Easton Winfield's dream came true in Longhorns' win over Prairie View A&M
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas sophomore Easton Winfield has hit home runs before. He blasted 10 as a freshman for the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks before he returned to his home state, but the first one in burnt orange against Prairie View A&M on Tuesday felt different.
“It feels like a dream. It still doesn’t feel real,” he said after the Longhorns’ 11-2 win. “It has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember to hit a home run in a Longhorn uniform. I’m blessed and honored to finally do it.”
Winfield drove a 2-1 pitch over the left-center field wall in the bottom of the eighth inning off Panthers reliever Seve Medrano for a 2-run shot. There was a bit of a helping wind behind it, but this isn’t a record time in the 100-meter dash. Home runs count the same, whether blustery or dead calm.
“Off the bat, I knew there was a chance with the wind that it could get out,” he said. “Part of me wanted to stop and enjoy it, but another part of me was worried it was going to hit the wall, and then I’d look silly.”
The homer capped a perfect game at the plate for the Alvin native in his 19th start, finishing 4-for-4 with a double and two RBIs from the No. 9 spot in the batting order. It’s the fourth 4-hit game for the Longhorns this season. It bumped his batting average up to .265, giving him 13 hits in 49 at-bats.
Longhorns head coach Jim Schlossnagle said it’s taken a while for Winfield to find his swing, but this is the kind of game that Winfield can build off of.
“I’m super happy for him. He’s worked so hard,” Schlossnagle said. “This is not the easiest place to come in and play, and he’s learning some things through that. He’s pressed a lot and tried a million different things all year, but it’s good to see him stay on the baseball.”
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A lot of hitting ailments can be fixed with the help of a 5-time MLB all-star, and the Longhorns conveniently have one of those in the dugout. Winfield said he’s been working with assistant coach Troy Tulowitzki on “little things.”
“We’ve worked on getting more barrel control, more barrel contact,” Winfield said. “Trying to get more consistent contact instead of trying to go to muscle and do something big in the moment when it’s not called for. It was definitely good to see it work tonight and trust my hands.”
He started in left field, a position that has seen its share of new bodies for the Longhorns throughout the season. With right fielder Max Belyeu out with a thumb injury, Schlossnagle has shifted Tommy Farmer IV to the spot, leaving left field up for grabs. Adrian Rodriguez has played there lately, but he played second base against the Panthers, leaving Winfield on patrol.
Winfield hasn’t been in the lineup for the past couple of weeks, and instead of dwelling on it, he’s kept working.
“I’ve just been trying to be a good teammate,” he said. “Supporting my guys and being behind them, and just waiting for my time. I knew at some point I’d get an opportunity, so I was waiting patiently for it.”
Once Belyeu returns to the lineup, which could be in three weeks, Schlossnagle said, the Texas outfield will be whole again. And while that will probably cut into Winfield’s opportunities to get back in the lineup, his attitude is still the same one that allowed him to thrive Tuesday.
“You could put three guys in there Friday night and three different guys Saturday, and we’d come out with wins both nights,” Winfield said. “We have the best outfield in the country.”
Texas (38-5, 19-2 SEC) begins a 3-game series at No. 11 Arkansas on Thursday. The Longhorns have won 10 consecutive games, the second time this season they’ve had a winning streak of that or longer.
