It did not take long for shortstop C.J Hinojosa to record his first signature moment with the Longhorns.
The standout freshman laced a walk-off RBI single to center field in the bottom of the ninth Saturday to score Erich Wiess and give Texas a 4-3 win over the Cornhuskers. Weiss doubled with one out in the inning to get into scoring position, and Nebraska pitcher Dylan Vogt intentionally walked Mark Payton to bring Hinojosa up to the plate.
Hinojosa, who went 2-for-5 in the game and is now hitting .429, had a brief conversation with head coach Augie Garrido before his final at bat and tried not to overthink as he went to the plate.
“My mindset was just go up there and clean my head,” Hinojosa said. “I had four at bats before that, two were good, two were bad. Augie calmed me down and I just went up there with a clear mind and had fun with it.“
The Longhorns never trailed but blew a pair of leads over the course of the game. Codey McElroy kicked off the scoring for the Longhorns with an RBI double down the third baseline to score Jacob Felts in the second inning, and Texas added a run in the third on an RBI sacrifice bunt by Mark Payton to take an early 2-0 lead.
Nebraska answered with a two-out RBI double by Bryan Peters in the fifth inning and a pinch-hit RBI single by Blake Headley to tie the score. Texas retook the lead 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh on a bases loaded walk to Payton, but Nebraska knotted the score again with a sac fly by Kash Kalkowski in the top of the eighth.
Garrido was pleased with the resiliency of his team, and he said that the ability to overcome adversity and win is key to the confidence of his team.
“Every time you win one of these types of games, it is support to the fact that if you keep your commitment to learning from the things that go wrong, you can become better, and better and better,” Garrido said.
Starting pitcher Dillon Peters had another strong outing for the Longhorns in his second start of the year, limiting the Cornhuskers to two runs (one earned) while striking out four in six plus innings. Six relievers appeared in the game for the Longhorns and combined to allow one run in three innings.
The Longhorns (5-1) will look to complete the three-game sweep of Nebraska (0-5) on Saturday. The game is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. CT at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

This Friday, the Longhorns will finally get their first glimpse of freshman C.J. Hinojosa, the No. 3 shortstop recruit in the nation, according to Perfect Game, who went to Klein Collins High School in Spring. After several unfortunate mishaps, Hinojosa is finally taking the field in his first collegiate series Friday against Sacramento State. The first pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. Friday evening at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

The Longhorns will look to Hinojosa to fill several different roles this season. Hinojosa was a powerful force at the plate in high school, before a season-ending injury last year, and his talents will be a positive addition to the power-lacking Texas offense. In addition, his abilities at shortstop will help an infield that committed 70 errors in 52 games in 2012.

Hinojosa originally tried to graduate from high school early and enroll in time for last year’s spring season. However, the large academic responsibility of graduating early took a toll on Hinojosa, who decided against graduating early back in December 2011.

“It was really disappointing. I did everything that I could,” Hinojosa said of missing out on the opportunity to play for the Longhorns in 2012.

Scouts had been following him since his early playing days in high school, and when Hinojosa was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 26th round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft, many were wary of him ever coming to the 40 Acres. After much consideration, the promise of a good education and a chance to play under Texas head coach Augie Garrido convinced Hinojosa to become a Longhorn.

“A college education is big,” Hinojosa said. “I don’t want to have nothing to fall back on.”

Hinojosa’s senior season was cut short, however, after he underwent elective surgery to repair damage in his non-throwing shoulder. The damage, he said, was likely caused by landing too many times on his shoulder while trying to catch balls up the middle.

After having surgery and sitting out most of his senior season at Klein Collins, Hinojosa is slowly getting back to form just in time for the start of the season.

“I thought I wasn’t going to play baseball again at the level that I wanted to,” Hinojosa admitted about the process of recovering after his injury. “I didn’t know if I could come back strong enough.”

Although he is not 100 percent back to the full capabilities that he had in high school, only the little things, like speed and power at the plate, need to be tweaked.

“He’s an old baseball soul,” Garrido said. “He knows the game, knows how to play it, he has good instincts. But he’s been away from the game for a long time. He’s doing OK, he’s getting into shape. He’s quicker
and stronger.”

The coaching staff has been keeping this weekend’s starting lineup pretty close to the vest. Only part of the starting pitching staff has been announced with any certainty. However, Garrido has mentioned Hinojosa could find himself at sixth in the batting order and most expect him to start at shortstop when Sacramento State comes to town this weekend.

Until that decision is finalized, Hinojosa is just focused on becoming a better ball player and is intent on helping the Longhorns make it to Omaha.

“You got to go out there and have a good attitude and play your game,” Hinojosa said. “Coach Garrido says to carry yourself like a major league baseball player, so that’s what I am going to do.”

What he wants people to know most about him is that despite the injury, despite being recruited by major league scouts, and despite all of the attention he has received as a top-ranked recruit, he is a really hardworking baseball player who likes the simple things about the game.

“I like to hit,” Hinojosa said simply. “I like to square it up.”

Baseball: C.J. Hinojosa from The Daily Texan on Vimeo.

Published on February 15, 2013 as "Horns host Hornets". 

OAKLAND, Calif.  — The Oakland Athletics acquired infielder Jed Lowrie and right-hander Fernando Rodriguez from the Houston Astros for first baseman Chris Carter and two minor leaguers on Monday.

Right-hander Brad Peacock and catcher Max Stassi also went to Houston in the deal between franchises that will be playing in the same division for the first time following the Astros’ move from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013.

Lowrie batted .244 with 16 homers and 42 RBIs in 97 games with Houston, missing two months with ankle and thumb injuries. Despite the limited playing time, Lowrie tied for the fourth most homers among all shortstops last year.

Oakland general manager Billy Beane said he has had interest in Lowrie for years and was glad to be able to get the chance to add him to the roster.

“He always had good power for a guy in the middle of the infield,” Beane said. “It’s just hard to find that kind of power from a guy who can play the middle of the infield and doing it as a switch-hitter.”

Lowrie played exclusively at shortstop last season but previously played first, second and third base as well during his four years with the Boston Red Sox. The A’s had previously signed Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima to a $6.5 million, two-year contract.

Nakajima starts off as the shortstop but Beane said there will be plenty of chances for Lowrie to play all over the infield.

“I feel most comfortable at shortstop,” Lowrie said. “But I’ve played some second base in my career as well. I’m certainly more comfortable up the middle than anywhere else on the diamond. But I’ve had some experience at third base.”

Lowrie, who played his college ball at nearby Stanford, agreed to a $2.4 million salary to avoid arbitration. The Astros are likely to have the lowest payroll in the majors in 2013.

The move sends Lowrie from a rebuilding franchise that had a major league-worst 107 losses last season to a young club coming off a surprising division title in 2012 and one with high hopes for this season.

“Considering everyone had pegged either the Rangers or Angels to win it, it was a great story to watch from a distance,” Lowrie said. “It’s a group of young guys that obviously knows how to win. Hopefully, we’ll just continue to get better.”

Rodriguez went 2-10 with a 5.37 ERA in 71 relief appearances last year. He struck out 78 batters in 70 1-3 innings. Despite the poor record and high ERA, Beane sees plenty to like from the hard-throwing Rodriguez.

“He’s got a real big arm,” Beane said. “His record, his ERA are probably a little bit misleading. He’s another guy to add to our bullpen depth, which was one of our strengths last year. We felt like we were giving them a pretty good package. This addition helped us get over the finish line.”

Carter batted .239 with 16 homers and 39 RBIs in 67 games with Oakland last year, platooning at first base with left-handed hitting Brandon Moss. He provides needed power for the Astros and could thrive at hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park.

Beane said it was difficult to part with a player like Carter who twice won the award as the organization’s top minor leaguer, but he saw little opportunity for Carter to get substantial at-bats with four regular outfielders who would rotate at designated hitter and Brandon Moss likely getting most of the first base at-bats against right-handed pitching.

Lowrie provided much more immediate help.

“Given where this club finished last year and that we have the chance to compete this year we wanted to do whatever we could to help us out right now,” Beane said.

Peacock was acquired by Oakland from Washington in the deal that sent Gio Gonzalez to the Nationals following the 2011 season. After going 15-3 with a 2.39 ERA in the minors in his final year in the Nationals system, Peacock was 12-9 with a 6.01 ERA at Triple-A Sacramento last season. He was ranked as Oakland’s top pitching prospect for 2013 by Baseball America.

The 21-year-old Stassi batted .268 with 15 homers and 45 RBIs in 84 games at Class A Stockton in 2012 and was considered Oakland’s top catching prospect.

“This trade gives us power, pitching and catching,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said in a statement. “Three valuable commodities that will help improve our organization.”

For a while, C.J. Hinojosa had no idea where he would play baseball.

The highly touted Klein Collins High School shortstop decided to graduate from a high school a semester early to either enroll at Texas or pursue a professional baseball career. When Hinojosa was unable to handle the additional academic responsibilities, he decided to play out his high school senior season.

But with the possibility of his high school coach, who kicked him off the baseball team after learning of Hinojosa’s decision, not taking him back, Hinojosa and his parents explored nearby private schools. Once Hinojosa and his coach settled their differences, however, he was set to return to the Tigers squad. As for where he’ll be after this season, his stepfather and Klein Collins baseball booster club president Patrick Navarro claim the chances of Hinojosa playing at Texas next year are “85 to 90 percent.”

“If you would have asked the same question a month ago, I would have said his chances of coming to UT were about 20 percent,” Navarro said.

But now he’s changed his mind, Navarro said.

“I asked him, ‘So what are you feeling?’ and his response to me was, ‘If I don’t get [2011 No. 8 overall pick] Francisco Lindor money [$2.9 million], then there’s no question I’m going to Texas,” he said.

Hinojosa‘s daily routine while trying to skip his final semester of high school was a grueling one. He would attend his regular high school classes from around 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., followed by two to three hours devoted to Texas Tech online classes — English on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, along with precalculus and physics on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Coupled with seeing a tutor two days a week and workouts, Hinojosa’s schedule became too overwhelming.

“He was sick, he was stressed and he couldn’t handle the school work,” said Navarro. “We were so disappointed in the coaches. C.J. didn’t want to go to any other school, though. He wanted to stay there with the guys he had played with for all four years. It was kind of a trying time but it worked itself out.”

When Hinojosa realized he wouldn’t be able to complete the coursework necessary to graduate early, he had to mend the relationship he had with his high school head coach, Miguel Carlos, who kicked Hinojosa off the baseball team after learning he wanted to leave before his senior season at Klein Collins.

“When he told me wanted to forego the second half of his senior season to go to UT, I was definitely upset with the decision,” Carlos said. “He was removed from my baseball class because I needed to find me a shortstop. He didn’t like that decision but understood it.”

Following a heart-to-heart conversation between Carlos and his shortstop, as well as a visit to Hinojosa’s house by the third-year head coach, the path was clear for Hinojosa to play for Carlos again. Hinojosa, who also considered playing at USC and Cal State Fullerton, also looks like he’s settled the issue of where he’ll play after his high school days are over. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Hinojosa is solidly committed to Texas.

“He’s an advanced baseball player,” said Texas head baseball coach Augie Garrido. “He’s advanced over people his same age at this point in time.”

Hinojosa, by his count, hit 26 home runs as a junior last season. He began playing baseball when he was four and starting competing in select baseball tournaments at age 8. Since then, Hinojosa has developed into a bona fide professional shortstop prospect and a formidable presence in the batter’s box.

“[He was the] best high school hitter I’ve seen in a long time,” Carlos said of Hinojosa. “You know how they talk about how the game slows down for kids? I think that’s what happens with this kid. He just sees everything at a different level.”

Carlos is in charge of a Klein Collins baseball program that has provided several players to Texas over the years. Senior pitchers Sam Stafford, who was recently lost for the season with a shoulder injury, and Austin Dicharry played for the Tigers before suiting up for the Longhorns. The Klein Collins football team also sent offensive lineman Garrett Greenlea to the 40 Acres.

Meanwhile, Hinojosa will be joined by third baseman Austin Dean and left-handed pitcher Cory Geisler on the Texas baseball squad next season.

“It’s a great problem to have, I’m not going to lie to you,” said Carlos. “I’ve enjoyed seeing these kids and watching how far they’ve come. They were playing at a high level when they came in. They were starting varsity players their freshman year.”

Klein Collins was swept by Lufkin in the first round of the playoffs last season but Carlos said he fully expects his team to compete in the state tournament held in Round Rock this June.

As for Hinojosa, expect him to be competing for the Longhorns next year — even if he didn’t expect to be a month ago.

When shortstop Brandon Loy was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB Draft, the Longhorns lost half of their starting middle infield. After Jordan Etier was arrested and charged with marijuana possession and evading police four months later, it seemed as if they would lose the other half.

But Texas announced Wednesday that Etier would be reinstated to the baseball team and that the senior second baseman would serve a four-game suspension. In addition to sitting out four games, Etier will also not have a scholarship while playing for the Longhorns this season.

“With there being closure in Jordan’s case, the University decided to revisit the situation and his punishment,” said head coach Augie Garrido in a statement. “After he was dismissed from the team in the fall, Jordan continued to attend class which was looked on in a positive light by the administration. He also showed his intention to continue his education and graduate from the University of Texas whether or not he was member of the team, which demonstrated his effort to learn and grow from the incident.”

Garrido was himself suspended four games three season ago when he pleaded guilty to drunken driving in February 2009, a little more than two weeks after he was pulled over at about 1 a.m. and admitted to a police officer that he had consumed five glasses of wine. The NCAA Division I all-time leader in wins with 1,817 victories, Garrido was also sentenced to four days in Travis County Jail and fined $500 in July 2009.

Etier, who hit .237 as a junior last season, will be eligible to return to the Longhorns lineup Feb. 24 when Texas faces Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. The Cardinals are ranked No. 3 in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll while the Longhorns checked in at No. 5. Stanford, who was swept in the Super Regional round last season by North Carolina – the team that knocked Texas out of the College World Series last year – lost two out of three to the Longhorns at Austin in 2011.

Texas will bring back three of its starting infielders from a year ago as catcher Jacob Felts and third baseman Erich Weiss will join Etier in his final season with the Longhorns. They will also return two starting outfielders, Mark Payton and Cohl Walla. Texas loses its ace, Taylor Jungmann, a first-round selection by the Milwaukee Brewers in last June’s MLB Draft, and another starting pitcher in Cole Green, who was picked up by the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth round. But the Longhorns will welcome back southpaw starter Sam Stafford, who turned down the New York Yankees that drafted him in the second round and sensational closer Corey Knebel, who tied a school record with 19 saves as a freshman.

The Longhorns open the 2012 season with a three-game homestand against Duke beginning Feb. 17 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

It's good to be a Yankees middle infielder these days.

Two days after shortstop Derek Jeter picked up his 3,000th hit, his teammate Robinson Cano won the Home Run Derby, and he followed Jeter’s lead to make a dramatic finish.

While Jeter made hit No. 3,000 a game-tying blast into the left field seats, Cano faced an uphill battle in the final round as he squared off against Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

Like any great Red Sox-Yankees battle, the stakes were high, records were broken and the finish was thrilling. Gonzalez led off the third and final round, belting a record-tying 11 long balls. Bobby Abreu set that record in 2005 and Ortiz matched it in 2010. Both went on to capture the Home Run Derby title, but 11 would not be enough for Gonzalez to win.
With his father — former major league pitcher Jose Cano — throwing to him, Cano deposited 12 baseballs over the fence, breaking the final-round record with four outs to spare and sharing the father-son embrace of a lifetime following the Derby-winning blow.

The Home Run Derby had lost much of its luster recently with many fans losing interest after a lack of excitement since Josh Hamilton's record-setting display in 2008 at the old Yankee Stadium. But this year's Derby went a long way toward making it relevant again. The showdown between Cano and Gonzalez was remarkable and riveting, exciting as any game this season.

The way the Derby started didn't suggest it would be as spectacular as it eventually was. Jose Bautista, whose 31 home runs and 7.45 million All-Star Game votes are tops in the majors, managed only four home runs in a Round 1 that included nine consecutive outs. The National League, led by Prince Fielder, was just as disappointing, mustering only 15 long balls between their four representatives. Fielder was the only one of the four to advance to the second round and did so only after a swing-off.

Chase Field, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks, is not the best venue for a home run contest. But it didn't seem to be a problem for Gonzalez, who is familiar with pitcher's parks as he's spent most of his career playing in PETCO Park in San Diego. The AL's leading hitter at .354 also proved he can hit for power, scattering nine home runs to take the first round lead.

Cano's eight homeruns was plenty to get him into the second round, but a three-way swing-off was needed to decide the other two second-round participants. Matt Holliday, AL captain Ortiz and Fielder each got five swings. Holliday got home runs on two of them, Ortiz hit four bombs, and Fielder was a perfect five-for-five as both captains joined Cano and Gonzalez in the next round. But the captains were eliminated in that round as Cano's 12 dingers and Gonzalez' 11 bombs, including seven in a row at one point, brought their respective totals to 20 and brought them to the Derby's final round.

This Derby was the first with captains and the first that saw the AL and NL compete against each other. Both captains were allowed to pick three players from their league to join them. Both Fielder and Ortiz ensured they brought a teammate to the Derby with Rickie Weeks joining Fielder and Ortiz bringing Gonzalez. The AL demolished the NL, 76-19, as both Cano and Gonzalez hit more home runs (20) in the first two rounds than the NL in the entire contest (19).

In the final round, Gonzalez matched his second round total by sprinkling 11 baseballs into the right field seats, but Cano caught fire when it mattered most. Of Cano’s first seven swings, five were home runs and two died at the warning track. Seven of his last nine swings, including the last four, resulted in home runs. With Cano on such a roll, it would have been interesting to see how many more he had left because he ended the round with only six outs.

Let's hope the Red Sox and Yankees can make October as exhilarating as Cano and Gonzalez made the Home Run Derby.

Spike Owen, who played shortstop and third baseman for the Longhorns in the early 1980s, has found his way back to Austin as the interim manager of the Round Rock Express.

While at Texas, Owen led Texas to several Southwest Championships and was named All-Conference shortstop in 1981 and 1982. Owen also led the team to two College World Series appearances in 1981 and 1982 but was unable to bring the trophy home from Omaha.

In 1983, the year after he left Texas, the Longhorns brought home a title. Despite this, Owen still highlights the importance of taking a trip to Omaha.

“It’s a great feeling. When you’re professional you want to play in the World Series and it’s really no different in college to have the chance to play for a national championship,” Owen said. “We came up short when I was there and it’s something I will kind of always regret, but going to Omaha is something special.”

Drafted by Seattle with the No. 6 overall pick in the 1982 draft, Owen played for the Mariners for four years before being traded to Boston. As a member of the Red Sox, Owen tied a league record for most runs scored in a single game with six. He also made an appearance in the World Series where he hit .300 with the Red Sox in 1986 when they lost four games to three against the New York Mets.

Throughout his career, Owen was constantly praised for his success at the plate. He had the ability to draw walks out of a pitcher and could perform well in the clutch. His aggressive competition and his leadership led him through a 12-year Major League career, experience that has helped him in his new career.

“He’s a great coach,” said Express outfielder Brad Nelson. “Any guy with double digits in the big league — he knows something, he’s doing something right. What he’s been around and seen in this game is far more than any one of us can relate to. Anyone with that kind of knowledge — you’re always going to get better.”

In 2002, Owen was installed as the bench coach for the Express while it was still an affiliate of the Houston Astros. He is now the interim manager for Round Rock under its new affiliation with the Texas Rangers.

“It’s good to be back home, I love Austin,” Owen said. “It’s my second time around. I was with Round Rock with the Astros when they were here and I was really happy to be able to come back.”

Owen fondly remembers his college days and the style of play employed by his head coach Cliff Gustafson — Gus Ball.

“Coach Gus built his team around pitching and defense as well, however, we didn’t bunt as much as Augie bunts,” Owen said. “With Texas, the pitching prospects they have coming through here are some of the best in the country and he wanted to surround them with guys who could catch the ball and turn outs.”

And even though he’s on the road a lot during the Express’s season, Owen still had a chance to watch his alma mater play ball.

“I got to see a little bit during the playoffs. They had a good year,” Owen said. “I know for us Longhorns we want to win it all and that’s a goal every year, but hopefully we can build on this and get back there next year.”