Longhorns Round-Up: Good as Gold in Fort Knox

After the first ten games of the 2011 baseball season, the Louisville Longhorns were sporting a 7-3 overall record, had made it to back-to-back championship games and had one title already under their collective belts. Certainly, that should be considered a good start, but heading into the Kilianski Opening Day tournament—their third tournament in as many weekends—they were also coming off two consecutive run-rule losses. How, and if, the ’Horns would bounce back down in Fort Knox, Kentucky would be a good indication of their pastime pluck.

After taking one for the team, Ryan Hamilton takes a lead.

Casey Simon leads off the third with a double.

RE-CAP The Longhorns sent 12 men to plate and erupted for 8 runs against the Kentucky Beasts in the third inning, and would carry an 8-0 lead into the last frame. However, the Longhorns’ personal monster so far this season, defensive miscues, reared its unsightly head once again, as they allowed 5 runs—4 unearned—in the top of the fifth inning, before Trey Sweeney came in to secure the 8-5 victory by slaying the final Beast. (More on Mr. Sweeney later.)

KNOX NOTES 3-up, 3-down x 3: Starting pitcher Casey Simon twirled 3 innings of perfect ball, aided by a stellar Bryce Elmore-to-Nicholas Parrish 9-3 putout against the final batter he faced... Perfect Pair: Nicholas Parrish, with a single and two bases on balls, and Andrew Littlefield, with a 2-run single and a walk, were perfect at the plate... Double-double: Simon started off the 8-run third inning with his fourth double of the season, and Elmore collected his first extra base hit of the season, a 2-run two-bagger, in the same inning.

Andrew Arnold makes the out at first,

despite the specter of the... GIANT LOOMING HAND.

RE-CAP After jumping out to an early lead, the Longhorns can’t take the Heat, as they are once again burned by their all-too-familiar nemesis, the unearned run. After scoring four in the first inning, the ’Horns would give up a dozen counters, only the first three of which were earned, and the contest would ultimately end with the ‘Horns at the lesser end of a 12-5 final score.

Andrew Littlefield prepares to deliver one of his two base hits

beneath picturesque early-April skies.

BULLION BANTER Double-A’s double-bagger: The Longhorns’ 4-run first inning was highlighted by Andrew Arnold’s 2-run keystone hit, his third of the season... 11 + 21 = 2-3: Andrew Littlefield and Casey Simon (numbers 11 and 21, respectively), both go 2-for-3... 7th heaven: Littlefield nabs his team-leading seventh sack of the season... Walks on the wild side: Brendan Koester works the count full in both turns at bat, takes ball four, and the accompanying free pass, each time... Play of the Year (so far): third baseman Trey Sweeney makes diving stop to his left, gets up and throws out runner at first base to rob final Heat batter of certain base hit.

Starting pitcher Matthew Higgins fanned six en route to the victory.

RE-CAP The Longhorns earned the No. 2 seed going into Sunday’s bracket-play phase of the tournament, where they once again faced their first-round pool-play opponent, the Kentucky Beasts, in a semifinal re-match. This time, their combination of an unrelenting offense—15 of their 23 batters would reach base—and a flawless defense—no errors (!)—would spell doom for their Bluegrass brethren, and, with their 11-3 victory, the Longhorns would earn a spot in their third consecutive tournament championship game.

Ryan Hamilton pilfers one of his three bags in the game,

raising a cloud of diamond dust in the process.

TOURNEY TALES Twice as nice: Noah Baugher was a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBIs, including a sublime, second inning safety squeeze... 6-pack: Starting pitcher Matthew Higgins earned the win with three strong innings of 1-run ball, fanning 6 along the way... Three’s company: Casey Simon was 3-for-3 at the plate, with 3 RBIs... Hit parade: Andrew Arnold earned his way on base via hit-by-pitch for the second time in the tournament... Baker’s dozen: Trey Sweeney drove in his team-leading 13th run in the the first inning... Four score and two walks apiece: Ryan Hamilton and Brendan Koester both walked twice and scored twice in the game... Crime pays: Hamilton swiped three bags, to double his season stolen base output... The ultimate sacrifice: Andrew Littlefield’s third inning sacrifice fly was his second of the season, tops on the team.

RE-CAP The Heat was on for the Louisville Longhorns in the championship game of the Kilianski Opening Day baseball tournament—the Ohio Heat, that is. The searing Heat, a club that won 50 games in 2010 and was undefeated so far in 2011, had already proven to be too hot to handle for the Longhorns when the teams met earlier in the tournament, so when the two squared off again on a windy Sunday afternoon in Fort Knox, it promised to be a barnburner.

Ouch, Part 1: Casey Simon gets drilled with a pitch in the fourth inning.

Ouch, Part 2: Later in the same inning,

Andrew Arnold feels his teammate’s pain.

The Heat would score in each of the first three innings—four in the first, a single marker in the second and two more in the third—while the Longhorns chose to do all of their early damage in one fell-swoop with a 7-run second inning. From that point on, however, the complexion of the contest would change dramatically, from a hitfest in which tallies seemed to be a dime a dozen to a pitcher’s duel in which neither team could buy a run. After combining for 14 runs on as many hits over the first three frames, the two teams would manage only a pair of harmless singles each, and no runs, over the next five innings, in large part due to exceptional pitching and tight defense. In the top of the ninth—three stanzas deep into extra innings—the Longhorns would finally wear down the previously indefatigable Ohioans and plate four unanswered runs, en route to an 11-7 championship game victory.

FINALS THOUGHTS Hit ’em where, and when, it hurts: Ryan Hamilton’s bases-loaded triple to deep center field was the big blow in the Longhorns’ 7-run second inning... How do you spell relief?: Trey Sweeney came on in relief to spin 5-2/3 innings of masterful 2-hit, no-run ball to earn the W... Clean-up on Aisle 4: Matthew Higgins, hitting out of the fourth spot in the order, was 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs, including the knock that drove in what proved to be the winning run... Fort Base Knox: Andrew Littlefield’s second inning single gave him at least one hit in all four tournament games... Flashing the leather: shortstop Casey Simon had a putout or assist in 10 of the outs the Longhorns made in the field... Not on my watch: Andrew Arnold gunned down his third would-be base-stealer of the season in the 7th inning... Multi-talented: Brendan Koester had his second multi-hit game of the season.