FINAL
Texas - 3
LSU - 6
Winning Pitcher: Luke Holman (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Lebarron Johnson Jr (1-1)
BOX SCORE
RECAP
In front of 24,927 fans at Minute Maid Park, the Longhorns ran into a Luke Holman buzzsaw. The 24,927 fans in attendance represents the 7th largest regular season baseball game.
Both Lebarron Johnson Jr and Luke Holman had a rough 1st inning with regards to pitch count. Unfortunately for the Horns, LSU batters laid off of LBJ’s slider and combined with a lack of command with his fastball outside, hung in at the plate and drove up the pitch count. LBJ made it just 3 innings, throwing 91 pitches, scattering 4 hits, walking 3, striking out 6, and giving up 2 earned runs. Holman on the other hand bounced back after a tough first inning to pitch 5 2/3 innings giving up 3 hits (all to Peyton Powell), issuing just 1 walk, and striking out 12. Holman utilized a really effective fastball / slider combo to devastating effect.
Tanner Witt came in relief of LBJ and inherited runners on the base paths. Witt did himself no favors by walking another batter and giving up a 2 run RBI single. While Witt was not exactly sharp, he did look much better in his 2 innings pitched and can use the outing as something to build off of. Easton Tumis looked great in his first inning, but then ran into trouble as the LSU batters began to hone in on his fastball/slider combo and was eventually chased, leaving runners on the base paths for Grant Fontenot. The Louisiana native was not as sharp as he has been in other outings and ended up giving the big 3 run home run to Jared Jones that was crushed to RF. That HR made it 6-0 Tigers, which felt like an insurmountable lead based on the fact that the Horns ended up striking out 20 times throughout the course of the ballgame.
The Horns did get a run back in the Bottom 6th when Kimble Schuessler uncorked a line drive to LF for a lead off solo shot. Unfortunately, as with the rest of the night, the Horns could not get base runners home and they went into the Bottom of the 9th with just a single run.
In the Bottom 9th, the Horns got a pair of runs back to make it 6-3 Tigers when freshman Casey Borba scorched a pitch to the wall in left CF for a 2 run RBI double. Unfortunately, the next batter up, freshman Dee Kennedy struck out looking, a fitting end to the game for a team who had struggled mightily with the slider all night long.
BIG MOMENT
Gotta hand it to the freshman DH Casey Borba who came up to bat in the Bottom of the 9th having batted 0-3 on the night, and ended up coming up clutch. He absolutely mashed a fastball to the gap in left CF for a 2 run RBI double. That hit ended up going 409 feet and brought the Horns to within 3 runs of the Tigers. Not bad freshman, not bad at all.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Sounds like a broken record, but once again Peyton Powell with the big night at the plate going 3-4 with two doubles and a single on the night. Powell was also the only batter to get a hit off of starter Luke Holman.
TAKEAWAYS
Where to start. First off, the sky is not falling, the program is not in shambles, and the sun will shine again. The Horns went up against a very talented LSU team and lost. Was it ugly offensively, absolutely, no one can state it wasn’t. The Horns struck out 20 times on the night and earned just 1 walk. This is also a very teachable moment for Coach Pierce and the Horns. This reminded me of the 2021 season when the Horns had an extremely hard time hitting the curveball, except in 2024, it is the slider. It felt like the Horns were guessing and pressing at the plate all night long.
While not perfect or even pretty at times, I thought Witt had an outing that he can build upon and try to continue to make progress. For Tumis, he did great until he ran into the man known as Tommy Tanks. At this level, you cannot miss your spot. He did and He paid for it. At the same time, Hudson Hamilton can take plenty from his performance, especially getting two quick outs and starting to nibble instead of being in attack mode like he was at the onset.
Defensively and offensively, it was a night to flush for sophomore Jared Thomas. At the plate he went 0-4, trying at times to be aggressive early in counts and later trying to lay off and take a relaxed approach. Either way, nothing was working and it showed. Defensively, the inability to catch the ball in foul territory and the grounder that ate him up just highlight that it was a really tough night.
Lastly, while he is everyone’s scapegoat at the moment, I think Coach Pierce is or quickly will be at a cross roads where he will have to put Dee Kennedy in the lineup and sacrifice Jack O’Dowd until he can get right. While having Kennedy in the lineup puts another freshman into an already young lineup, Kennedy has been better in the field and put together better at-bats than Jack has this season.
UP NEXT:
Texas (7-2) v. Texas State (6-3) - Saturday at 305pm
Texas - 3
LSU - 6
Winning Pitcher: Luke Holman (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Lebarron Johnson Jr (1-1)
BOX SCORE
RECAP
In front of 24,927 fans at Minute Maid Park, the Longhorns ran into a Luke Holman buzzsaw. The 24,927 fans in attendance represents the 7th largest regular season baseball game.
Both Lebarron Johnson Jr and Luke Holman had a rough 1st inning with regards to pitch count. Unfortunately for the Horns, LSU batters laid off of LBJ’s slider and combined with a lack of command with his fastball outside, hung in at the plate and drove up the pitch count. LBJ made it just 3 innings, throwing 91 pitches, scattering 4 hits, walking 3, striking out 6, and giving up 2 earned runs. Holman on the other hand bounced back after a tough first inning to pitch 5 2/3 innings giving up 3 hits (all to Peyton Powell), issuing just 1 walk, and striking out 12. Holman utilized a really effective fastball / slider combo to devastating effect.
Tanner Witt came in relief of LBJ and inherited runners on the base paths. Witt did himself no favors by walking another batter and giving up a 2 run RBI single. While Witt was not exactly sharp, he did look much better in his 2 innings pitched and can use the outing as something to build off of. Easton Tumis looked great in his first inning, but then ran into trouble as the LSU batters began to hone in on his fastball/slider combo and was eventually chased, leaving runners on the base paths for Grant Fontenot. The Louisiana native was not as sharp as he has been in other outings and ended up giving the big 3 run home run to Jared Jones that was crushed to RF. That HR made it 6-0 Tigers, which felt like an insurmountable lead based on the fact that the Horns ended up striking out 20 times throughout the course of the ballgame.
The Horns did get a run back in the Bottom 6th when Kimble Schuessler uncorked a line drive to LF for a lead off solo shot. Unfortunately, as with the rest of the night, the Horns could not get base runners home and they went into the Bottom of the 9th with just a single run.
In the Bottom 9th, the Horns got a pair of runs back to make it 6-3 Tigers when freshman Casey Borba scorched a pitch to the wall in left CF for a 2 run RBI double. Unfortunately, the next batter up, freshman Dee Kennedy struck out looking, a fitting end to the game for a team who had struggled mightily with the slider all night long.
BIG MOMENT
Gotta hand it to the freshman DH Casey Borba who came up to bat in the Bottom of the 9th having batted 0-3 on the night, and ended up coming up clutch. He absolutely mashed a fastball to the gap in left CF for a 2 run RBI double. That hit ended up going 409 feet and brought the Horns to within 3 runs of the Tigers. Not bad freshman, not bad at all.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Sounds like a broken record, but once again Peyton Powell with the big night at the plate going 3-4 with two doubles and a single on the night. Powell was also the only batter to get a hit off of starter Luke Holman.
TAKEAWAYS
Where to start. First off, the sky is not falling, the program is not in shambles, and the sun will shine again. The Horns went up against a very talented LSU team and lost. Was it ugly offensively, absolutely, no one can state it wasn’t. The Horns struck out 20 times on the night and earned just 1 walk. This is also a very teachable moment for Coach Pierce and the Horns. This reminded me of the 2021 season when the Horns had an extremely hard time hitting the curveball, except in 2024, it is the slider. It felt like the Horns were guessing and pressing at the plate all night long.
While not perfect or even pretty at times, I thought Witt had an outing that he can build upon and try to continue to make progress. For Tumis, he did great until he ran into the man known as Tommy Tanks. At this level, you cannot miss your spot. He did and He paid for it. At the same time, Hudson Hamilton can take plenty from his performance, especially getting two quick outs and starting to nibble instead of being in attack mode like he was at the onset.
Defensively and offensively, it was a night to flush for sophomore Jared Thomas. At the plate he went 0-4, trying at times to be aggressive early in counts and later trying to lay off and take a relaxed approach. Either way, nothing was working and it showed. Defensively, the inability to catch the ball in foul territory and the grounder that ate him up just highlight that it was a really tough night.
Lastly, while he is everyone’s scapegoat at the moment, I think Coach Pierce is or quickly will be at a cross roads where he will have to put Dee Kennedy in the lineup and sacrifice Jack O’Dowd until he can get right. While having Kennedy in the lineup puts another freshman into an already young lineup, Kennedy has been better in the field and put together better at-bats than Jack has this season.
UP NEXT:
Texas (7-2) v. Texas State (6-3) - Saturday at 305pm
