From 0 to 26 (and counting): How Dylan Campbell put together a Texas-record hitting streak
Dylan Campbell didn't wait too long Sunday to make history.
Batting third in Texas' Big 12 series finale at Kansas, the Longhorns' junior faked a bunt attempt in his first at-bat, then took a strike from Jayhawks pitcher Sam Ireland, and then he doubled to the left-field wall at Hoglund Ballpark. It gave Campbell a hit in his 26th straight game, breaking a 15-year-old program record.
History made. #HookEm | @dylancamp25 pic.twitter.com/wbwVORJzgi
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) May 7, 2023
Of the hitting streaks recognized by Texas, Michael Torres' 25-game string in 2008 had been the school standard. Torres, who's the older brother of current UT infielder Cade O’Hara, started his streak on March 11 that season, and it was snapped in a loss to Oklahoma State on April 20.
Fifteen years later, here are some things worth noting about Campbell's streak:
∙ Campbell is hitting .396 during his record run. He entered the Texas Tech game on March 25 with a .229 batting average but is now gathering hits at a .321 clip.
∙ Eleven times during his streak, Campbell has collected multiple hits.
∙ In 57.7% of the 26 games, Campbell extended his streak with a single. The first hits in his other games were doubles (19.2%), triples (7.7%) and home runs (15.4%).
∙ In 46.2% of those 26 games, Campbell extended his streak in the first inning.
∙ So far, Texas is 16-10 during Campbell's streak. Texas beat Kansas 7-6 on Sunday.
"Only 32 more in a row and he’ll catch Robin Ventura," ESPN+ announcer Brian Hanni joked after Campbell's milestone moment. Ventura owns the NCAA record with his 58-game hitting tear during Oklahoma State's 1987 season.
Still, any record set for a program as storied as Texas' is worth noting. Here's how Campbell put together his record-setting streak:
Game 1 (March 25 vs. Texas Tech): Campbell's streak started with a fourth-inning single off Texas Tech's Mason Molina. Campbell went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs in UT's 6-5 win.
Game 2 (March 26 vs. Texas Tech): Campbell singled off the third pitch he saw in this series finale.
Game 3 (March 28 at Texas A&M): In each of his first two at-bats in College Station, Campbell singled.
Game 4 (March 31 at Oklahoma State): Campbell fell a home run short of the hitting cycle in this series opener. The first of his three hits in the game was a triple in the opening frame.
DC!@dylancamp25's second triple in as many games plates EK and it’s 1-1 in the 3rd!#HookEm pic.twitter.com/CPshsonk62
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) April 1, 2023
Game 5 (April 1 at Oklahoma State): After recording his first triple of the season the day before, Campbell tripled again in the third inning. That plated the only run that Texas would score against OSU starter Juaron Watts-Brown, who was later named the Big 12 pitcher of the week.
Game 6 (April 2 at Oklahoma State): Campbell went 1-for-3 in the series finale between the Longhorns and Cowboys. That hit was a third-inning single.
Game 7 (April 4 vs. Air Force): A two-run homer in the fourth inning was the first of two hits for Campbell in the midweek contest.
Game 8 (April 7 vs. Kansas State): The first of 10 hits for Texas in a 6-5 win over the Wildcats was a first-inning double by Campbell. For Campbell, eight straight games with a hit was a career-high streak.
Game 9 (April 8 vs. Kansas State): Campbell extended his hitting streak with a fourth-inning single.
Game 10 (April 9 vs. Kansas State): Campbell went 3-for-5 as Texas blew by Kansas State in its series finale. The first hit was a first-inning single.
Game 11 (April 10 at Texas State): Campbell was held to one hit — a single in the third inning.
BIG BARREL DYLAN CAMPBELL. @dylancamp25 blasts his 7th of the season to give the Horns a 1-0 lead after one!#HookEm pic.twitter.com/U2mvAftDF7
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) April 11, 2023
Game 12 (April 11 vs. Texas State): As Texas closed out a stretch in which it played five straight days, Campbell extended his personal streak with a home run in the first inning. He later added a single.
Game 13 (April 14 at Baylor): Over the first eight innings, Campbell was hit by a pitch and also reached on a walk and a fielding error. But he was held hitless until he singled on a full-count offering during a long ninth inning.
Game 14 (April 15 at Baylor): Batting leadoff for just the second time this season, Campbell extended his hitting streak with a single off Baylor's Mason Marriott in the game's opening at-bat.
Game 15 (April 16 at Baylor): Campbell went 1-for-4 against the Bears, but that one hit was an RBI single in the fifth inning of UT's 7-6 win.
Game 16 (April 19 vs. Abilene Christian): On the first pitch thrown to a Longhorn, Campbell singled. He went 2-for-3 and was pulled in the fourth inning of a 20-0 win.
Game 17 (April 21 vs. Oklahoma): During this record run, Campbell has extended his streak in his last plate appearance on three occasions. The second time occurred when he produced an eighth-inning single against OU reliever Carter Campbell, the soon-to-be Big 12 pitcher of the week.
Game 18 (April 22 vs. Oklahoma): Campbell's two-run homer in the sixth was among the few highlights for Texas in a 9-6 loss to the Sooners.
Game 19 (April 22 vs. Oklahoma): Campbell went 2-for-4 in the second game of a doubleheader, but Texas was unable to avoid a 6-4 loss and series sweep. Campbell's first hit was a leadoff double in the opening inning.
The SEVENTH longhorn to get to a 20 game hit streak is @dylancamp25 !!! pic.twitter.com/QG3APkYaSf
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) April 26, 2023
Game 20 (April 25 vs. Texas Southern): In a run-rule win, Campbell became the seventh Longhorn to record a 20-game hit streak when he doubled during one of his two at-bats in the third inning. This feat was accomplished against a Texas Southern program that Campbell's father, Donovan, once played for.
Game 21 (April 29 at TCU): Texas dropped Campbell back into the No. 3 spot in the batting order, and he immediately produced a first-inning double against the Horned Frogs.
Game 22 (April 30 at TCU): With a first-inning single, Campbell claimed sole possession of the third-longest streak in school history. He was now just chasing Torres and Rick Bradley (24 games in 1974).
Game 23 (May 1 at TCU): Campbell struck out in his first three at-bats but finally broke through with a seventh-inning single.
Game 24 (May 5 at Kansas): During his last at-bat in a 10-4 loss in Lawrence, Campbell singled and kept his streak alive.
DC YA LATER BALL!@dylancamp25 goes deep to extend his hitting streak to a program-record tying 25 ballgames!
It’s 2-0 Texas! pic.twitter.com/YoTbMlPngo— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) May 6, 2023
Game 25 (May 6 at Kansas): For the sixth straight game, Campbell produced just one hit. But this one was a two-run blast in the fourth inning that tied Torres.
Game 26 (May 7 at Kansas): With his historic double, Campbell ensured that a 15-year-old record of significance at Texas was broken for the second straight season. Last year, Ivan Melendez's 32 home runs bested the 28-homer bar that Kyle Russell had set in 2007.
Next up for Campbell and the Longhorns is a home game Tuesday against UT-Arlington. San Jose State will then play three games in Austin over the weekend. Heading into Sunday, UT-Arlington was allowing opposing teams to hit .307 while San Jose State's opponents were hitting .267 against the Spartans' pitching.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Dylan Campbell sets Texas baseball record for longest hitting streak