UT’s Johnson becomes Miami’s kryptonite: Hurricanes baseball falls to Texas, 4-1

Redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Lebarron Johnson Jr pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning of Miami’s Coral Gables Regional game versus the University of Texas at Mark Light Field on June 3, 2023. Photo credit: Jared Lennon

Saturday night at Mark Light Field featured a career game for one player, and unfortunately for Miami, it was not a ‘Cane. Texas pitcher Lebarron Johnson pitched a complete game and allowed just one earned run in the Longhorns’ 4-1 NCAA tournament win against the Hurricanes.

With Miami losing on Saturday night, it now faces elimination if it loses one more game in the Coral Gables Regional.

“Well that was a tough one obviously. [Johnson] threw really well for Texas,” Miami head coach Gino DiMare said. “He’s a really good pitcher, he was on his game, and he got the better of us tonight.”

No matter what the situation was in the game, Johnson stayed cool and collected throughout the entirety of his complete game and 130 pitches. Miami was able to have the bases loaded in their first two batting innings of the game, but Johnson did not allow a single run from those two opportunities.

The only run he allowed was a solo home run from Dominic Pitelli in the fourth inning, his 12th of the season.

Junior infielder Dominic Pitelli hits a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning of Miami’s Coral Gables Regional game versus the University of Texas at Mark Light Field on June 3, 2023.
Junior infielder Dominic Pitelli hits a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning of Miami’s Coral Gables Regional game versus the University of Texas at Mark Light Field on June 3, 2023. Photo credit: Jared Lennon

“That’s one great game pitched by [Johnson],” Texas head coach David Pierce said. “This was a kid that didn’t play in the postseason last year. He’s one of the most humbling kids that you’ll ever be around, and he went out there and pitched his tail off.”

He made the ‘Canes seem like every other team on their home field. Their .300 season hitting average was not even close to that with Johnson on the mound, as Miami went 7-of-33, or a .211 average.

“My down away fastball was working,” Johnson said. “They’re definitely an aggressive team, so be able to execute that was key. My arm is feeling good right now, but tomorrow it’s probably going to be hanging.”

The Hurricanes faced hardship from the very beginning of the game. After a double from Jared Thomas on the first at-bat, outfielder Dylan Campbell homered past the scoreboard to give the Longhorns a 2-0 lead. In the second, Jack O’Dowd skied a solo homer to extend Texas’ lead to three. With the homer, Campbell extends his Big 12 record-breaking hitting streak to 37 games. He broke the record on Friday night against Louisiana.

“What [Campbell] has done – breaking the Big-12 record is pretty amazing,” Pierce said. “That record has stood since 2007.”

Texas’ offensive field day was from the hand of Miami sophomore starter Karson Ligon. In just his second start after coming back from injury, Ligon looked like a shell of himself. He allowed five hits, all four earned runs, and even hit Texas catcher Garret Guillemette in the head in the two innings he pitched.

Sophomore pitcher Rafe Schlesinger came in and relieved Ligon with a career night himself. In the seven innings he pitched, which was his longest appearance, he set a career high in strikeouts with nine and had a strike percentage of almost 72%.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Rafe Schlesinger pitches at the top of the fifth inning of Miami’s Coral Gables Regional game versus the University of Texas at Mark Light Field on June 3, 2023.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Rafe Schlesinger pitches at the top of the fifth inning of Miami’s Coral Gables Regional game versus the University of Texas at Mark Light Field on June 3, 2023. Photo credit: Jared Lennon

“[Associate head coach/pitching coach J.D. Arteaga] has been getting all the pitchers in the right mindset,” Schlesinger said. “The roles aren’t really the roles anymore, it kind of goes off script. [Arteaga] says, ‘If you get out there you’re staying out there’ – so that’s what I really thought about. Just keep getting outs.”

The Hurricanes will face Louisiana on Sunday at noon for their first elimination game in the Coral Gables Regional.

“We have to turn the page and be ready for tomorrow, which our team has been doing all year long,” DiMare said. “I have all the confidence in the world from our team.”