russell Moldenhauer followed with two singles and Todd Gilfillian made the score 3-1 with his two RBI single.
The white squad responded in a big way against freshman Stayton Thomas. Jeff Boes had a solo home run and Cameron Rupp blasted a three run homer to give the white squad a 5-3 advantage.
Juston Street took the mound for the white team and pitched the final three innings. Street really struggled to keep the ball in the zone which resulted in several walks and allowed the orange team to tie the game at five.
The game would end in a tie thanks to the effort of submarining lefty Keith Shinaberry who tossed three shutout innings. Lefties continue to struggle against Shinaberry. In the fifth inning there were runners on first and third with no outs and Shinaberry responded by striking out Jordan Danks, Tant Shepherd, and Kyle Russell in a row.
Game two highlights
Freshman Chance Ruffin got the start for the white team and responded with his best outing this off-season. Ruffin pitched four innings of no hit baseball and only yielded two walks. He kept his sinking fastball down in the zone and really attacked hitters to get ahead in the count.
Cameron Rupp provided the white team's offense on the afternoon. Michael Torres and Russell drew walks and the freshman's bomb over the left field wall gave the white team a 3-0 lead.
Lefthander Kyle Walker was the one that yielded the homer to Rupp and seemed uncomfortable in his first inning of work. However, the Woodlands native really settled down and went on to pitch three scoreless innings.
Hard throwing reliever Drew Bishop relieved Ruffin and struggled some with his command in the fifth inning. This allowed the orange squad to get on the board. David Hernandez had a RBI single in the inning and the lead was cut to 3-2 when Runey Davis drew a bases loaded walk. Bishop settled down and earned the save with two scoreless innings to end the game. The veteran showed off a plus slider and his fastball sat right around 90 miles per hour.
Game three highlights
Moldenhauer got things going early for the orange squad when he belted a solo home run to the opposite field in the bottom of the first inning.
The orange would respond with two runs in the top of the third inning. Russell had a RBI triple and Rupp's single plated Russell. It would not be the only triple for Russell who had one with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. Ben Kaplan, Pat McCrory and Danks all scored to give the orange a 5-2 lead.
McCrory pushed the score to 7-2 with his two-out, two RBI home run in the fifth inning. Garret Clyde pitched the final three innings, all shutout, and earned the save for an orange team that took the series with two wins and one tie.
Who stood out for the Horns?
This discussion begins and ends with Cameron Rupp. The freshman from Prestonwood looked like a seasoned veteran in the batter's box. Longhorn pitchers could not figure out how the get the big catcher out. Rupp had two home runs and finished with seven RBI in three games. He just missed having three home runs when he sat back on a Walker curveball and sent it just off the top of the center field wall for a double in game two. This was a very impressive feat not only because it was at the Dell Diamond but because Walker has a plus curveball.
If Rupp continues to destroy the baseball it's going to be impossible for head coach Augie Garrido to keep him out of the lineup. Rupp is establishing himself as a big time candidate for the designated hitter spot and it's looking more and more like Moldenhauer will play in left to clear the path for Rupp.
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