Saturday 5:20 p.m.:
By the end of today’s game, the No. 1 seed Longhorns (42-15) probably felt like they were on the road in a super regional. Led by a couple dominant performances by relievers from their respective bullpens, Texas and No. 4 seed Oklahoma State (35-16-1) played a very tight, back-and-forth and highly competitive Big 12 Tournament game in front of a big, energetic crowd in Oklahoma City.
Unfortunately for the Longhorns, they came up short as freshman stopper Aaron Nixon uncharacteristically walked in a run with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning and Texas couldn’t tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. The 5-4 loss ended Texas’ stay in the Big 12 Tournament.
“I don't feel like we've lost momentum. I feel like we're still a confident team,” said David Pierce when asked if his team gained momentum with its performance in Oklahoma City. “And I feel like our kids will do a good job of making some adjustments where they need to make adjustments. But I don't know if we gained a ton of momentum, but we sure haven't lost any.”
I’m going to take more of a big picture approach to this postgame column in addition to dropping in some immediate reaction from today’s game:
--- Texas is locked into a national top eight seed. It would be a stunner if the Longhorns were not in that position on Monday when the field is unveiled at 11:00 a.m. on ESPN2. Hanging around in the Big 12 Tournament with a couple wins strengthened Texas’ chances to be somewhere between No. 2 and No. 4 overall.
--- Today was a step in the right direction for Kolby Kubichek. Pierce noted after the game he was pleased Kubichek was knocked around early and responded with a strong performance until a couple of walks chased him from the game in the fifth inning; an inning when OSU built a 4-2 lead on a two-out, two-strike, two-RBI single on a quality 1-2 breaking ball from Jared Southard.
In particular, Kubichek threw his changeup with as much confidence as I’ve seen, and there were some moments when it was a good, swing-and-miss pitch versus lefties. Kubichek was better than his line - 4.1 innings, four earned runs, four hits, two walks, two strikeouts - suggested, but he also wasn’t great either. Still, it was at least a small step forward for a pitcher Texas is going to need this postseason.
--- Pierce noted after today’s game Ivan Melendez, who didn’t play today, threw up four times, give or take, during last night’s game. So, today was both a mental and physical day off for the slugger, who experienced a very rough trip to Oklahoma City with nine strikeouts in three games. Melendez’s backside was getting away from him in his swing and he really lacked confidence in the box. When he’s at his best, he’s attacking and letting a more confident bat rip through the hitting zone.
“He needed that,” said Pierce about today’s day off for Melendez. “And last night in the game, I think he threw up four times in the dugout. So, he was beat down pretty good as well physically. And then you throw in the mental side of punching out as much as he did. It was a rough weekend for Ivan. But you know, he's just got to trust himself. He's got to get back in there and realize why he’s good. And I think his confidence goes in and out too much. Hitters that hit and believe that they can hit are great hitters, and he's got to stay locked in to thinking he's one of the best guys in the country as opposed to, you know, looking the other direction.”
--- After 3.0 dominant innings today, in which he gave up just one hit, one walk and struck out four, Cole Quintanilla hasn’t allowed a run his last 10.0 innings. He’s throwing his best at Texas at the perfect time. As for Nixon, I’m not sweating his performance at all. He’s a very, very strong competitor mentally. Pitch in enough high leverage situations and things like that are going to happen occasionally.
--- The Longhorns struck out 47 times in four Big 12 Tournament games. 47. You’re kidding yourself if you don’t think it’s an area Texas needs to make a collective adjustment to remedy quickly. But you’re also kidding yourself if you think Texas didn’t face excellent pitching throughout the event. It happens.
In my opinion, Texas was too passive in the batter’s box and allowed opposing pitching to too often dictate the demeanor of the at-bat and tempo of the game. I don’t know why that happened. Maybe it was a bit of a letdown after winning the regular season and the Longhorns knowing where they stood for the postseason. Maybe the pitching was just that good. Maybe the one weakness, swing and missing too much, Texas has was exposed in its ugliest fashion. Maybe it was a combination of all three.
“These guys are going to prepare you to play against anyone and we talked about preparing to play against the best,” responded Pierce about the pitching Texas faced this week. “We need to make some adjustments, though. We really do. We need to get the ball in the line in the middle of the field. And really, it sounds pretty simple, but seeing the ball a little bit better. Where we're not committing early, we're seeing the baseball and trusting all the work that they put in. And sometimes you see guys jump or getting a little antsy. I think that's when their swing breaks down. And they have to learn from that. We have to slow it back down in the box and allow the ball to come to us.”
It seemed like Texas hitters were sometimes hoping for walks or on the defensive against really, really good velocity and stuff. Play a full baseball season and a bunch of games against good pitching in a row and it’s going to happen to even the best teams in the country.
But if you look at today, you saw some positive trends. Zach Zubia was solid throughout the weekend; Cam Williams hit the ball very hard multiple times today; Trey Faltine had some good at-bats the last two games; Dylan Campbell came off the bench and gave Texas some really, really good at-bats with no strikeouts; Douglas Hodo hit the ball hard throughout the week; Silas Ardoin had the huge hit last night and came off the bench today with a quality at-bat. Today, you also saw Texas use its speed, athleticism, and small ball ability to tie the game, 4-4, in the fifth inning.
(Speaking of Hodo, that sliding catch OSU made in the eighth inning to rob him of an extra-base hit ended up being a game-saving catch. It feels like Texas recently has been on the wrong end of every dive or slide when it puts a ball in play.)
Basically, I think panicking and suddenly declaring the Longhorns are doomed in the postseason is premature. Crazy, I know. They need to correct some swing/approach issues, take a better mental approach into the box and perform like they’ve proven capable all season. That’s baseball.
--- Ty Madden, Tristan Stevens and Pete Hansen in Oklahoma City: 2.66 ERA, 18 strikeouts, four walks. While many Texas fans were fixated on the hitting, UT’s trio of weekend starters threw the ball extremely well.
--- Zubia said he hopes the entire city of Austin is at the regional. The Longhorns are fired up to host postseason games at home in front of a full stadium.
“Who’s not excited for a rockin’ Disch-Falk?” he said. “That’s going to be awesome.”
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Saturday 12:30 p.m.:
Kubichek on the mound. First pitch at 12:57 p.m. on ESPN+
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Saturday 12:40 a.m. update:
Great baseball teams find a way to win games even when they’re not playing their best. And Texas isn’t playing its best in Oklahoma City. The No. 1 seed Longhorns (42-14) faced adversity, bad luck, struck out what felt like a million times again, and had so many things working against them. However, they found a way to advance, eliminating No. 8 seed West Virginia (25-27) with a 3-2 victory fueled by elite pitching and one timely hit.
After losing to Oklahoma State and then immediately playing Texas, West Virginia was playing with limited pitching. It started very talented reliever Jacob Watters, known for his overpowering and at times dominant stuff but lack of control. Well, the scouting report was precise today.
The Longhorns drove up Watters’ pitch count with four walks, and did manage to score a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third inning. But they also struck out eight times and didn’t put a single ball in play during his outing, which featured an explosive fastball that touched 99 MPH and a hammer curveball.
The offense, coming off a 17-strikeout performance against Oklahoma, didn’t fare any better against the next reliever either. However, Mike Antico nearly blew the game open and delivered an early dagger in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, thanks to three walks, Antico smashed a fastball down in the zone to deep right field. At worst, it looked like a surefire extra-base hit. Then, West Virginia right fielder Austin Davis sized up the hard fly ball, timed his jump, and robbed Antico of a grand slam, completing one of the plays of the college baseball season.
Immediately during the top of the fifth, West Virginia took the lead with a two-RBI single with two outs in a two-strike count. And then in the bottom of the inning, it looked like the Baseball Gods wanted Texas to return home. With one out following a walk by Cam Williams, Douglas Hodo smashed a rocket at the third baseman, which hit his knee. The third baseman was playing in, anticipating a bunt, and Hodo surprised him with what should have been a single. However, the ball bounced off the third baseman directly to the shortstop, who completed a force out at second base.
“I think at the moment you get, like, ‘Come on. That just can't happen.’ You get down for a second, but our kids are resilient. And it's like, ‘Alright, let's just keep playing.’ And that's what I noticed,” responded Pierce when asked what he was thinking when he watched Hodo’s line drive bounce off an infielder’s leg right to another infielder.
Undeterred, the Longhorns would take the lead later in the inning. Trey Faltine, who swung the bat very well on a night when many of his teammates didn’t, pulled a hard single through the left side of the infield. Then in a 1-1 count, Pierce put on a hit-and-run with runners on first and second. It was a stroke of genius. Silas Ardoin, who said after tonight’s game he’s very comfortable and likes hit-and-run, covered the outer part of the plate and slapped a double down the right field line, which allowed both runners to score and put Texas ahead, 3-2.
Pete Hansen received a deserved win tonight, and he handed the ball off to Tanner Witt with two outs in the second inning after a fantastic outing. Across 6.2 innings, Hansen gave up just two runs on six hits, zero walks and he struck out a career-best nine hitters. Thanks to perhaps his best command of the season, Hansen overwhelmed WVU hitters by spinning his slider effectively where he wanted to in any count and moved the fastball up-and-down and side-to-side with success. In terms of execution, the young lefty was nearly flawless.
As for Witt, he issued two walks, but was otherwise perfect across 2.1 no-hit innings with four strikeouts. After being squeezed with one out in the ninth inning and walking a batter, the freshman responded with back-to-back strikeouts to end the game; his curve was a true plus weapon while his fastball was explosive up in the zone in part because he established his angle downward.
The Longhorns return to action tomorrow - or I should say later today - at 12:30 p.m. versus Oklahoma State. If they want to play for the Big 12 Tournament championship, they’ll need to beat the Cowboys twice. After tonight’s game, Pierce didn’t commit to a starter for tomorrow’s game.
He didn’t say it, but he has to be hoping his offense commits to a better approach with fewer strikeouts. Although Texas saw a lot of really, really good velocity and breaking stuff tonight as WVU channeled the perfect definition of “effectively wild,” this offense is in a funk right now, especially Ivan Melendez in the middle of the lineup; his backside is collapsing during his swing and he lacks confidence in a major way.
But despite the 14 strikeouts, the bad luck and robbed grand slam, Texas still found a way. It would have been easy to pack it in, get frustrated and look forward to returning home. These Longhorns were determined to keep playing and wanted to compete.
“The story of our season is adversity,” said Ardoin. “We look for it every time we play, and I don't think there's any moment that we thought that we weren't going to win that game. And no matter how the day is for us, we're going to put ourselves in a position to win every game.”
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Friday 7:55 p.m. update:
First pitch between Texas and West Virginia in a Big 12 Tournament elimination game set for 8:25 p.m. on ESPN+.
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Friday 10:05 a.m. update:
Alright, let's take a look at today's schedule. The Texas game is now scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Looks like no rain expected at all today. All games are on ESPN+.
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Thursday 5:00 p.m. update:
The No. 1 seed Longhorns didn’t win any batting titles today with 17 strikeouts, but they did eliminate rival No. 4 Oklahoma with a 4-1 win during Big 12 Tournament action. UT’s win kept its Big 12 Tournament stay alive and effectively ended OU’s season.
“I think it was very important,” responded David Pierce when asked how important getting a win today was to avoid an 0-2 stay in the Big 12 Tournament. “We committed to that in our meetings and basically said, we haven't played well at neutral sites. We need to show that we can handle adversity. And it was kind of a challenge for us, the team, and we met the challenge. I thought it was big. Really, I think it's important, whether we continue to win in the tournament or not, to stick around a little bit as good as our season has been. I think it's important.”
In order to stay a while longer, the Longhorns didn’t just need good pitching. They needed good pitching that also lasted a while so Texas wasn’t forced to use a lot of its bullpen. Tristan Stevens again proved to be the perfect man for that assignment.
Stevens showed his maturation on the mound by adjusting to utilizing his changeup more this afternoon, especially against lefties, and knew after the first inning which pitches he had best feel of.
“Today was one of those days where I didn't have great sinker command or feel for my sinker. So, I had to switch to living off my secondary stuff with my changeup and slider, and then kind of pitch off my fastball. But yeah, that adjustment kind of helped me extend my outing a little bit,” said Stevens about adjusting his pitch usage early in the game.
Across 7.0 innings, the veteran right-handed gave up just one run on four hits, two walks and struck out four. The only damage from Oklahoma came on a two-out single in the top of the third inning. It appeared, with Texas leading 3-1, in the top of the seventh inning like Oklahoma might chase Stevens from the game before Texas planned. The righty issued a rare walk, but followed it with a strikeout and then a strikeout and caught stealing to erase the threat.
The Longhorns were able to add an important insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning when they loaded the bases with two outs and Douglas Hodo, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one RBI, a double and two walks, scored on a wild pitch. Making his first appearance since May 9th at TCU, Aaron Nixon looked as sharp as usual. He tossed 2.0 shutout innings and gave up just one hit, walked one and struck out four with his dominant fastball-slider combo.
Weather in Oklahoma City, as usual, has thrown a wrench into the tournament’s schedule. Today’s 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. games were postponed until Friday. Fortunately, there were only two games originally scheduled for Friday, but it’s possible Texas’ game doesn’t start at 7 p.m. like currently planned. Regardless, Pete Hansen will start for the Longhorns and they’ll face the loser of No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 8 West Virginia.
As for those strikeouts, Pierce felt they were more about Oklahoma’s stuff and execution than Texas. Wyatt Olds, a future high MLB Draft pick, came out of the bullpen with an electric, high-spin fastball from a unique slot and good breaking ball. Tip the cap to him and his 11 strikeouts.
“I think their stuff is really good. It's one of those deals like West Virginia, if they land it that day, it's a pretty tough day. Didn't make many mistakes. Probably the biggest mistake made was he hung the slider to Zubia and got the RBI and I think it was the third run. But yeah, he was lights out; 94-97 MPH, plus slider. I don't know why we keep seeing all this stuff. It's good stuff,” said Pierce about the strikeouts today.
That said, there were some truly ugly at-bats, including slugger Ivan Melendez finishing 0-for-3 with three strikeouts; each Texas player struck out at least once, and that’s at least a partial cause for concern until UT shakes the funk, which it has done all season.
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Thursday 12:10 p.m. update:
First pitch at 12:40 on ESPNU between Texas and Oklahoma. Here's the UT lineup:
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Wednesday 9:10 p.m. update:
An expected pitcher’s duel between future top MLB Draft picks Ty Madden and Jackson Wolf at the Big 12 Tournament delivered. Both pitchers were better than they were last Thursday. And once again, No. 8 seed West Virginia (25-25) was the team that came up with the bigger hits and found a way to upset No. 1 seed Texas (40-14) with a 5-1 victory.
Call it desperation or whatever you choose. West Virginia was just a little bit better all-around, a little more aggressive, a little more energetic and a little more confident. In the game’s defining moments, West Virginia was able to push across runs while Texas couldn’t besides Eric Kennedy’s solo homer.
“Well, you want to be hot going into regionals and you want to be playing your best,” said David Pierce when asked how much this loss stings. “And I've been in a situation where we've gone 0-2 and then tore through a regional, through a super regional and played really well in Omaha. And so it's frustrating when you're playing so well, and then it just feels like a phase of our game didn't show up today. But I think in the big picture, our kids are tough, they're resilient. They're going to be ticked about it, and now they just got to go to work.”
While West Virginia found a way to push runs across, including twice on wild pitches Silas Ardoin couldn’t block, Texas did things like being picked off at second base in a huge situation. With runners on first and second with one out and WVU starter Wolf on the ropes for the first time all game, Williams was inexplicably picked off at second base when Wolf wheeled around, fairly normally, and saw Williams extend his lead entirely too far. Trey Faltine then followed with a single and eventually Texas loaded the bases with two outs before Kennedy’s pop out ended the threat.
“If we don't know how to get a lead at second base right now down by two... I mean, I wouldn't say you can be okay with that. You just can't. That's not ever acceptable. You can't get picked off in that situation,” a frustrated Pierce responded when asked if the issues in the seventh and eighth inning were learning lessons.
In the eighth inning, Texas again had a chance against Wolf, who went the distance and threw an inexcusably high 138 pitches. Mike Antico led off the inning with a check-swing infield single and stole second. Then, Mitchell Daly, Zach Zubia and Ivan Melendez all struck out, including the last two looking. Wolf presents a very unique look from his 6-7 frame. The lefty throws with extension - where he lets go of the baseball in relation to home plate - hardly ever seen at any level of baseball. But the Longhorns tightened up in the batter’s box at the wrong time.
As for Ty Madden, he was good but not great. However, the right-hander showed some noticeable changes on the mound. Madden, from the jump, threw more sliders in fastball counts, which resulted in some ugly swings and misses. He also tried to establish his changeup early and didn’t ditch the pitch because he didn’t have a lot of success with it, a change from previous outings. The changeup wasn’t a good pitch, but it was usable enough to give lefties something to think about, helping him go back inside with his fastball.
“I really was. I'm glad you brought that up… he's been working his tail off on creating that third pitch. And it was a workable, good pitch today; it wasn't a pitch that he used and you know, it wasn't effective three or four times and then ditched it,” said Pierce about Madden’s outing and using his changeup more. “He stayed with it the entire six innings that he pitched. I do think that he had a good, solid outing. He's faced them within one week twice, and they've done a good job of ambushing some fastballs… when you're a type of guy like Ty, which is a power guy, you got to be really good with your location and be able to back it up and pitch backwards a little bit. But overall, it gave us a chance to win.”
Across 6.2 innings, he gave up three runs on three hits, two walks and struck out five; one of his runs scored on a two-out, 2-2 slider down and away near its spot that probably should have been blocked. Tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. (ESPNU), the Longhorns play the loser of tonight’s No. 4 Oklahoma State versus No. 5 Oklahoma game.
“I would say now that it's all said and done that they were probably probably the hungrier team today; their season’s on the line,” responded Antico when asked if it’s tough to play a desperate team. “Maybe we got a little complacent. And we know that we'll be an original next week. So maybe we didn't come out with that same fire that they did... it's a quick smack in the face. It's tournament baseball, something we got to get used to, and it's better it happens now than next weekend. You know what I mean? So, we just got to learn from it and move forward.”
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KXAN's Roger Wallace reporting the start time for Texas vs. WVU will be at 5:20 p.m. Game will be streamed live on ESPN+
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The No. 1 seed Longhorns (40-13) are scheduled to face a familiar foe this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. Well, that's the time the game is supposed to start, but it'll probably be later because the tournament is already running behind schedule. Anyway, following its walk-off win last night against Kansas, No. 8 seed West Virginia is UT's opponent today. Jackson Wolf, who threw against Texas last Thursday, is the likely starter. He's a tough guy to handle, but WVU had to use its top two relievers for extended outings yesterday.
In other Big 12 Tournament news: Texas Tech handled Baylor with ease and K-State is already up 4-0 in the first inning against TCU.
BRACKET:
big12sports.com
By the end of today’s game, the No. 1 seed Longhorns (42-15) probably felt like they were on the road in a super regional. Led by a couple dominant performances by relievers from their respective bullpens, Texas and No. 4 seed Oklahoma State (35-16-1) played a very tight, back-and-forth and highly competitive Big 12 Tournament game in front of a big, energetic crowd in Oklahoma City.
Unfortunately for the Longhorns, they came up short as freshman stopper Aaron Nixon uncharacteristically walked in a run with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning and Texas couldn’t tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. The 5-4 loss ended Texas’ stay in the Big 12 Tournament.
“I don't feel like we've lost momentum. I feel like we're still a confident team,” said David Pierce when asked if his team gained momentum with its performance in Oklahoma City. “And I feel like our kids will do a good job of making some adjustments where they need to make adjustments. But I don't know if we gained a ton of momentum, but we sure haven't lost any.”
I’m going to take more of a big picture approach to this postgame column in addition to dropping in some immediate reaction from today’s game:
--- Texas is locked into a national top eight seed. It would be a stunner if the Longhorns were not in that position on Monday when the field is unveiled at 11:00 a.m. on ESPN2. Hanging around in the Big 12 Tournament with a couple wins strengthened Texas’ chances to be somewhere between No. 2 and No. 4 overall.
--- Today was a step in the right direction for Kolby Kubichek. Pierce noted after the game he was pleased Kubichek was knocked around early and responded with a strong performance until a couple of walks chased him from the game in the fifth inning; an inning when OSU built a 4-2 lead on a two-out, two-strike, two-RBI single on a quality 1-2 breaking ball from Jared Southard.
In particular, Kubichek threw his changeup with as much confidence as I’ve seen, and there were some moments when it was a good, swing-and-miss pitch versus lefties. Kubichek was better than his line - 4.1 innings, four earned runs, four hits, two walks, two strikeouts - suggested, but he also wasn’t great either. Still, it was at least a small step forward for a pitcher Texas is going to need this postseason.
--- Pierce noted after today’s game Ivan Melendez, who didn’t play today, threw up four times, give or take, during last night’s game. So, today was both a mental and physical day off for the slugger, who experienced a very rough trip to Oklahoma City with nine strikeouts in three games. Melendez’s backside was getting away from him in his swing and he really lacked confidence in the box. When he’s at his best, he’s attacking and letting a more confident bat rip through the hitting zone.
“He needed that,” said Pierce about today’s day off for Melendez. “And last night in the game, I think he threw up four times in the dugout. So, he was beat down pretty good as well physically. And then you throw in the mental side of punching out as much as he did. It was a rough weekend for Ivan. But you know, he's just got to trust himself. He's got to get back in there and realize why he’s good. And I think his confidence goes in and out too much. Hitters that hit and believe that they can hit are great hitters, and he's got to stay locked in to thinking he's one of the best guys in the country as opposed to, you know, looking the other direction.”
--- After 3.0 dominant innings today, in which he gave up just one hit, one walk and struck out four, Cole Quintanilla hasn’t allowed a run his last 10.0 innings. He’s throwing his best at Texas at the perfect time. As for Nixon, I’m not sweating his performance at all. He’s a very, very strong competitor mentally. Pitch in enough high leverage situations and things like that are going to happen occasionally.
--- The Longhorns struck out 47 times in four Big 12 Tournament games. 47. You’re kidding yourself if you don’t think it’s an area Texas needs to make a collective adjustment to remedy quickly. But you’re also kidding yourself if you think Texas didn’t face excellent pitching throughout the event. It happens.
In my opinion, Texas was too passive in the batter’s box and allowed opposing pitching to too often dictate the demeanor of the at-bat and tempo of the game. I don’t know why that happened. Maybe it was a bit of a letdown after winning the regular season and the Longhorns knowing where they stood for the postseason. Maybe the pitching was just that good. Maybe the one weakness, swing and missing too much, Texas has was exposed in its ugliest fashion. Maybe it was a combination of all three.
“These guys are going to prepare you to play against anyone and we talked about preparing to play against the best,” responded Pierce about the pitching Texas faced this week. “We need to make some adjustments, though. We really do. We need to get the ball in the line in the middle of the field. And really, it sounds pretty simple, but seeing the ball a little bit better. Where we're not committing early, we're seeing the baseball and trusting all the work that they put in. And sometimes you see guys jump or getting a little antsy. I think that's when their swing breaks down. And they have to learn from that. We have to slow it back down in the box and allow the ball to come to us.”
It seemed like Texas hitters were sometimes hoping for walks or on the defensive against really, really good velocity and stuff. Play a full baseball season and a bunch of games against good pitching in a row and it’s going to happen to even the best teams in the country.
But if you look at today, you saw some positive trends. Zach Zubia was solid throughout the weekend; Cam Williams hit the ball very hard multiple times today; Trey Faltine had some good at-bats the last two games; Dylan Campbell came off the bench and gave Texas some really, really good at-bats with no strikeouts; Douglas Hodo hit the ball hard throughout the week; Silas Ardoin had the huge hit last night and came off the bench today with a quality at-bat. Today, you also saw Texas use its speed, athleticism, and small ball ability to tie the game, 4-4, in the fifth inning.
(Speaking of Hodo, that sliding catch OSU made in the eighth inning to rob him of an extra-base hit ended up being a game-saving catch. It feels like Texas recently has been on the wrong end of every dive or slide when it puts a ball in play.)
Basically, I think panicking and suddenly declaring the Longhorns are doomed in the postseason is premature. Crazy, I know. They need to correct some swing/approach issues, take a better mental approach into the box and perform like they’ve proven capable all season. That’s baseball.
--- Ty Madden, Tristan Stevens and Pete Hansen in Oklahoma City: 2.66 ERA, 18 strikeouts, four walks. While many Texas fans were fixated on the hitting, UT’s trio of weekend starters threw the ball extremely well.
--- Zubia said he hopes the entire city of Austin is at the regional. The Longhorns are fired up to host postseason games at home in front of a full stadium.
“Who’s not excited for a rockin’ Disch-Falk?” he said. “That’s going to be awesome.”
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Saturday 12:30 p.m.:
Kubichek on the mound. First pitch at 12:57 p.m. on ESPN+
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Saturday 12:40 a.m. update:
Great baseball teams find a way to win games even when they’re not playing their best. And Texas isn’t playing its best in Oklahoma City. The No. 1 seed Longhorns (42-14) faced adversity, bad luck, struck out what felt like a million times again, and had so many things working against them. However, they found a way to advance, eliminating No. 8 seed West Virginia (25-27) with a 3-2 victory fueled by elite pitching and one timely hit.
After losing to Oklahoma State and then immediately playing Texas, West Virginia was playing with limited pitching. It started very talented reliever Jacob Watters, known for his overpowering and at times dominant stuff but lack of control. Well, the scouting report was precise today.
The Longhorns drove up Watters’ pitch count with four walks, and did manage to score a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third inning. But they also struck out eight times and didn’t put a single ball in play during his outing, which featured an explosive fastball that touched 99 MPH and a hammer curveball.
The offense, coming off a 17-strikeout performance against Oklahoma, didn’t fare any better against the next reliever either. However, Mike Antico nearly blew the game open and delivered an early dagger in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, thanks to three walks, Antico smashed a fastball down in the zone to deep right field. At worst, it looked like a surefire extra-base hit. Then, West Virginia right fielder Austin Davis sized up the hard fly ball, timed his jump, and robbed Antico of a grand slam, completing one of the plays of the college baseball season.
Immediately during the top of the fifth, West Virginia took the lead with a two-RBI single with two outs in a two-strike count. And then in the bottom of the inning, it looked like the Baseball Gods wanted Texas to return home. With one out following a walk by Cam Williams, Douglas Hodo smashed a rocket at the third baseman, which hit his knee. The third baseman was playing in, anticipating a bunt, and Hodo surprised him with what should have been a single. However, the ball bounced off the third baseman directly to the shortstop, who completed a force out at second base.
“I think at the moment you get, like, ‘Come on. That just can't happen.’ You get down for a second, but our kids are resilient. And it's like, ‘Alright, let's just keep playing.’ And that's what I noticed,” responded Pierce when asked what he was thinking when he watched Hodo’s line drive bounce off an infielder’s leg right to another infielder.
Undeterred, the Longhorns would take the lead later in the inning. Trey Faltine, who swung the bat very well on a night when many of his teammates didn’t, pulled a hard single through the left side of the infield. Then in a 1-1 count, Pierce put on a hit-and-run with runners on first and second. It was a stroke of genius. Silas Ardoin, who said after tonight’s game he’s very comfortable and likes hit-and-run, covered the outer part of the plate and slapped a double down the right field line, which allowed both runners to score and put Texas ahead, 3-2.
Pete Hansen received a deserved win tonight, and he handed the ball off to Tanner Witt with two outs in the second inning after a fantastic outing. Across 6.2 innings, Hansen gave up just two runs on six hits, zero walks and he struck out a career-best nine hitters. Thanks to perhaps his best command of the season, Hansen overwhelmed WVU hitters by spinning his slider effectively where he wanted to in any count and moved the fastball up-and-down and side-to-side with success. In terms of execution, the young lefty was nearly flawless.
As for Witt, he issued two walks, but was otherwise perfect across 2.1 no-hit innings with four strikeouts. After being squeezed with one out in the ninth inning and walking a batter, the freshman responded with back-to-back strikeouts to end the game; his curve was a true plus weapon while his fastball was explosive up in the zone in part because he established his angle downward.
The Longhorns return to action tomorrow - or I should say later today - at 12:30 p.m. versus Oklahoma State. If they want to play for the Big 12 Tournament championship, they’ll need to beat the Cowboys twice. After tonight’s game, Pierce didn’t commit to a starter for tomorrow’s game.
He didn’t say it, but he has to be hoping his offense commits to a better approach with fewer strikeouts. Although Texas saw a lot of really, really good velocity and breaking stuff tonight as WVU channeled the perfect definition of “effectively wild,” this offense is in a funk right now, especially Ivan Melendez in the middle of the lineup; his backside is collapsing during his swing and he lacks confidence in a major way.
But despite the 14 strikeouts, the bad luck and robbed grand slam, Texas still found a way. It would have been easy to pack it in, get frustrated and look forward to returning home. These Longhorns were determined to keep playing and wanted to compete.
“The story of our season is adversity,” said Ardoin. “We look for it every time we play, and I don't think there's any moment that we thought that we weren't going to win that game. And no matter how the day is for us, we're going to put ourselves in a position to win every game.”
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Friday 7:55 p.m. update:
First pitch between Texas and West Virginia in a Big 12 Tournament elimination game set for 8:25 p.m. on ESPN+.
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Friday 10:05 a.m. update:
Alright, let's take a look at today's schedule. The Texas game is now scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Looks like no rain expected at all today. All games are on ESPN+.
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Thursday 5:00 p.m. update:
The No. 1 seed Longhorns didn’t win any batting titles today with 17 strikeouts, but they did eliminate rival No. 4 Oklahoma with a 4-1 win during Big 12 Tournament action. UT’s win kept its Big 12 Tournament stay alive and effectively ended OU’s season.
“I think it was very important,” responded David Pierce when asked how important getting a win today was to avoid an 0-2 stay in the Big 12 Tournament. “We committed to that in our meetings and basically said, we haven't played well at neutral sites. We need to show that we can handle adversity. And it was kind of a challenge for us, the team, and we met the challenge. I thought it was big. Really, I think it's important, whether we continue to win in the tournament or not, to stick around a little bit as good as our season has been. I think it's important.”
In order to stay a while longer, the Longhorns didn’t just need good pitching. They needed good pitching that also lasted a while so Texas wasn’t forced to use a lot of its bullpen. Tristan Stevens again proved to be the perfect man for that assignment.
Stevens showed his maturation on the mound by adjusting to utilizing his changeup more this afternoon, especially against lefties, and knew after the first inning which pitches he had best feel of.
“Today was one of those days where I didn't have great sinker command or feel for my sinker. So, I had to switch to living off my secondary stuff with my changeup and slider, and then kind of pitch off my fastball. But yeah, that adjustment kind of helped me extend my outing a little bit,” said Stevens about adjusting his pitch usage early in the game.
Across 7.0 innings, the veteran right-handed gave up just one run on four hits, two walks and struck out four. The only damage from Oklahoma came on a two-out single in the top of the third inning. It appeared, with Texas leading 3-1, in the top of the seventh inning like Oklahoma might chase Stevens from the game before Texas planned. The righty issued a rare walk, but followed it with a strikeout and then a strikeout and caught stealing to erase the threat.
The Longhorns were able to add an important insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning when they loaded the bases with two outs and Douglas Hodo, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one RBI, a double and two walks, scored on a wild pitch. Making his first appearance since May 9th at TCU, Aaron Nixon looked as sharp as usual. He tossed 2.0 shutout innings and gave up just one hit, walked one and struck out four with his dominant fastball-slider combo.
Weather in Oklahoma City, as usual, has thrown a wrench into the tournament’s schedule. Today’s 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. games were postponed until Friday. Fortunately, there were only two games originally scheduled for Friday, but it’s possible Texas’ game doesn’t start at 7 p.m. like currently planned. Regardless, Pete Hansen will start for the Longhorns and they’ll face the loser of No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 8 West Virginia.
As for those strikeouts, Pierce felt they were more about Oklahoma’s stuff and execution than Texas. Wyatt Olds, a future high MLB Draft pick, came out of the bullpen with an electric, high-spin fastball from a unique slot and good breaking ball. Tip the cap to him and his 11 strikeouts.
“I think their stuff is really good. It's one of those deals like West Virginia, if they land it that day, it's a pretty tough day. Didn't make many mistakes. Probably the biggest mistake made was he hung the slider to Zubia and got the RBI and I think it was the third run. But yeah, he was lights out; 94-97 MPH, plus slider. I don't know why we keep seeing all this stuff. It's good stuff,” said Pierce about the strikeouts today.
That said, there were some truly ugly at-bats, including slugger Ivan Melendez finishing 0-for-3 with three strikeouts; each Texas player struck out at least once, and that’s at least a partial cause for concern until UT shakes the funk, which it has done all season.
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Thursday 12:10 p.m. update:
First pitch at 12:40 on ESPNU between Texas and Oklahoma. Here's the UT lineup:
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Wednesday 9:10 p.m. update:
An expected pitcher’s duel between future top MLB Draft picks Ty Madden and Jackson Wolf at the Big 12 Tournament delivered. Both pitchers were better than they were last Thursday. And once again, No. 8 seed West Virginia (25-25) was the team that came up with the bigger hits and found a way to upset No. 1 seed Texas (40-14) with a 5-1 victory.
Call it desperation or whatever you choose. West Virginia was just a little bit better all-around, a little more aggressive, a little more energetic and a little more confident. In the game’s defining moments, West Virginia was able to push across runs while Texas couldn’t besides Eric Kennedy’s solo homer.
“Well, you want to be hot going into regionals and you want to be playing your best,” said David Pierce when asked how much this loss stings. “And I've been in a situation where we've gone 0-2 and then tore through a regional, through a super regional and played really well in Omaha. And so it's frustrating when you're playing so well, and then it just feels like a phase of our game didn't show up today. But I think in the big picture, our kids are tough, they're resilient. They're going to be ticked about it, and now they just got to go to work.”
While West Virginia found a way to push runs across, including twice on wild pitches Silas Ardoin couldn’t block, Texas did things like being picked off at second base in a huge situation. With runners on first and second with one out and WVU starter Wolf on the ropes for the first time all game, Williams was inexplicably picked off at second base when Wolf wheeled around, fairly normally, and saw Williams extend his lead entirely too far. Trey Faltine then followed with a single and eventually Texas loaded the bases with two outs before Kennedy’s pop out ended the threat.
“If we don't know how to get a lead at second base right now down by two... I mean, I wouldn't say you can be okay with that. You just can't. That's not ever acceptable. You can't get picked off in that situation,” a frustrated Pierce responded when asked if the issues in the seventh and eighth inning were learning lessons.
In the eighth inning, Texas again had a chance against Wolf, who went the distance and threw an inexcusably high 138 pitches. Mike Antico led off the inning with a check-swing infield single and stole second. Then, Mitchell Daly, Zach Zubia and Ivan Melendez all struck out, including the last two looking. Wolf presents a very unique look from his 6-7 frame. The lefty throws with extension - where he lets go of the baseball in relation to home plate - hardly ever seen at any level of baseball. But the Longhorns tightened up in the batter’s box at the wrong time.
As for Ty Madden, he was good but not great. However, the right-hander showed some noticeable changes on the mound. Madden, from the jump, threw more sliders in fastball counts, which resulted in some ugly swings and misses. He also tried to establish his changeup early and didn’t ditch the pitch because he didn’t have a lot of success with it, a change from previous outings. The changeup wasn’t a good pitch, but it was usable enough to give lefties something to think about, helping him go back inside with his fastball.
“I really was. I'm glad you brought that up… he's been working his tail off on creating that third pitch. And it was a workable, good pitch today; it wasn't a pitch that he used and you know, it wasn't effective three or four times and then ditched it,” said Pierce about Madden’s outing and using his changeup more. “He stayed with it the entire six innings that he pitched. I do think that he had a good, solid outing. He's faced them within one week twice, and they've done a good job of ambushing some fastballs… when you're a type of guy like Ty, which is a power guy, you got to be really good with your location and be able to back it up and pitch backwards a little bit. But overall, it gave us a chance to win.”
Across 6.2 innings, he gave up three runs on three hits, two walks and struck out five; one of his runs scored on a two-out, 2-2 slider down and away near its spot that probably should have been blocked. Tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. (ESPNU), the Longhorns play the loser of tonight’s No. 4 Oklahoma State versus No. 5 Oklahoma game.
“I would say now that it's all said and done that they were probably probably the hungrier team today; their season’s on the line,” responded Antico when asked if it’s tough to play a desperate team. “Maybe we got a little complacent. And we know that we'll be an original next week. So maybe we didn't come out with that same fire that they did... it's a quick smack in the face. It's tournament baseball, something we got to get used to, and it's better it happens now than next weekend. You know what I mean? So, we just got to learn from it and move forward.”
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KXAN's Roger Wallace reporting the start time for Texas vs. WVU will be at 5:20 p.m. Game will be streamed live on ESPN+
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The No. 1 seed Longhorns (40-13) are scheduled to face a familiar foe this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. Well, that's the time the game is supposed to start, but it'll probably be later because the tournament is already running behind schedule. Anyway, following its walk-off win last night against Kansas, No. 8 seed West Virginia is UT's opponent today. Jackson Wolf, who threw against Texas last Thursday, is the likely starter. He's a tough guy to handle, but WVU had to use its top two relievers for extended outings yesterday.
In other Big 12 Tournament news: Texas Tech handled Baylor with ease and K-State is already up 4-0 in the first inning against TCU.
BRACKET:
Bracket (PDF) (PDF) - Big 12 Conference
big12sports.com
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