For the first time in school history, the baseball team defeated a top-five team, beating the University of Texas 7-3 Saturday in the third game of a four-game series in Austin. At the time, Texas (11-5) was ranked fifth in the nation.
Pitcher Anthony Galan '14 replaced starter Mark Gormley '11.5 in the third inning and kept the powerful Longhorn bats silent, inducing 12 groundouts in six innings of one-run pitching. Galan earned Ivy co-rookie and co-pitcher of the week honors for his performance.
In the third inning, Ryan Zrenda '11 hit a two-run home run and first-year standout Wes Van Boom '14 scored to give the Bears a 3-1 lead. Though the Longhorns scored one run in the third and the fifth, the Bears (2-6) responded with an offensive onslaught in the top half of the seventh.
Mike DiBiase '12, who showed a rare combination of patience and power all through the weekend on his way to Ivy League player of the week honors, started off the inning with a single. Graham Tyler '12 and Pete Greskoff '11 also had hits as the Bears scored three runs in the frame. In the eighth, co-captain Matt Colantonio '11 doubled and came home to score. Josh Feit '11 came on in the ninth and struck out the side, ensuring a historic victory for the Bears.
The Bears dropped the other three matchups against the Longhorns 8-0, 4-3 and 11-1.
In the series opener, Texas ace Taylor Jungman stifled Brown hitters through eight innings of scoreless work to bring his record at the Longhorns' home stadium in Austin to a perfect 13-0. After facing Vanderbilt pitcher Sonny Gray last week, Matt Kimball '11 was again matched up against an elite MLB pitching prospect. Kimball gave up six runs, three of which were earned, over six innings.
The Longhorns, a notoriously good bunting team, used three straight first inning bunts to take a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Texas added four more insurance runs to bring the final score to 8-0.
The following day, Zrenda and Greskoff scored in the first inning to give the Bears an early 2-0 lead. But despite multiple chances to increase their lead, the Bears left the door open for a Longhorns comeback.
In the fifth inning, Texas freshman Erich Weiss provided the firepower for that comeback with a grand slam. Though Brown pitcher Kevin Carlow '13 pitched well throughout the game, one crucial mistake — a fastball down the middle — earned him the loss, as the Longhorns took the game 4-3.
After Bruno's Saturday breakthrough, the team was unable to repeat its performance Sunday. Bruno pitchers struggled all day, and the Longhorns, on the strength of three hits each from Jacob Felts and Cohl Walla, cruised to a comfortable 11-1 victory.
The Bears returned to New England Tuesday, defeating Northeastern University 6-4. Conor Burke '11 pitched five innings and gave up three runs against the Huskies (2-11), and the Bears' offense was powered by home runs from Van Boom, DiBiase and Tyler.
Brown continues its 18-game road trip to open the season with a four-game series at Santa Clara University (7-9) beginning March 26.
