Scoreless after the first inning, Texas broke on top 1-0 in the second as Michael Hollimon (Dallas, Texas/Jesuit College Prep.) drew a leadoff walk, moved to second a sacrifice bunt and came around to score on a RBI-single to right off the bat of J.D. Reininger (Spring Branch, Texas/Smithson Valley) with one down. An inning later, Rice received a two-RBI base hit from Matt Ueckert following a hit batsman and an infield single to grab a 2-1 lead after three full frames of play. The score remained that way until the top of the sixth when with two outs and Hollimon on first with a walk, Johnston connected on his fourth career home run to put the Horns back in front by a score of 3-2.
Rice would load the bases in the bottom of the seventh and tie the game at 3-3 on a fielding error, but Texas immediately responded in the top of the eighth with a two-out run as Curtis Thigpen (Forney, Texas/Forney), who began the inning with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice, came home on a single to right from Johnston to pull UT in front 4-3. The Horns then continued their two-out rally in that frame as Reininger walked and freshman Drew Stubbs (Atlanta, Texas/Atlanta) delivered a two-run double following a double steal to make it a 6-3 ballgame. From there, J.P. Howell (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit/USC), who allowed only one unearned run over three solid innings, and Huston Street (Austin, Texas/Westlake), who tossed two hitless innings by retiring all six batters he faced, to preserve the three-run win.
Howell, who surrendered only one unearned run on two hits in three frames of work, garnered his first win of the season after relieving UT starter Sam LeCure (Centertown, Mo./Helias Interparish), who tied his career-high with five strikeouts over four innings of work. Meanwhile, Street claimed his first save of the 2004 campaign after retiring the side in order in the ninth and Rice reliever Joshua Forester shouldered the loss.
Headlining the Longhorns' offense, which totaled 10 hits, were Johnston, who matched a career-best with three hits and set a career-high with three RBI while also scoring two runs, and the tandem of Dooley Prince (Sulphur, La./Sulphur/McNeese State) and Reininger, who each tallied a pair of hits on the night. Rice, meanwhile, had its attack paced by Ueckert, who singled in two of the Owls' three runs.
Notably for the Horns, Thigpen extended his current hit streak to eight games, which matches his career long set in 2003, with a single in the ninth and Street earned his 30th career save.
The Longhorns wrap up their stint at the Minute Maid College Classic with a 6 p.m. game at Minute Maid Park against the University of Houston on Sunday, Feb. 15.
