Saturday 11:15 p.m. update:
The season wasn’t supposed to end like this for the Longhorns. It wasn’t supposed to, in the most agonizing and heartbreaking way possible, remind Texas that baseball is often a game of inches and luck. But sometimes, that’s just the way baseball goes.
“I was running into left-center when the guy hit the ball and I looked at EK (Eric Kennedy) and I was like, ‘It's over.’ It's crazy, just like that,” recalled Mike Antico when asked about the emotions of the end of the game. “My mind was ready for the top of the 10th inning. I think I was up third. Just like that, it could change so quick, just like life. So, baseball is a crazy sport, it's a crazy game. I love it with all my heart. But you know, a lot of emotions right then and there in that moment. Your season can be made in a split second and it can be broken in a split second. Tonight it was broken.”
The Longhorns (50-17) were on the wrong side of both inches and luck and were eliminated from the College World Series by a walk-off single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Mississippi State (48-17) celebrated the 4-3 victory and CWS Final berth while Texas was immediately faced with its toughest challenge all season: how to process this defeat, which abruptly and cruelly ended the season for David Pierce’s most beloved team.
After Will Bednar appeared ready to strike out a ton of Longhorns over scoreless frames again, Cam Williams delivered a loud message with a big swing of the bat. Texas was ready to make adjustments, and Bednar’s stuff wasn’t quite as completely dominant as it was last Sunday.
After being late to an 0-1 fastball, Williams was ready in an 0-2 count when Bednar predictably tested him up the ladder with another heater. Williams smashed a two-run homer to right field and gave Texas an early 2-0 advantage in the second inning.
Mississippi State cut the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the third inning with a two-out RBI single off the bat of SEC Player of the Year Tanner Allen. However, Texas starter Tristan Stevens looked more effective than he did against Tennessee, when he lasted just 3.2 innings. The veteran righty showed feel for his slider and changeup earlier and commanded a sinking fastball well to his armside. Texas knew early he’d be able to take it fairly deep into an outing.
Douglas Hodo began the top of the fifth by smashing a hanging slider off the bottom of the wall in left-center for a leadoff double. With two outs, Mike Antico, as he did so much this season and in Omaha, made sure a runner in scoring position wouldn’t be wasted. The senior from New Jersey jumped all over a 2-1 fastball and lined a hard RBI double to right-center.
But Mississippi State, trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth, immediately responded. MSU put runners on the corners with one out, and was able to push across a run. However, Stevens limited the damage thanks to a double play. Later, he and Texas wouldn’t be as fortunate.
With a low pitch count and a limited bullpen behind him, Stevens, who threw 5.0 innings and gave up three runs on nine hits, one walk and struck out two, was back on the mound in the bottom of the sixth with a 3-2 lead. Credit Mississippi State’s Kamren James for an outstanding at-bat, which resulted in a walk on a 3-2 pitch to start the inning. With Cole Quintanilla now lurking, Texas watched Stevens work into a 1-2 count. What looked like a sinker from Stevens searching for a grounder missed its spot, and a very hard liner missed Mitchell Daly’s glove by inches.
“I don't like having anybody coming in in that big of a mess,” said Pierce about the pitching usage in the sixth inning. “But every time Tristan is in the game, he's a guy that has a history of handling that stuff. And so you've got a quick 5th and it was a no-brainer that we were bringing him back out with Cole being one of two potential guys that would come on if we had runners in the inning.
“So, Sean and I planned it this morning, how we wanted to approach it with guys that would come in clean, guys that would come in in situations, guys that would deal with the top of the order versus the bottom of the order and for Tristan to give us six. I think -- what did he go, five? I mean, probably after pitching on Tuesday, we were looking at three to five, and he got us into the sixth. Yeah, there's a lot that we talked about, but that's kind of how it evolved.”
Texas pitching coach Sean Allen came out to chat with Stevens with runners on the corners and no outs. Again, UT stuck with Stevens and hoped he’d deliver with a grounder. He did. Unfortunately, the routine grounder bounced over Cam Williams’ head because he was playing in with runners on the corners. The RBI double tied the game and MSU had the bases loaded after Quintanilla walked the first batter he faced.
The hard-throwing righthander responded by using his changeup - an extremely rare occurrence - against dangerous left-handed hitter Kellum Clark. Quintanilla struck him out looking on a breaking ball over the middle and then he made the next hitter look silly with three-straight breaking balls. Somehow, the game remained tied and Quintanilla came off the mound as fired up as he’s ever been in a Texas uniform.
From there, Quintanilla and eventually MSU stud reliever Landon Sims went to work. Both relievers pitched exceptionally well and often overwhelmed opposing hitters with good breaking balls and hard fastballs. The teams traded zeroes until the ninth inning. That’s when Texas threatened to score.
Ivan Melendez was hit by a 3-2 pitch to begin the ninth inning and pinch-runner Dylan Campbell was bunted to second base. Williams put a jolt into a 3-2 fastball deep to left field, and off the bat, Sims immediately reacted like it was a homer. But the ball wasn’t carrying much to left and was caught. Hodo then gave a pitch a deep ride to right field only to watch it find a glove on the warning track. Clearly, Sims was tiring. Texas wouldn’t see him again, though.
Following a strikeout, Quintinalla looked like he’d punch out another batter. However, he attempted to get the strikeout with a backfoot breaking ball only to watch it literally hit the left-handed batter’s backfoot. Mississippi State brought on pinch-runner Brayland Skinner, and he stole second with ease as Quintanilla was too slow to the plate.
Tanner Leggett, inserted into the game for his defense, delivered the biggest hit of the MSU season when he lined a walk-off single into left-center field. Quintanilla, perhaps throwing as well as he ever had in a Texas uniform, gave up one run across 3.1 innings on two hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
And just like that, the season was over for Texas. Done. Gone. As quick as baseball can deliver the most delicious hope on the biggest stage, it can end months of hard work and endless hours practicing and playing with a single swing.
“It was an unbelievable season. It's a special group of guys, and we worked as hard as we possibly can,” Antico said. “We didn't leave any stone unturned on our way here. I mean, no regrets at all. It was a great season. Baseball is a crazy sport. You know, we had a man on second in the top of the ninth. They had a man on second in the bottom of the ninth. They got it done, and we didn't and the season's over that quick. You blink your eyes and it's over. “I mean, it sucks to lose that way, but it was an unbelievable season, and I'm really proud of this whole team, the coaches and the players. It was a hell of an experience.”
The Longhorns won’t be remembered as national champions. Only one team each season can claim that distinguished honor. But getting as close as Texas did after proving it truly was capable of winning a national championship matters. The Longhorns were beaten and it’ll take a long time for them to get over it.
“We'll look at today and what an incredible baseball game that was. We talk about it every single day, and there's not one thing -- you look at this game, there's not one thing you say if we would have done this or if we would have done that,” Pierce said. “We hit four balls to the wall that any of them could have been out or all four of them could have been out. We played impeccable defense the entire series, and big-time pitches in big-time moments, and the defense played their tails off. And so I always look at every single day as no regrets, and there's zero regrets.”
They were beaten, though. They didn’t give in. They didn’t play poorly. With everything on the line, they performed admirably, impressively and came this close. They proved they were every bit as good as their record, conference title, No. 2 overall seed and CWS berth.
“The grit, the toughness, the never-give-up mentality, the energy. Just the talent. There's just so many words that you describe this group, and they are all positive,” responded an emotional Pierce when asked what he hopes people remember about this team. “I mean, did a great job of dealing with COVID. Did a great job of staying in the classroom taking care of business. We had zero issues. It's just a team that has really set the standard of what we expect at the University of Texas.
When they’re able to stomach this and process it as the lingering sting fades away, perhaps they’ll understand what the many who watched them all season already do: they were really talented, really freaking good and their collection of consistent competitiveness, maturity, and mental toughness is the standard for future Texas teams under Pierce.
“The only thing that I'm disappointed in is this team will no longer be this team anymore, and it's the most incredible team I've ever been a part of, and I've won a National Championship and been here now six times," Pierce stated, clearly fighting the emotions of the season ending. "But just when you talk about culture and you talk about standard, and you talk about all those buzzwords and then you go out and watch it happen and just get inspired by young people… This group is incredible. You know, it's that good of a team. A lot of fun. 50 games we won this year; that close to winning a National Championship, pretty impressive.”
Impressive, indeed. The 2021 Longhorns were what Texas Baseball is supposed to look like. With so many young players on the diamond at TD Ameritrade Park, maybe we should get used to seeing it more often.
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Saturday 4:20 p.m. update:
A few things bouncing around in my head before tonight's game at 6 p.m. on ESPN2:
—- You can bet Texas has done a lot of work and had a lot of conversations about why MSU starter Will Bednar was tough to hit and why his fastball is unique pitch. Seeing that offering, which has unique spin and late rise, once already should help tonight. I’m just not sure how much.
Knowing Texas, the hitters and Troy Tulowitzki were up early today talking, watching film and dialing in.
—- If Texas is able to somehow stun MSU early with a couple runs, I’d bet a lot of money MSU begins to play very tight and scared. It happened last night until a very fatigued Tanner Witt walked everyone.
—- Texas needs a Chad Hollingsworth tonight. It needs an unexpected arm thrust into a tough situation to thrive. I think both Jared Southard and Lucas Gordon are wired mentally to not be overwhelmed by the environment. But both can struggle with location. We know we’ll see Cole Quintanilla at some point and remember: he used to be stretched out as a starter.
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Saturday 2:10 a.m. update:
The bottom of the eighth inning couldn’t have gone any worse for David Pierce and the Longhorns. Fortunately for them, the top of the ninth couldn’t have gone any better. Just as it looked the Longhorns’ season was unraveling and speeding towards a cruel and very surprising crash-and-burn, Ivan Melendez captured the hearts of the Longhorn fan base and with a titanic swing of the bat delivered an emphatic message: for at least one more day, the Longhorns’ season will go on.
“That's one thing about this team is they don't give in,” said David Pierce after the win.
Melendez smashed a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to give Texas an 8-5 lead minutes after it collapsed on the mound, in the dugout and blew a 5-2 lead. Apparently, he hit it so hard the rain, lightning and thunder all intensified because a weather delay immediately followed. Texas held onto that lead and forced a bracket-deciding matchup tomorrow at 6 p.m. (ESPN2) with the 8-5 victory against Mississippi State (47-17). Vanderbilt awaits the winner in the CWS finals.
When this game first started, which seems like forever ago, it appeared it would be a high-scoring, back-and-forth slugfest. Zach Zubia hit a solo shot into the right field bullpen. Ty Madden started slow and after the first inning, Texas trailed 2-1. Mississippi State left-handed starter Houston Harding didn’t look much better.
Then, for the second-straight time, Madden overwhelmed Mississippi State’s lineup. After giving up two runs on three hits in the first inning, Madden gave up just one hit the rest of the way, and completed 6.0 quality, very competitive innings with three walks and eight strikeouts. Once Madden started to get on top of his slider and regain the late, sharp, downard break, he was tough to handle because he established his fastball gloveside command with the ability to work up the ladder. Madden also mixed in a quality changeup to lefties, especially the third time through the order.
Harding kept the Longhorns in check until the fifth inning when Mississippi State manager Chris Lemonis elected to stick with his starter as he faced the top of the order for the third time. With one out and runners on first and second, Mike Antico hit a RBI single into left-center to give Texas a 3-2 lead. The senior wasn’t done providing clutch, run-scoring hits.
Adamantly, Madden, approaching 100 pitches, pleaded his case to remain in the game in the sixth inning when David Pierce went to the mound with Tanner Witt warm in the bullpen. Madden won the battle with his head coach, and then the one with the hitter. A groundout ended the bottom of the sixth inning and preserved UT’s 3-2 lead.
Gifted a seventh-inning leadoff double when Mississippi State starter Rowdey Jordan lost a fly ball in the lights, Antico put his team in front 4-2 with one of his best at-bats of the season. After whiffing at a slider with an ugly swing earlier in the count, Antico made the adjustment to keep his head on a 3-2 slider and lined it into center field for a single to score Trey Faltine. Then senior finished 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and a runs scored. Ivan Melendez, after what appeared to be a failed double-steal, hit-and-run or perhaps a missed sign, lined a two-out single into left field to increase UT’s lead to 5-2.
But Pierce’s mound visits to get a read on his pitcher didn’t all end well. Surprisingly after he threw a career-high 5.2 innings and 78 pitches Tuesday, Witt was the first arm Texas went to in the seventh inning. The freshman looked fantastic and dominant. Then, Texas elected to bring Witt back out for the eighth inning. He showed noticeable signs of fatigue in his delivery as he was searching for velocity.
“He's been that guy in that slot,” said Pierce about the decision to use Witt first out of the bullpen. “Our biggest question is after his outing on Tuesday, how much he could go without pushing it. And we probably walked a thin line there. But we're in June right now.”
With one out and the bases loaded, Pierce, following a visit, elected to stick with Witt after back-to-back walks. The freshman walked the next batter, which cut UT’s lead to 5-3. Pierce came back out to bring in Aaron Nixon and Mississippi State tied the game with a hard, two-RBI single. Nixon bounced back with a strikeout and a fly out with the bases loaded to keep the game tied.
Immediately, Texas responded. The Longhorns have done it all season. But they’ve never done it after a bottom of the eighth inning like the one they encountered. So, it would be more than fair to express some doubt about the Longhorns surviving a meltdown. They didn’t get this far to fold, though. And Melendez said following the Virginia win, he just missed hitting a couple homers earlier in Omaha. The big fella didn’t miss in the top of the ninth inning.
Well, actually, he did. He whiffed at a 3-1 fastball that beat him middle and up in the zone. Wisely, Mississippi State tried to go right back to the pitch. The pitch missed. This fastball was middle and down, which resulted in Melendez smashing it high and deep and way out to left-center on a night when the ball wasn’t carrying at TD Ameritrade Park.
“I knew he was going to come back with it just because I laid off the slider early in the count and I was seeing it well,” responded Melendez about anticipating a fastball in the 3-2 count. “Obviously, he threw me a fastball, I swung underneath it. He obviously wanted to come back to that after a big swing and miss. But off the bat it felt pretty good. I knew it was a homer for sure.”
Perfectly, Melendez, who finished 2-for-5 with one run and four RBI, swung a quick, powerful barrel through the hitting zone and the ball jumped off the bat with that “no-doubter” pop and velocity. Immediately, he knew it, and celebrated accordingly of the batter’s box and pumped himself up as he yelled going around the bases.
“I knew when it came off his bat it was gone. He absolutely hammered that pitch. He just missed a fastball maybe just a bit higher. And I give Ivan so much credit for just being ready for that pitch and being ready to swing the bat and wanting to be in that situation,” said Pierce.
Following the two-hour and 26-minute rain delay, Pierce elected to stick with Nixon. An error and a walk with one-out brought the tying run to the plate, but Nixon preserved the win. It would be a complete stunner if Mississippi State doesn’t start Will Bednar tomorrow with a heavy dosage of Lucas Sims lurking.
As for Texas, Pierce wasn’t ready to name a starting pitcher. Tristan Stevens makes the most sense to start for Texas. Although he started Tuesday against Tennessee, he threw just 58 pitches, a season-low, and because he’s not a hard-throwing, high-effort power-pitcher, he’s better suited to bounce back quicker.
******
Saturday 1:30 a.m. update:
FINAL: Texas 8, Mississippi State 5. These two teams will meet again at 6:00 p.m. with a trip to the CWS finals on the line.
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Saturday 12:45 a.m. update:
Game is scheduled to resume at 1:05 a.m.
*****
Friday 10:42 p.m. update
Ivan Melendez hit a ball so hard and so far the rain immediately followed. UT's designated hitter put Texas in front 8-5 with one out in the 9th inning when he smashed a three-run homer off a 3-2 fastball. MSU then made a pitching change and the tarp came out for a weather delay.
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Friday 5:50 p.m. update:
As expected, Ty Madden is on the mound for Texas tonight. Eric Kennedy moves up to the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
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Friday 5:45 p.m. update:
NCAA announces Texas vs. Mississippi State will start at 6:55 p.m. on ESPN.
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Friday 5:35 p.m. update:
Mississippi State announced earlier today senior LHP Houston Harding will start tonight's game vs. Texas. Harding has a 2.87 ERA across 53.1 innings with 59 strikeouts, 17 walks and a .221 batting average against. Harding started a Super Regional game against Notre Dame and gave up two earned runs over 4.0 innings; he started a Regional game and punched out 10 against Campbell across 5.0 innings with two earned runs.
The loaded MSU bullpen is rested and waiting. Still no lineup yet from Texas.
******
Friday 2:15 a.m. update:
OMAHA - The previous 64 games prepared the Longhorns (49-16) for tonight. Weather delayed the start for hours. Texas watched Virginia’s Mike Vasil, who entered the game with 7.32 ERA across his last 35.2 innings, do extremely awkward Trevor Bauer celebrations on the mound as he dominated Texas hitters for 7.0 innings. Late in the game, it felt like the momentum and confidence sided with the Cavaliers.
But all season the No. 2 overall seed Longhorns have figured out a way. They’ve never lacked belief. They never allow their frustration to boil over. Hardly ever have they lacked focus and allowed what’s happening in one area of the game to affect another. They don’t get down on themselves. Perhaps there are no better current examples than Ivan Melendez and Zach Zubia, two power hitters in the middle of the Texas lineup who entered tonight trying to shake some funks in the batter’s box.
“They're just such factors in our lineup because they're the bangers,” David Pierce stated about Melendez and Zubia. “We've got some speed guys, and they've got to be the guys that are able to get the runners in and clutch hit. Just really, hats off to both of them for continuing to put the work in and giving themselves and our team an opportunity there.”
Tonight, or I should say extremely early this morning, the Longhorns simply kept playing, kept competing, and they kept winning. Ivan Melendez broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning after Zubia’s walk and Zubia delivered the late dagger in the ninth. Texas stayed alive in the College World Series by defeating Virginia, 6-2. And there was never a single moment when they acted like they’d lose the game.
“No,” responded Pierce when asked if he ever sensed frustration from his team during the game. “We're playing in Omaha for a national championship. They're pumped. We tell them as well, we don't want it easy. It's going to be hard. We understand it. They're going to have blows. We're going to have to accept them and just keep playing.
“So, I didn't sense anything like that. And I pay attention. I just watch the bench and see the reactions. And at times they'll get frustrated right after an at-bat. They have the ability to get over it and go play defense. So, pretty special group right now.”
Melendez sparked the first run-scoring frame of the game when he led off the top of the second by pulling a 2-0 fastball hard down the line for a leadoff double. After Trey Faltine walked with one out, Douglas Hodo pulled an 0-2 breaking ball into left field to score Melendez and put Texas ahead, 1-0. Although the Longhorns, thanks to a two-out wild pitch, were able to grab a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth, their offense couldn’t figure out Vasil, who was feeling himself so much his antics on the mound increased with each scoreless frame, which had to drive the Texas dugout nuts.
Virginia tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when Chris Newell smashed a two-run homer out to right field. In the sixth inning, the Cavaliers threatened to chase Hansen from the game and take the lead. But in a game filled with unusual and at the same type spectacular defensive plays, perhaps the one Texas completed in the sixth inning was the biggest.
With one out and a runner on second, Virginia (36-27) shortstop Nic Kent, who made some incredible plays with his glove, smashed a rocket towards Hansen. Initially, it looked like it drilled the UT starting pitcher, but at the last moment, he was able to defensively react to lift his glove and block the liner, which sent it flying towards Trey Faltine. Despite the scary visual and unusual play, Faltine remained focused, fielded the ball, and immediately fired to Cam Williams at third base who was ready to slap on the tag. Pierce came out of the dugout to make a pitching change with two outs, and Cole Quintanilla kept the game tied after six complete.
Despite struggling with the bats, Texas didn’t take its offensive issues onto the field defensively. Once again, Virginia tested Silas Ardoin by attempting a steal with one out in the bottom of the seventh, and Ardoin was up for the challenge. Thanks to a fantastic snag and tag by Faltine, Ardoin gunned down another runner, his second caught stealing of the game, to ruin a potential Virginia rally. The throw and tag seemingly pumped a jolt into the entire Texas roster, and Texas would take the lead the next time it came to the plate.
“I think we're doing things right. We're doing some great things on offense. Doing some great things on defense,” Zubia stated. “And we've just got to continue to use that and just keep on focusing and just keep on with the same mentality and same approach.”
Virginia brought in stud reliever Matt Wyatt in the top of the eighth inning and Mike Antico greeted him with a one-out single. What followed was a lengthy battle between Wyatt and his aggressive pickoff throws and Antico threatening to steal second. Eventually, Antico won the battle when he picked a 1-2 pitch to run on and stole second base without a throw. Zubia kept the inning alive with a walk on a 3-2 breaking ball that missed, and before Melendez could step to the plate, Pierce called him over.
“He just came up to me and told me he wanted me to slow the game down, slow my heart rate down, and tell me how great a hitter I am before I got in the box,” said Melendez about the meeting.
Melendez, who has been swinging the bat well in Omaha and just missed a couple homers earlier in the trip, jumped on a first pitch with a shortened swing and smacked a RBI single up the middle to give his team a 3-2 lead.
Following a walk by Mitchell Daly, it appeared Faltine would put Texas ahead by at least two runs when he pulled a hard grounder deep into the hole at short. Kent did what Faltine has done to so many hitters and ranged over to make an incredible stop before throwing to third for the force out to keep UT from increasing its lead.
Kent was again up to his usual defensive sorcery in the top of the ninth inning when he upstaged his previous plays with one of the best plays you’ll ever see. Texas loaded the bases with no outs and Antico hit a liner off the third baseman’s glove. The ball rolled towards Kent who stretched, fielded, glanced toward third to notice his third baseman wasn’t back on the bag, and then threw across his body and momentum all the way to home to get the out. Cam Williams then chased a fastball to strike out and it looked like Virginia was able to escape the top of the ninth inning down just 3-2.
Zubia was overdue, though. With two outs, the veteran slugger again found himself in a 3-2 count after a 2-2 breaking pitch barely missed. He reacted to a rising fastball up and in by smashing it deep into the left-center gap. Off the bat, everyone in the park knew it would find the wall, and Zubia jogged into second after a bases-clearing, three-RBI double.
“I'm going to be the first one to say, obviously my College World Series start hasn't been the greatest,” said Zubia, his hat drenched with sweat during the postgame Zoom session. “But that's just a credit to my teammates, to my coaches just to have my back, keeping me mentally right, keep on telling me that you're going to come up in a big situation. And obviously that's what happened.”
The four-run cushion was more than enough for freshman Aaron Nixon, who previously entered in the eighth inning and pitched out of a jam by forcing Virginia to hit into a double play. Nixon threw a scoreless ninth inning and as they’ve done so often this season, the Longhorns cooly and confidently lined up, exchanged celebratory fives and handshakes, and made their way off the field to chase their title.
“We're not going away. This team is just resilient. They can be ugly at times, play unbelievable defense and pitch. Opportunistic offensively,” a proud Pierce stated about his club.
As for the matchup against Mississippi State Friday at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN, Pierce said there is a high percentage Ty Madden will be the starter, but he wasn’t ready to officially name a starter yet. During the win over Virginia, Madden jogged out to the Texas bullpen in the middle of the game, which announced he was making himself available to pitch if needed.
Hansen gave the Longhorns what they needed. He navigated a high pitch count early in the game and gave up two runs on five hits, two walks and struck out six across 5.2 innings. Although the lefty has shown better control and command, Hansen terrorized right-handed hitters with fastball command to his gloveside and backfoot sliders when ahead in the count. Credit Pierce for getting him out of the game at the right time as Virginia was starting to see the ball well off him the third time through the order.
Quintailla tossed 1.2 scoreless frames and gave up two hits with one walk. He’s been more dominant recently, but he made a huge pitch to strike out the red-hot Newell in the seventh inning. Nixon fired 1.2 scoreless innings and gave up just one hit, an infield single. I would assume both pitchers will be available Friday evening.
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Friday 1:00 a.m. update:
FINAL: Texas 6, Virginia 2. Longhorns eliminate Virginia and will play Mississippi State tonight - yes, tonight, but you get the point - at 6 p.m. on ESPN. Texas stays alive in the CWS and figures out a way to win. Again.
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Thursday 8:55 p.m. update:
NCAA rep just announced in press box 9:45 p.m. is the scheduled first pitch for tonight's game.
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Thursday 8:50 p.m. update:
Continue to hear they're going to try to get this one in. They're still working on the field. right now with big air dryers.
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Thursday 5:42 p.m. update:
And we're already delayed.
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Thursday 5:35 p.m. update:
Texas on the field taking in-and-out. Both teams warming up like usual. Let's hope weather cooperates for the 6 p.m. start on ESPN2.
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Thursday 10:05 a.m. update:
Many of y'all probably read this in yesterday's column, but wanted to add it to the thread here:
--- Looking ahead to the matchup against Virginia on Thursday (6:00 p.m. on ESPN2), I have a tough time imagining Virginia being able to recover from losing to Mississippi State the way it did last night. Virginia carried a no-hitter and 4-0 lead into the eighth inning and ended up losing 6-5. That’s demoralizing.
I would expect either right-handed reliever/rare starter Matt Wyatt or lefty Nate Savino to start against Texas. Wyatt tossed 3.0 shutout innings to close Sunday’s win against Tennessee and Savino threw an inning last night in relief. Wyatt has better stuff, and had success in the postseason in long, good outings with 5.2 innings against both DBU and South Carolina. But it’s asking a lot of him to throw deep into a game.
The Virginia lineup is very competitive and puts the ball in play at a high rate, but it’s not very threatening beyond the first four hitters.
--- As for Texas, I’d be surprised if Pete Hansen doesn’t start, especially with Cole Quintanilla and Aaron Nixon fully rested behind him. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, I felt their best path to the championship series was facing Mississippi State on Thursday and then Virginia. A fully rested and ready Mississippi State waiting Friday for Virginia or Texas is going to be a very, very tough task to beat twice. If Mississippi State played Thursday and had to use its third starter, I think the Longhorns would have sent it packing. Now, I think Texas beats Virginia but beating Mississippi State twice is too tough of an ask.
******
Tuesday 6:28 p.m. update:
OMAHA - Following a frustrating loss to open the College World Series, Ty Madden told Longhorn fans to keep believing, and so did everything about the Longhorns’ season. All year the No. 2 overall seed Longhorns (48-16) have responded and looked like a team truly capable of going to Omaha and winning games. And they proved it today at TD Ameritrade Park.
“There's no panic. Obviously striking out 21 times in a game is unacceptable. But after the game coach Pierce is like, ‘Keep your head up, we'll go to work tomorrow.’ That's exactly what we did. We had a great batting practice yesterday and got our good work in. We had a team meeting, kind of cleared our minds, put that game behind us.
“And then coming out and taking BP on the field today you could tell everybody was super focused and everybody was ready to go. That's in the past. Nobody's thinking about that game anymore.”
In an elimination game against No. 3 overall seed Tennessee (50-18), Texas was dealt some early adversity, responded with an excellent game offensively and stayed alive by winning, 8-4. On a day when its starting pitcher was unusually ineffective, Texas played fantastic defense, demoralized Tennessee with two-out hitting, and a freshman right-handed announced his future stardom on the game’s biggest stage.
Tennessee took control of the game with two runs in the top of the second inning, and the usually efficient Stevens struggled with control. His team picked him up in the bottom of the third inning in dramatic fashion. After Douglas Hodo struck out with one out and two runners in scoring position, Eric Kennedy battled deep into the count. The junior outfielder barely fouled a 3-2 pitch to stay alive. He’s talked recently about starting his swing earlier. That’s exactly what he did when he smashed a two-out, three-run homer to right field on a 95 MPH fastball.
Immediately, it appeared the Volunteers would regain the lead. Stevens struggled to miss bats because of his offspeed command and Tennessee loaded the bases with no outs. That other shade of orange in the ballpark sensed something brewing and an opportunity to not just take the lead but blow the game open. Then, Silas Ardoin made perhaps the defensive play of the season.
“Huge. Just trusting himself. I mean, the play - bases loaded, nobody out - and Cam just goosed the ball. And Silas never panicked. Looked like a shortstop on the pick,” described David Pierce. “And then throws a strike. I told him just now it's one of the best plays I've ever seen - ever - because of the situation. If that ball gets past him, they score two, with two guys - they score two and have a runner at second and third with nobody out. It could have unravelled on us. For me that was the play of the game, no doubt. And then the big two-out RBI.”
A hard grounder was smashed at Cam Williams, who was playing in. He snagged it, and fired an errant throw towards home. Like Yadier Molina behind home plate, Ardoin picked the hop with the calmness and confidence of a big leaguer before firing to first to complete the double play. A hyped, as usual, Stevens yelled encouragement at Ardoin. Zubia bounced off the first base bag emphatically as he pointed towards Williams for making the tough stop and shouted towards Ardoin. The next batter flew out and Texas, somehow, escaped bases loaded and no outs without giving up a run.
The following inning, Mike Antico did Antico-like things. He worked a leadoff walk on a 3-2 pitch, stole second, moved to third when the throw trickled into center field and scored on Cam Williams’ groundout to second base. Antico is now hitting .271/.440/.495 this season with 40 steals in 44 attempts.
Ahead 4-2, Pierce elected to stick with Stevens, one of the nation’s most efficient and consistent pitchers. But Stevens wasn’t able to turn it around. It was obvious early in the game the Texas starter didn’t have his typical control and command, especially with his changeup against left-handed hitters. Stevens didn’t complete 6.0 innings or more 12-straight times this season without battling through some lack of stuff and command. However, he needed more than competitiveness and toughness to survive Tennessee’s lineup.
A one-out walk in the top of the fourth inning was followed by a single and then a RBI single to cut the Texas lead to 4-3. Pierce came out of the dugout and made the move to Tanner Witt. Although Witt allowed an inherited runner to score and tie the game, he was about to show why his future as a college pitcher is as bright as any freshman in the country. And with the help of his middle infield friends, who combined to start a fantastic inning-ending double play, he minimized damage.
Once again, Texas responded. The bottom of the fourth inning delivered a little of everything, including a review of a play at home and Tennessee assistant coach Ross Kivett being ejected by the third-base umpire before throwing his clipboard onto the field. It also included a huge two-out knock by Ardoin.
“I think we held our composure when things were getting emotional. Our guys did a nice job of allowing that to just happen, not get caught up in it and just play the game. We worked so hard to play this game and they appreciate it. And that's what they do. They kind of sat back, allowed it to pass and then just keep playing,” said Pierce about the wild fourth inning.
With two outs and runners on first and second, Ardoin lined a 1-2 pitch into right-center field. Mitchell Daly, who walked to begin the inning, scored easily from first. As he typically does, Pierce elected to aggressively send the speedy Hodo around third and attempt to score him from first.
Tennessee’s relay throw into the plate was outstanding, but the tag was not, which led to a safe call on the field that was upheld after review. Antico followed with a single to push Ardoin into scoring position and Cam Williams put Texas ahead 7-4 with a RBI single into left field.
Appropriately, Tanner Witt’s Twitter handle is @wittnesstwitty because we were all witnesses today. The freshman threw a career-high 5.2 innings and 78 pitches out of the bullpen and gave up just three hits. That’s it.
“I live for this moment. This is the moment I've always dreamed [of]. I love that big stage, big atmosphere. And I feel like I only get better in those situations because that's what I live for,” Witt said after the win.
He punched out two and showed his full arsenal of pitches by mixing in an effective changeup against lefties and even showed the feel for sinking his fastball to his arm-side against lefties too. Witt moved his fastball up-and-down the strike zone and although he’s shown better consistency with his hook, he snapped off a few taken very uncomfortably for strikes. Why does Texas “waste time” getting commitments from players projected to be first-round picks? Because there’s the chance one of them shows up. Witt showed up. And he’s already a program-changer.
Texas tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning when Kennedy did Kennedy-like things. He singled with one out, stole second, stole third when the catcher tried to throw behind him at second base, and then scored on a wild pitch to put Texas ahead 8-4. The Texas lineup is noticeably more dynamic when Kennedy is confident and swinging the bat well. He’s doing that right now.
Aaron Nixon was getting warm in the top of the ninth inning, but Texas didn’t need him as Witt finished the game. That means the Texas pitching staff is in as good of shape as a 1-1 team’s staff could be because Nixon and Quintanilla haven’t been used yet in Omaha. Although Pierce didn’t commit to starting Pete Hansen for Thursday’s game against tonight’s Mississippi State and Virginia loser (6:00 p.m. on ESPN2), he made it sound like it would be Hansen. The lefty threw 2.0 scoreless innings and 26 pitches during Sunday’s game.
Regardless, the Longhorns proved today they’re capable of winning in Omaha and no matter who they play or who pitches, they’re going to be a tough out. The road ahead is extremely difficult, but Texas emerged from today in as good of shape as it could have hoped.
“They were frustrated. They were embarrassed,” Pierce said about the team’s response following the Mississippi State loss. “The way we got beat, if we would have lost a 2-1 game and we hit a lot of hard ground balls or line drives and they made plays, that would be one thing. But just to get embarrassed - it's a good staff and a dang good team in Mississippi State.
But I just think that their work that they put in from day one came out. And you have to be able to trust it, but then you also have to understand if we continue to stay frustrated we're not going to play well today. So there's a very mature approach by them -- not slamming anything, not pointing fingers, just understanding that it was a bad day. And we still have opportunity to play.”
*******
Tuesday 4:28 p.m. update:
Texas stayed alive in the College World Series and eliminated Tennssee with an 8-4 victory.
*****
Tuesday 11:48 a.m. update:
Texas moved around some guys in the lineup following Sunday's very rough night at the plate:
******
Tuesday 10:35 a.m. update:
At 1:00 p.m. from TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha a battle of the orange UTs will be a bracket two elimination game on ESPNU. No. 2 overall seed Texas (47-16) and No. 3 overall seed Tennessee (50-17) square off and hope to stay alive in Omaha. A few preview thoughts:
--- Tennessee will start freshman righty Blade Tidwell. Considered one of the better future MLB Draft prospects in the SEC, Tidwell doesn't lack potential. He throws a fastball in the low to mid-90's and can throw two different looking breaking balls with a changeup. Across 95.2 innings, he posted a 3.57 ERA with 87 strikeouts and a .235 batting average against.
I think there will be times when Tidwell looks truly overpowering and there will be other times when his lack of control and command give Texas opportunities to put together rallies. While his stuff will at times look good, he's not Will Bednar and I think he lacks the consistency to pitch deep into the game in dominant fashion. Texas should have some run-scoring opportunities early it needs to capitalize on.
--- Tristan Stevens will get the ball for Texas and while I like his experience and ability to throw all his pitches in any count, the Tennessee lineup is loaded. Against Virginia, Tennessee was surprisingly tight and overhwhelemed by a really, really good starting pitcher and was shutout. Sound familiar? If Stevens, as he typically does, limits the free passes, he should be able to keep his team right in the game or possibly hand a lead to his bullpen.
So far, TD Ameritrade has played smaller than usual. So, how much the ball is carrying and what the wind is doing will be a factor and could benefit a Tennessee lineup built on power if the wind is again blowing out.
--- I think this game will be determined by the first few innings. Both these teams are coming off woeful offensive performances and both arrived with legitimate national title ambitions. The team that grabs confidence early and pushes across a couple early runs could put a ton of pressure on the opposing dugout in an elimination game. With Texas' rested bullpen, expect David Pierce to be very aggressive if needed.
********
Sunday 10:00 p.m. update:
OMAHA - Mississippi State (46-16) starting pitcher Will Bednar entered tonight’s game versus No. 2 overall seed Texas (47-16) with a K/9 of 13.7. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, that statistic improved and the Horns’ rallying cry of “Remember the Arlington” took on the exact opposite meaning than they hoped in a 2-1 loss to open their Omaha stay.
Bednar struck out 16 Longhorns across 6.0 innings, a truly absurd level of dominance. The future first-round pick overwhelmed Texas with his unique fastball that has good spin and very good late action up in the zone. Throughout Bednar’s outing, Longhorn hitters repeatedly couldn’t catch up and get on the right plane to Bednar’s heater. He then handed Landon Sims a 2-0 lead. Sims looked invincible during the seventh and eighth innings, but he looked fatigued in the ninth inning as his pitch count climbed. Texas responded by showing some life offensively for the first time all game.
Mike Antico jumped all over a 1-0 fastball and smashed a solo homer way out to right-center field. Ivan Melendez kept the game alive by lining the 11th pitch of the at-bat into left field for a single and Cam Williams followed by shortening his swing on 0-2, after two walk-off hacks, to line a single into center field. But Douglas Hodo, who looked unusually shaky, grounded out after using a defensive swing on a 2-0 pitch.
Ty Madden deserved better. On the sport’s biggest stage, the right-hander delivered one of his best starts of his Texas career. He gave up just two runs across 7.0 innings on four hits, two walks and he struck out 10. Early, Madden showed some of his best fastball command of the season and worked the pitch to both sides of the plate effectively, which allowed his at times dominant slider to rack up swings and misses.
“I knew from the start, felt good in my legs and changeup was really working,” responded Madden when asked how he felt and when he knew he’d have a really good outing. “And I think that's kind of the most I've thrown it this year. And people haven't really been able to see it, and this was a more dominant left-handed lineup that I haven't really faced too much. So, I think it was the most I've used my changeup all year. But from the get-go, I felt pretty solid. And the slider I knew after the first pitch I threw in the game that it had great depth. Especially with that shadow early it was going to be tough to see that spinner.”
Just as importantly, Madden used a first-pitch changeup often to lefties and had success with the pitch he typically doesn’t feature a ton. In what was perhaps his last start at Texas, Madden showed his full arsenal and deserved to end today’s game the winner. In fact, a good argument can be made Hodo could have caught a two-out fly ball down the right field line, which resulted in a run-scoring triple in the top of the fourth inning. That was the only inning Mississippi State scored a run.
“I still believe in this team. And I think everybody here does. We're not done yet,” said Madden before adding what his message to the fans would be. “Just keep believing in us. We've done it all year. We've won in multiple ways. And, like I said, this team's not done and we're going to keep rolling. I still have faith in us. And y’all should as well.”
The Longhorns will have a day to regroup after setting a College World Series record for strikeouts in a game with 21. There conference steadily declined with each inning against Bednar and didn't return until desperation kicked again against a tired Sims. No. 3 overall seed Tennessee is waiting as the opponent for Tuesday’s bracket two elimination game at 1:00 p.m. on ESPNU.
“We'll continue to challenge them. We're not going to back off and feel sorry for them. And they're not going to feel sorry for themselves. So, it's kind of what we do. We're going to go out. We're going to talk about the results, what happened, and how we're going to approach it. We can feel sorry for ourselves or we can get to work,” said David Pierce. “And I know that's what they're going to do is they're going to put the work in. They've got a lot of pride. They're young, most of them. But they're tough as nails. And they've got a lot of pride. But still Tuesday, there's no guarantees in this game. So it's our job to just get ready to play, get back here and compete.”
Pierce confirmed after the game Tristan Stevens will start Tuesday. Pete Hansen finished the game on the mound for Texas and looked sharp with 2.0 scoreless frames. Pierce, who rarely addresses the team immediately after games, was seen immediately talking to his group on the field after tonight’s game ended.
“I know how emotional the game was. I understand that they're frustrated and feel like they let their teammates down. But my biggest message is that these guys have been together from day one,” he said. “And 27 guys on the field just fighting every single day together, having fun together, listening to their coaches, working hard. So my message is, you know, we'll continue to go to battle with guys that are preparing right. And we've just got to get better tomorrow and that's the game plan. Just don't listen to the noise. We know what happened. Don't listen to the distractions of what happened in the box and it will be tough enough to get over it.”
******
Sunday 5:05 p.m. update:
****
Sunday 12:05 p.m. update:
If I kept an Omaha blog for my duration at college baseball’s mecca, the second entry would probably be titled, “The Trip from Hell.” About two hours into the drive, a random piece of metal pierced my tire. The great thing about run flat tires is they don’t get flat. The bad thing about run flat tires is not many places carry them. At least the car dealership I had to drive 50 miles to had the Germany versus Portugal Euro game on a big screen with some free snacks.
Just wait. It gets worse.
After being put a couple hours behind schedule, halfway into the trip my left foot/ankle began to really hurt. It was swollen. I played basketball for a while on Wednesday and experienced some general soreness. Didn’t think much of it. Wasn’t that bad Thursday, was annoying Friday and kind of the same Saturday… until I was in Kansas. That’s when I learned I had something wrong. I don’t know what. Hopefully, I’ll find out at my urgent care appointment soon. As I type this from my airbnb, my trusty ice pack is wrapped around my ankle and foot. I tried beer. It didn’t work. Oh, Happy Father's Day!
But enough about my Clark Griswold-like trip. The Longhorns play baseball tonight at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. Assuming I can hobble/crutch my way to the press box, I’ll be there. No. 2 overall seed Texas (47-15) faces No. 7 overall seed Mississippi State (45-16) tonight at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN2. On the mound for Texas will be Ty Madden and Mississippi State will send right Will Bednar to the mound, another projected first-round pick.
For Madden, the most important element will be to remain in attack mode and controlling Mississippi State’s lefties. SEC Player of the Year Tanner Allen and team leader Rowdey Jordan will both face Madden from the left side at the top of the Bulldog order. If Madden can keep those two players in check, he should be able to navigate MSU’s lineup effectively; if he can’t, it could be a long day.
As for Bednar, he’ll take the mound with a 3.53 ERA and 113 strikeouts across 74.0 innings. As the numbers suggest, he can rack up the swings and misses, most notably with his slider. Texas will need to stay ahead in counts when it can and see the slider up to avoid chasing it in two-strike counts. Bednar’s control can escape him at times.
Considering this is the first game in Omaha for both teams, I’m expecting some aggressive bullpen usage because both teams won’t play again until Tuesday and then if they keep playing, they’ll play Thursday or Friday. Unfortunately for Texas, that probably means seeing Landon Sims at some point, but the Texas bullpen can match the firepower of MSU’s bullpen.
Last time Texas was in Omaha, it took almost a game and a half for it to settle in. The Longhorns have done an excellent job all season of remaining steady and treating each game the same. We’ll see if that trend continues tonight.
*****
Good morning. The College World Series will begin later this afternoon at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha when Stanford and NC State begin college baseball’s signature event at 1:00 p.m. The Longhorns, like all teams, arrived early to Omaha because of COVID-19 protocols. They also arrived with a different outlook compared to their last trip in 2018.
I’ve written about this before and actually discussed it earlier this week on a recent edition of the Extra Bases podcast. That said, this is the first time I’ve heard David Pierce candidly speak about the difference between taking the 2018 Longhorns to Omaha and this group.
“I think it's a lot different, honestly. From the staff to the team. I've been Omaha… this will be my sixth time and my first time as a head coach was here in ‘18. And I think then it was somewhat of a relief that, ‘Alright, we have an opportunity to do what Texas does. We're going to Omaha.’ It was only year two, but that relief of knowing that we've accomplished what Texas does and that's getting to Omaha. Now, we have an opportunity to play for a national championship. And I think that team really overachieved in ‘18. I thought the pieces fell into place. We had a tremendous year by Kody (Clemens). We had a tremendous year by David (Hamilton). We pieced the pitching together. They did well.”
I appreciate the honesty because I couldn’t agree more. The 2018 Longhorns overachieved and it was immediately apparent in Omaha. Once they settled in the second game, they began to play a little better. However, Texas simply didn’t have the roster, the experience or the mental makeup to beat the nation’s best on the game’s biggest stage. There was a feeling that Texas winning a Super Regional and punching its Omaha ticket was the moment of the season.
The Longhorns arrived in Omaha this year with more talent, better pitching, more experience, and a different mental makeup. When Texas won the Austin Regional and Super Regional, it felt like a really, really good baseball team destined to compete for a title simply checking another important box.
“But I mean, it wasn't what our pitching is now. And I think when you go to Omaha and you feel confident because your starting pitching gives you an opportunity, it's a different feeling. And so I think going in there this year, there's never been any thought of ‘Hey, we've made it to Omaha.’ The only thought that we've had is, ‘It's the next step. We're going to Omaha to win this thing.’ Now, whether we're good enough and the pieces fall into place, you got to have a little luck. You got to stay healthy. It's just got to work out. You got to calm your nerves.
“But there is definitely a different feeling with this team going into this ‘21 national championship run, and you can look at so many players on our team that have not had postseason experience. But they've had Team USA experience. They've had Area Codes experience. And I don't view him as a freshman anymore after the number of at-bats and the type of play that they presented all year. There's seven other teams that probably feel the same way maybe. Maybe there's two out of the eight teams kind of probably are in that category that we were in in ‘18 have a we're happy we're going Omaha and I think there's six other teams that are sitting in there going, ‘We're going in there to win it with a lot of confidence since. Don't ask me which six of the eight. I just feel like that's kind of what probably happens, you know.”
Some more notes....
--- This year’s Omaha group doesn’t lack offense, but many teams are led by their power in the lineup. Texas’ offense fits TD Ameritrade well, assuming the field and wind play like usual, because of its ability to score runs in a variety of ways.
“I think we've just all noticed the difference from Rosenblatt to Ameritrade, and it's definitely a different game. I think it helps us because we have the ability to score and in other ways than the longball,” said Pierce. “We've had some success with the longball, but we've also hit more doubles than we’ve hit in previous years. We have the ability to do some things in the short game when we need to.”
The one weakness for Texas offensively: it can swing and miss. A lot. Pierce knows that, and it’s what the Mississippi State pitching staff does best.
“So, I think the key for us… we've got to be good against the team that strikes out a lot of people,” said Pierce. “When you look at Mississippi State, they have [an] unheard of number - they have struck out 744 hitters this year. To put that in perspective, we've struck out like 516, and we've got a very good pitching staff. So, they have swing and miss stuff. So, for us we've got to put some pressure on the other teams by utilizing our speed and putting the ball in play.”
--- As for Mississippi State, this was what Pierce said earlier this week about UT’s first opponent in Omaha.
“A really well-rounded team. I think they have better team speed than most SEC teams. They also have the ability to drive the ball out of the park, but they can do some things with the ball in play; first-to-third, score from second. But we actually talked about this yesterday is that we're not playing Mississippi State in our revenge game because we were 0-3 in Arlington, and they were one of the teams… that's not what we've done all year,” the Texas head coach stated. “We understand that they're a very good team.
“Our intent is to go out and totally focus on ourselves and our team and what we do well, understand the percentages, understand what they could potentially give us as a defense to our offense and try to attack those areas. And I think the same thing with our pitching and defense versus their offense. So, it's not even about that opening weekend. It's just one of eight teams here that's going to play really well and have done a great job all year. And then finished really well against a very good Notre Dame team. So, there's not a team that's coming to Omaha that’s not confident.”
--- While Pierce said, in a big picture view, Texas’ pitching plan won’t change, he did acknowledge the way the College World Series is scheduled affords teams an opportunity to be more aggressive with their pitching staff because of the breaks between games. For example, no matter what happens to Texas Sunday night it won’t play again until Tuesday. If it’s still alive after Tuesday, it then wouldn’t play until Thursday or Friday depending on its record.
“I don't think you can sit back when you have spacing in this type of tournament and not utilize your number three and one of your best guys, especially that he's left handed. He can potentially take a bigger role in game one as a lefty matchup, or even a three-inning guy if that's what the game calls for, but also be available for a game two,” said Pierce. “But if you were extended in a game on following a Ty (Madden), hypothetically, probably would be burned for Tuesday, but then would be available to start on a Thursday. So it's definitely a little different strategy as opposed to a three-game back-to-back series of Friday, Saturday, Sunday, because I'm never going to use a Sunday starter on Friday night as a reliever and then go Sunday.”
--- Barring a surprise, Ivan Melendez will remain in the cleanup spot for Texas in Omaha. Texas’ head coach backed his slugger during Friday’s press conference.
“As far as I’m concerned, he’s our cleanup hitter and he’ll be in there,” said Pierce.
The season wasn’t supposed to end like this for the Longhorns. It wasn’t supposed to, in the most agonizing and heartbreaking way possible, remind Texas that baseball is often a game of inches and luck. But sometimes, that’s just the way baseball goes.
“I was running into left-center when the guy hit the ball and I looked at EK (Eric Kennedy) and I was like, ‘It's over.’ It's crazy, just like that,” recalled Mike Antico when asked about the emotions of the end of the game. “My mind was ready for the top of the 10th inning. I think I was up third. Just like that, it could change so quick, just like life. So, baseball is a crazy sport, it's a crazy game. I love it with all my heart. But you know, a lot of emotions right then and there in that moment. Your season can be made in a split second and it can be broken in a split second. Tonight it was broken.”
The Longhorns (50-17) were on the wrong side of both inches and luck and were eliminated from the College World Series by a walk-off single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Mississippi State (48-17) celebrated the 4-3 victory and CWS Final berth while Texas was immediately faced with its toughest challenge all season: how to process this defeat, which abruptly and cruelly ended the season for David Pierce’s most beloved team.
After Will Bednar appeared ready to strike out a ton of Longhorns over scoreless frames again, Cam Williams delivered a loud message with a big swing of the bat. Texas was ready to make adjustments, and Bednar’s stuff wasn’t quite as completely dominant as it was last Sunday.
After being late to an 0-1 fastball, Williams was ready in an 0-2 count when Bednar predictably tested him up the ladder with another heater. Williams smashed a two-run homer to right field and gave Texas an early 2-0 advantage in the second inning.
Mississippi State cut the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the third inning with a two-out RBI single off the bat of SEC Player of the Year Tanner Allen. However, Texas starter Tristan Stevens looked more effective than he did against Tennessee, when he lasted just 3.2 innings. The veteran righty showed feel for his slider and changeup earlier and commanded a sinking fastball well to his armside. Texas knew early he’d be able to take it fairly deep into an outing.
Douglas Hodo began the top of the fifth by smashing a hanging slider off the bottom of the wall in left-center for a leadoff double. With two outs, Mike Antico, as he did so much this season and in Omaha, made sure a runner in scoring position wouldn’t be wasted. The senior from New Jersey jumped all over a 2-1 fastball and lined a hard RBI double to right-center.
But Mississippi State, trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth, immediately responded. MSU put runners on the corners with one out, and was able to push across a run. However, Stevens limited the damage thanks to a double play. Later, he and Texas wouldn’t be as fortunate.
With a low pitch count and a limited bullpen behind him, Stevens, who threw 5.0 innings and gave up three runs on nine hits, one walk and struck out two, was back on the mound in the bottom of the sixth with a 3-2 lead. Credit Mississippi State’s Kamren James for an outstanding at-bat, which resulted in a walk on a 3-2 pitch to start the inning. With Cole Quintanilla now lurking, Texas watched Stevens work into a 1-2 count. What looked like a sinker from Stevens searching for a grounder missed its spot, and a very hard liner missed Mitchell Daly’s glove by inches.
“I don't like having anybody coming in in that big of a mess,” said Pierce about the pitching usage in the sixth inning. “But every time Tristan is in the game, he's a guy that has a history of handling that stuff. And so you've got a quick 5th and it was a no-brainer that we were bringing him back out with Cole being one of two potential guys that would come on if we had runners in the inning.
“So, Sean and I planned it this morning, how we wanted to approach it with guys that would come in clean, guys that would come in in situations, guys that would deal with the top of the order versus the bottom of the order and for Tristan to give us six. I think -- what did he go, five? I mean, probably after pitching on Tuesday, we were looking at three to five, and he got us into the sixth. Yeah, there's a lot that we talked about, but that's kind of how it evolved.”
Texas pitching coach Sean Allen came out to chat with Stevens with runners on the corners and no outs. Again, UT stuck with Stevens and hoped he’d deliver with a grounder. He did. Unfortunately, the routine grounder bounced over Cam Williams’ head because he was playing in with runners on the corners. The RBI double tied the game and MSU had the bases loaded after Quintanilla walked the first batter he faced.
The hard-throwing righthander responded by using his changeup - an extremely rare occurrence - against dangerous left-handed hitter Kellum Clark. Quintanilla struck him out looking on a breaking ball over the middle and then he made the next hitter look silly with three-straight breaking balls. Somehow, the game remained tied and Quintanilla came off the mound as fired up as he’s ever been in a Texas uniform.
From there, Quintanilla and eventually MSU stud reliever Landon Sims went to work. Both relievers pitched exceptionally well and often overwhelmed opposing hitters with good breaking balls and hard fastballs. The teams traded zeroes until the ninth inning. That’s when Texas threatened to score.
Ivan Melendez was hit by a 3-2 pitch to begin the ninth inning and pinch-runner Dylan Campbell was bunted to second base. Williams put a jolt into a 3-2 fastball deep to left field, and off the bat, Sims immediately reacted like it was a homer. But the ball wasn’t carrying much to left and was caught. Hodo then gave a pitch a deep ride to right field only to watch it find a glove on the warning track. Clearly, Sims was tiring. Texas wouldn’t see him again, though.
Following a strikeout, Quintinalla looked like he’d punch out another batter. However, he attempted to get the strikeout with a backfoot breaking ball only to watch it literally hit the left-handed batter’s backfoot. Mississippi State brought on pinch-runner Brayland Skinner, and he stole second with ease as Quintanilla was too slow to the plate.
Tanner Leggett, inserted into the game for his defense, delivered the biggest hit of the MSU season when he lined a walk-off single into left-center field. Quintanilla, perhaps throwing as well as he ever had in a Texas uniform, gave up one run across 3.1 innings on two hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
And just like that, the season was over for Texas. Done. Gone. As quick as baseball can deliver the most delicious hope on the biggest stage, it can end months of hard work and endless hours practicing and playing with a single swing.
“It was an unbelievable season. It's a special group of guys, and we worked as hard as we possibly can,” Antico said. “We didn't leave any stone unturned on our way here. I mean, no regrets at all. It was a great season. Baseball is a crazy sport. You know, we had a man on second in the top of the ninth. They had a man on second in the bottom of the ninth. They got it done, and we didn't and the season's over that quick. You blink your eyes and it's over. “I mean, it sucks to lose that way, but it was an unbelievable season, and I'm really proud of this whole team, the coaches and the players. It was a hell of an experience.”
The Longhorns won’t be remembered as national champions. Only one team each season can claim that distinguished honor. But getting as close as Texas did after proving it truly was capable of winning a national championship matters. The Longhorns were beaten and it’ll take a long time for them to get over it.
“We'll look at today and what an incredible baseball game that was. We talk about it every single day, and there's not one thing -- you look at this game, there's not one thing you say if we would have done this or if we would have done that,” Pierce said. “We hit four balls to the wall that any of them could have been out or all four of them could have been out. We played impeccable defense the entire series, and big-time pitches in big-time moments, and the defense played their tails off. And so I always look at every single day as no regrets, and there's zero regrets.”
They were beaten, though. They didn’t give in. They didn’t play poorly. With everything on the line, they performed admirably, impressively and came this close. They proved they were every bit as good as their record, conference title, No. 2 overall seed and CWS berth.
“The grit, the toughness, the never-give-up mentality, the energy. Just the talent. There's just so many words that you describe this group, and they are all positive,” responded an emotional Pierce when asked what he hopes people remember about this team. “I mean, did a great job of dealing with COVID. Did a great job of staying in the classroom taking care of business. We had zero issues. It's just a team that has really set the standard of what we expect at the University of Texas.
When they’re able to stomach this and process it as the lingering sting fades away, perhaps they’ll understand what the many who watched them all season already do: they were really talented, really freaking good and their collection of consistent competitiveness, maturity, and mental toughness is the standard for future Texas teams under Pierce.
“The only thing that I'm disappointed in is this team will no longer be this team anymore, and it's the most incredible team I've ever been a part of, and I've won a National Championship and been here now six times," Pierce stated, clearly fighting the emotions of the season ending. "But just when you talk about culture and you talk about standard, and you talk about all those buzzwords and then you go out and watch it happen and just get inspired by young people… This group is incredible. You know, it's that good of a team. A lot of fun. 50 games we won this year; that close to winning a National Championship, pretty impressive.”
Impressive, indeed. The 2021 Longhorns were what Texas Baseball is supposed to look like. With so many young players on the diamond at TD Ameritrade Park, maybe we should get used to seeing it more often.
********
Saturday 4:20 p.m. update:
A few things bouncing around in my head before tonight's game at 6 p.m. on ESPN2:
—- You can bet Texas has done a lot of work and had a lot of conversations about why MSU starter Will Bednar was tough to hit and why his fastball is unique pitch. Seeing that offering, which has unique spin and late rise, once already should help tonight. I’m just not sure how much.
Knowing Texas, the hitters and Troy Tulowitzki were up early today talking, watching film and dialing in.
—- If Texas is able to somehow stun MSU early with a couple runs, I’d bet a lot of money MSU begins to play very tight and scared. It happened last night until a very fatigued Tanner Witt walked everyone.
—- Texas needs a Chad Hollingsworth tonight. It needs an unexpected arm thrust into a tough situation to thrive. I think both Jared Southard and Lucas Gordon are wired mentally to not be overwhelmed by the environment. But both can struggle with location. We know we’ll see Cole Quintanilla at some point and remember: he used to be stretched out as a starter.
*******
Saturday 2:10 a.m. update:
The bottom of the eighth inning couldn’t have gone any worse for David Pierce and the Longhorns. Fortunately for them, the top of the ninth couldn’t have gone any better. Just as it looked the Longhorns’ season was unraveling and speeding towards a cruel and very surprising crash-and-burn, Ivan Melendez captured the hearts of the Longhorn fan base and with a titanic swing of the bat delivered an emphatic message: for at least one more day, the Longhorns’ season will go on.
“That's one thing about this team is they don't give in,” said David Pierce after the win.
Melendez smashed a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to give Texas an 8-5 lead minutes after it collapsed on the mound, in the dugout and blew a 5-2 lead. Apparently, he hit it so hard the rain, lightning and thunder all intensified because a weather delay immediately followed. Texas held onto that lead and forced a bracket-deciding matchup tomorrow at 6 p.m. (ESPN2) with the 8-5 victory against Mississippi State (47-17). Vanderbilt awaits the winner in the CWS finals.
When this game first started, which seems like forever ago, it appeared it would be a high-scoring, back-and-forth slugfest. Zach Zubia hit a solo shot into the right field bullpen. Ty Madden started slow and after the first inning, Texas trailed 2-1. Mississippi State left-handed starter Houston Harding didn’t look much better.
Then, for the second-straight time, Madden overwhelmed Mississippi State’s lineup. After giving up two runs on three hits in the first inning, Madden gave up just one hit the rest of the way, and completed 6.0 quality, very competitive innings with three walks and eight strikeouts. Once Madden started to get on top of his slider and regain the late, sharp, downard break, he was tough to handle because he established his fastball gloveside command with the ability to work up the ladder. Madden also mixed in a quality changeup to lefties, especially the third time through the order.
Harding kept the Longhorns in check until the fifth inning when Mississippi State manager Chris Lemonis elected to stick with his starter as he faced the top of the order for the third time. With one out and runners on first and second, Mike Antico hit a RBI single into left-center to give Texas a 3-2 lead. The senior wasn’t done providing clutch, run-scoring hits.
Adamantly, Madden, approaching 100 pitches, pleaded his case to remain in the game in the sixth inning when David Pierce went to the mound with Tanner Witt warm in the bullpen. Madden won the battle with his head coach, and then the one with the hitter. A groundout ended the bottom of the sixth inning and preserved UT’s 3-2 lead.
Gifted a seventh-inning leadoff double when Mississippi State starter Rowdey Jordan lost a fly ball in the lights, Antico put his team in front 4-2 with one of his best at-bats of the season. After whiffing at a slider with an ugly swing earlier in the count, Antico made the adjustment to keep his head on a 3-2 slider and lined it into center field for a single to score Trey Faltine. Then senior finished 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and a runs scored. Ivan Melendez, after what appeared to be a failed double-steal, hit-and-run or perhaps a missed sign, lined a two-out single into left field to increase UT’s lead to 5-2.
But Pierce’s mound visits to get a read on his pitcher didn’t all end well. Surprisingly after he threw a career-high 5.2 innings and 78 pitches Tuesday, Witt was the first arm Texas went to in the seventh inning. The freshman looked fantastic and dominant. Then, Texas elected to bring Witt back out for the eighth inning. He showed noticeable signs of fatigue in his delivery as he was searching for velocity.
“He's been that guy in that slot,” said Pierce about the decision to use Witt first out of the bullpen. “Our biggest question is after his outing on Tuesday, how much he could go without pushing it. And we probably walked a thin line there. But we're in June right now.”
With one out and the bases loaded, Pierce, following a visit, elected to stick with Witt after back-to-back walks. The freshman walked the next batter, which cut UT’s lead to 5-3. Pierce came back out to bring in Aaron Nixon and Mississippi State tied the game with a hard, two-RBI single. Nixon bounced back with a strikeout and a fly out with the bases loaded to keep the game tied.
Immediately, Texas responded. The Longhorns have done it all season. But they’ve never done it after a bottom of the eighth inning like the one they encountered. So, it would be more than fair to express some doubt about the Longhorns surviving a meltdown. They didn’t get this far to fold, though. And Melendez said following the Virginia win, he just missed hitting a couple homers earlier in Omaha. The big fella didn’t miss in the top of the ninth inning.
Well, actually, he did. He whiffed at a 3-1 fastball that beat him middle and up in the zone. Wisely, Mississippi State tried to go right back to the pitch. The pitch missed. This fastball was middle and down, which resulted in Melendez smashing it high and deep and way out to left-center on a night when the ball wasn’t carrying at TD Ameritrade Park.
“I knew he was going to come back with it just because I laid off the slider early in the count and I was seeing it well,” responded Melendez about anticipating a fastball in the 3-2 count. “Obviously, he threw me a fastball, I swung underneath it. He obviously wanted to come back to that after a big swing and miss. But off the bat it felt pretty good. I knew it was a homer for sure.”
Perfectly, Melendez, who finished 2-for-5 with one run and four RBI, swung a quick, powerful barrel through the hitting zone and the ball jumped off the bat with that “no-doubter” pop and velocity. Immediately, he knew it, and celebrated accordingly of the batter’s box and pumped himself up as he yelled going around the bases.
“I knew when it came off his bat it was gone. He absolutely hammered that pitch. He just missed a fastball maybe just a bit higher. And I give Ivan so much credit for just being ready for that pitch and being ready to swing the bat and wanting to be in that situation,” said Pierce.
Following the two-hour and 26-minute rain delay, Pierce elected to stick with Nixon. An error and a walk with one-out brought the tying run to the plate, but Nixon preserved the win. It would be a complete stunner if Mississippi State doesn’t start Will Bednar tomorrow with a heavy dosage of Lucas Sims lurking.
As for Texas, Pierce wasn’t ready to name a starting pitcher. Tristan Stevens makes the most sense to start for Texas. Although he started Tuesday against Tennessee, he threw just 58 pitches, a season-low, and because he’s not a hard-throwing, high-effort power-pitcher, he’s better suited to bounce back quicker.
******
Saturday 1:30 a.m. update:
FINAL: Texas 8, Mississippi State 5. These two teams will meet again at 6:00 p.m. with a trip to the CWS finals on the line.
****
Saturday 12:45 a.m. update:
Game is scheduled to resume at 1:05 a.m.
*****
Friday 10:42 p.m. update
Ivan Melendez hit a ball so hard and so far the rain immediately followed. UT's designated hitter put Texas in front 8-5 with one out in the 9th inning when he smashed a three-run homer off a 3-2 fastball. MSU then made a pitching change and the tarp came out for a weather delay.
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Friday 5:50 p.m. update:
As expected, Ty Madden is on the mound for Texas tonight. Eric Kennedy moves up to the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
******
Friday 5:45 p.m. update:
NCAA announces Texas vs. Mississippi State will start at 6:55 p.m. on ESPN.
******
Friday 5:35 p.m. update:
Mississippi State announced earlier today senior LHP Houston Harding will start tonight's game vs. Texas. Harding has a 2.87 ERA across 53.1 innings with 59 strikeouts, 17 walks and a .221 batting average against. Harding started a Super Regional game against Notre Dame and gave up two earned runs over 4.0 innings; he started a Regional game and punched out 10 against Campbell across 5.0 innings with two earned runs.
The loaded MSU bullpen is rested and waiting. Still no lineup yet from Texas.
******
Friday 2:15 a.m. update:
OMAHA - The previous 64 games prepared the Longhorns (49-16) for tonight. Weather delayed the start for hours. Texas watched Virginia’s Mike Vasil, who entered the game with 7.32 ERA across his last 35.2 innings, do extremely awkward Trevor Bauer celebrations on the mound as he dominated Texas hitters for 7.0 innings. Late in the game, it felt like the momentum and confidence sided with the Cavaliers.
But all season the No. 2 overall seed Longhorns have figured out a way. They’ve never lacked belief. They never allow their frustration to boil over. Hardly ever have they lacked focus and allowed what’s happening in one area of the game to affect another. They don’t get down on themselves. Perhaps there are no better current examples than Ivan Melendez and Zach Zubia, two power hitters in the middle of the Texas lineup who entered tonight trying to shake some funks in the batter’s box.
“They're just such factors in our lineup because they're the bangers,” David Pierce stated about Melendez and Zubia. “We've got some speed guys, and they've got to be the guys that are able to get the runners in and clutch hit. Just really, hats off to both of them for continuing to put the work in and giving themselves and our team an opportunity there.”
Tonight, or I should say extremely early this morning, the Longhorns simply kept playing, kept competing, and they kept winning. Ivan Melendez broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning after Zubia’s walk and Zubia delivered the late dagger in the ninth. Texas stayed alive in the College World Series by defeating Virginia, 6-2. And there was never a single moment when they acted like they’d lose the game.
“No,” responded Pierce when asked if he ever sensed frustration from his team during the game. “We're playing in Omaha for a national championship. They're pumped. We tell them as well, we don't want it easy. It's going to be hard. We understand it. They're going to have blows. We're going to have to accept them and just keep playing.
“So, I didn't sense anything like that. And I pay attention. I just watch the bench and see the reactions. And at times they'll get frustrated right after an at-bat. They have the ability to get over it and go play defense. So, pretty special group right now.”
Melendez sparked the first run-scoring frame of the game when he led off the top of the second by pulling a 2-0 fastball hard down the line for a leadoff double. After Trey Faltine walked with one out, Douglas Hodo pulled an 0-2 breaking ball into left field to score Melendez and put Texas ahead, 1-0. Although the Longhorns, thanks to a two-out wild pitch, were able to grab a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth, their offense couldn’t figure out Vasil, who was feeling himself so much his antics on the mound increased with each scoreless frame, which had to drive the Texas dugout nuts.
Virginia tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when Chris Newell smashed a two-run homer out to right field. In the sixth inning, the Cavaliers threatened to chase Hansen from the game and take the lead. But in a game filled with unusual and at the same type spectacular defensive plays, perhaps the one Texas completed in the sixth inning was the biggest.
With one out and a runner on second, Virginia (36-27) shortstop Nic Kent, who made some incredible plays with his glove, smashed a rocket towards Hansen. Initially, it looked like it drilled the UT starting pitcher, but at the last moment, he was able to defensively react to lift his glove and block the liner, which sent it flying towards Trey Faltine. Despite the scary visual and unusual play, Faltine remained focused, fielded the ball, and immediately fired to Cam Williams at third base who was ready to slap on the tag. Pierce came out of the dugout to make a pitching change with two outs, and Cole Quintanilla kept the game tied after six complete.
Despite struggling with the bats, Texas didn’t take its offensive issues onto the field defensively. Once again, Virginia tested Silas Ardoin by attempting a steal with one out in the bottom of the seventh, and Ardoin was up for the challenge. Thanks to a fantastic snag and tag by Faltine, Ardoin gunned down another runner, his second caught stealing of the game, to ruin a potential Virginia rally. The throw and tag seemingly pumped a jolt into the entire Texas roster, and Texas would take the lead the next time it came to the plate.
“I think we're doing things right. We're doing some great things on offense. Doing some great things on defense,” Zubia stated. “And we've just got to continue to use that and just keep on focusing and just keep on with the same mentality and same approach.”
Virginia brought in stud reliever Matt Wyatt in the top of the eighth inning and Mike Antico greeted him with a one-out single. What followed was a lengthy battle between Wyatt and his aggressive pickoff throws and Antico threatening to steal second. Eventually, Antico won the battle when he picked a 1-2 pitch to run on and stole second base without a throw. Zubia kept the inning alive with a walk on a 3-2 breaking ball that missed, and before Melendez could step to the plate, Pierce called him over.
“He just came up to me and told me he wanted me to slow the game down, slow my heart rate down, and tell me how great a hitter I am before I got in the box,” said Melendez about the meeting.
Melendez, who has been swinging the bat well in Omaha and just missed a couple homers earlier in the trip, jumped on a first pitch with a shortened swing and smacked a RBI single up the middle to give his team a 3-2 lead.
Following a walk by Mitchell Daly, it appeared Faltine would put Texas ahead by at least two runs when he pulled a hard grounder deep into the hole at short. Kent did what Faltine has done to so many hitters and ranged over to make an incredible stop before throwing to third for the force out to keep UT from increasing its lead.
Kent was again up to his usual defensive sorcery in the top of the ninth inning when he upstaged his previous plays with one of the best plays you’ll ever see. Texas loaded the bases with no outs and Antico hit a liner off the third baseman’s glove. The ball rolled towards Kent who stretched, fielded, glanced toward third to notice his third baseman wasn’t back on the bag, and then threw across his body and momentum all the way to home to get the out. Cam Williams then chased a fastball to strike out and it looked like Virginia was able to escape the top of the ninth inning down just 3-2.
Zubia was overdue, though. With two outs, the veteran slugger again found himself in a 3-2 count after a 2-2 breaking pitch barely missed. He reacted to a rising fastball up and in by smashing it deep into the left-center gap. Off the bat, everyone in the park knew it would find the wall, and Zubia jogged into second after a bases-clearing, three-RBI double.
“I'm going to be the first one to say, obviously my College World Series start hasn't been the greatest,” said Zubia, his hat drenched with sweat during the postgame Zoom session. “But that's just a credit to my teammates, to my coaches just to have my back, keeping me mentally right, keep on telling me that you're going to come up in a big situation. And obviously that's what happened.”
The four-run cushion was more than enough for freshman Aaron Nixon, who previously entered in the eighth inning and pitched out of a jam by forcing Virginia to hit into a double play. Nixon threw a scoreless ninth inning and as they’ve done so often this season, the Longhorns cooly and confidently lined up, exchanged celebratory fives and handshakes, and made their way off the field to chase their title.
“We're not going away. This team is just resilient. They can be ugly at times, play unbelievable defense and pitch. Opportunistic offensively,” a proud Pierce stated about his club.
As for the matchup against Mississippi State Friday at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN, Pierce said there is a high percentage Ty Madden will be the starter, but he wasn’t ready to officially name a starter yet. During the win over Virginia, Madden jogged out to the Texas bullpen in the middle of the game, which announced he was making himself available to pitch if needed.
Hansen gave the Longhorns what they needed. He navigated a high pitch count early in the game and gave up two runs on five hits, two walks and struck out six across 5.2 innings. Although the lefty has shown better control and command, Hansen terrorized right-handed hitters with fastball command to his gloveside and backfoot sliders when ahead in the count. Credit Pierce for getting him out of the game at the right time as Virginia was starting to see the ball well off him the third time through the order.
Quintailla tossed 1.2 scoreless frames and gave up two hits with one walk. He’s been more dominant recently, but he made a huge pitch to strike out the red-hot Newell in the seventh inning. Nixon fired 1.2 scoreless innings and gave up just one hit, an infield single. I would assume both pitchers will be available Friday evening.
*******
Friday 1:00 a.m. update:
FINAL: Texas 6, Virginia 2. Longhorns eliminate Virginia and will play Mississippi State tonight - yes, tonight, but you get the point - at 6 p.m. on ESPN. Texas stays alive in the CWS and figures out a way to win. Again.
****
Thursday 8:55 p.m. update:
NCAA rep just announced in press box 9:45 p.m. is the scheduled first pitch for tonight's game.
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Thursday 8:50 p.m. update:
Continue to hear they're going to try to get this one in. They're still working on the field. right now with big air dryers.
*****
Thursday 5:42 p.m. update:
And we're already delayed.
****
Thursday 5:35 p.m. update:
Texas on the field taking in-and-out. Both teams warming up like usual. Let's hope weather cooperates for the 6 p.m. start on ESPN2.
*******
Thursday 10:05 a.m. update:
Many of y'all probably read this in yesterday's column, but wanted to add it to the thread here:
--- Looking ahead to the matchup against Virginia on Thursday (6:00 p.m. on ESPN2), I have a tough time imagining Virginia being able to recover from losing to Mississippi State the way it did last night. Virginia carried a no-hitter and 4-0 lead into the eighth inning and ended up losing 6-5. That’s demoralizing.
I would expect either right-handed reliever/rare starter Matt Wyatt or lefty Nate Savino to start against Texas. Wyatt tossed 3.0 shutout innings to close Sunday’s win against Tennessee and Savino threw an inning last night in relief. Wyatt has better stuff, and had success in the postseason in long, good outings with 5.2 innings against both DBU and South Carolina. But it’s asking a lot of him to throw deep into a game.
The Virginia lineup is very competitive and puts the ball in play at a high rate, but it’s not very threatening beyond the first four hitters.
--- As for Texas, I’d be surprised if Pete Hansen doesn’t start, especially with Cole Quintanilla and Aaron Nixon fully rested behind him. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, I felt their best path to the championship series was facing Mississippi State on Thursday and then Virginia. A fully rested and ready Mississippi State waiting Friday for Virginia or Texas is going to be a very, very tough task to beat twice. If Mississippi State played Thursday and had to use its third starter, I think the Longhorns would have sent it packing. Now, I think Texas beats Virginia but beating Mississippi State twice is too tough of an ask.
******
Tuesday 6:28 p.m. update:
OMAHA - Following a frustrating loss to open the College World Series, Ty Madden told Longhorn fans to keep believing, and so did everything about the Longhorns’ season. All year the No. 2 overall seed Longhorns (48-16) have responded and looked like a team truly capable of going to Omaha and winning games. And they proved it today at TD Ameritrade Park.
“There's no panic. Obviously striking out 21 times in a game is unacceptable. But after the game coach Pierce is like, ‘Keep your head up, we'll go to work tomorrow.’ That's exactly what we did. We had a great batting practice yesterday and got our good work in. We had a team meeting, kind of cleared our minds, put that game behind us.
“And then coming out and taking BP on the field today you could tell everybody was super focused and everybody was ready to go. That's in the past. Nobody's thinking about that game anymore.”
In an elimination game against No. 3 overall seed Tennessee (50-18), Texas was dealt some early adversity, responded with an excellent game offensively and stayed alive by winning, 8-4. On a day when its starting pitcher was unusually ineffective, Texas played fantastic defense, demoralized Tennessee with two-out hitting, and a freshman right-handed announced his future stardom on the game’s biggest stage.
Tennessee took control of the game with two runs in the top of the second inning, and the usually efficient Stevens struggled with control. His team picked him up in the bottom of the third inning in dramatic fashion. After Douglas Hodo struck out with one out and two runners in scoring position, Eric Kennedy battled deep into the count. The junior outfielder barely fouled a 3-2 pitch to stay alive. He’s talked recently about starting his swing earlier. That’s exactly what he did when he smashed a two-out, three-run homer to right field on a 95 MPH fastball.
Immediately, it appeared the Volunteers would regain the lead. Stevens struggled to miss bats because of his offspeed command and Tennessee loaded the bases with no outs. That other shade of orange in the ballpark sensed something brewing and an opportunity to not just take the lead but blow the game open. Then, Silas Ardoin made perhaps the defensive play of the season.
“Huge. Just trusting himself. I mean, the play - bases loaded, nobody out - and Cam just goosed the ball. And Silas never panicked. Looked like a shortstop on the pick,” described David Pierce. “And then throws a strike. I told him just now it's one of the best plays I've ever seen - ever - because of the situation. If that ball gets past him, they score two, with two guys - they score two and have a runner at second and third with nobody out. It could have unravelled on us. For me that was the play of the game, no doubt. And then the big two-out RBI.”
A hard grounder was smashed at Cam Williams, who was playing in. He snagged it, and fired an errant throw towards home. Like Yadier Molina behind home plate, Ardoin picked the hop with the calmness and confidence of a big leaguer before firing to first to complete the double play. A hyped, as usual, Stevens yelled encouragement at Ardoin. Zubia bounced off the first base bag emphatically as he pointed towards Williams for making the tough stop and shouted towards Ardoin. The next batter flew out and Texas, somehow, escaped bases loaded and no outs without giving up a run.
The following inning, Mike Antico did Antico-like things. He worked a leadoff walk on a 3-2 pitch, stole second, moved to third when the throw trickled into center field and scored on Cam Williams’ groundout to second base. Antico is now hitting .271/.440/.495 this season with 40 steals in 44 attempts.
Ahead 4-2, Pierce elected to stick with Stevens, one of the nation’s most efficient and consistent pitchers. But Stevens wasn’t able to turn it around. It was obvious early in the game the Texas starter didn’t have his typical control and command, especially with his changeup against left-handed hitters. Stevens didn’t complete 6.0 innings or more 12-straight times this season without battling through some lack of stuff and command. However, he needed more than competitiveness and toughness to survive Tennessee’s lineup.
A one-out walk in the top of the fourth inning was followed by a single and then a RBI single to cut the Texas lead to 4-3. Pierce came out of the dugout and made the move to Tanner Witt. Although Witt allowed an inherited runner to score and tie the game, he was about to show why his future as a college pitcher is as bright as any freshman in the country. And with the help of his middle infield friends, who combined to start a fantastic inning-ending double play, he minimized damage.
Once again, Texas responded. The bottom of the fourth inning delivered a little of everything, including a review of a play at home and Tennessee assistant coach Ross Kivett being ejected by the third-base umpire before throwing his clipboard onto the field. It also included a huge two-out knock by Ardoin.
“I think we held our composure when things were getting emotional. Our guys did a nice job of allowing that to just happen, not get caught up in it and just play the game. We worked so hard to play this game and they appreciate it. And that's what they do. They kind of sat back, allowed it to pass and then just keep playing,” said Pierce about the wild fourth inning.
With two outs and runners on first and second, Ardoin lined a 1-2 pitch into right-center field. Mitchell Daly, who walked to begin the inning, scored easily from first. As he typically does, Pierce elected to aggressively send the speedy Hodo around third and attempt to score him from first.
Tennessee’s relay throw into the plate was outstanding, but the tag was not, which led to a safe call on the field that was upheld after review. Antico followed with a single to push Ardoin into scoring position and Cam Williams put Texas ahead 7-4 with a RBI single into left field.
Appropriately, Tanner Witt’s Twitter handle is @wittnesstwitty because we were all witnesses today. The freshman threw a career-high 5.2 innings and 78 pitches out of the bullpen and gave up just three hits. That’s it.
“I live for this moment. This is the moment I've always dreamed [of]. I love that big stage, big atmosphere. And I feel like I only get better in those situations because that's what I live for,” Witt said after the win.
He punched out two and showed his full arsenal of pitches by mixing in an effective changeup against lefties and even showed the feel for sinking his fastball to his arm-side against lefties too. Witt moved his fastball up-and-down the strike zone and although he’s shown better consistency with his hook, he snapped off a few taken very uncomfortably for strikes. Why does Texas “waste time” getting commitments from players projected to be first-round picks? Because there’s the chance one of them shows up. Witt showed up. And he’s already a program-changer.
Texas tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning when Kennedy did Kennedy-like things. He singled with one out, stole second, stole third when the catcher tried to throw behind him at second base, and then scored on a wild pitch to put Texas ahead 8-4. The Texas lineup is noticeably more dynamic when Kennedy is confident and swinging the bat well. He’s doing that right now.
Aaron Nixon was getting warm in the top of the ninth inning, but Texas didn’t need him as Witt finished the game. That means the Texas pitching staff is in as good of shape as a 1-1 team’s staff could be because Nixon and Quintanilla haven’t been used yet in Omaha. Although Pierce didn’t commit to starting Pete Hansen for Thursday’s game against tonight’s Mississippi State and Virginia loser (6:00 p.m. on ESPN2), he made it sound like it would be Hansen. The lefty threw 2.0 scoreless innings and 26 pitches during Sunday’s game.
Regardless, the Longhorns proved today they’re capable of winning in Omaha and no matter who they play or who pitches, they’re going to be a tough out. The road ahead is extremely difficult, but Texas emerged from today in as good of shape as it could have hoped.
“They were frustrated. They were embarrassed,” Pierce said about the team’s response following the Mississippi State loss. “The way we got beat, if we would have lost a 2-1 game and we hit a lot of hard ground balls or line drives and they made plays, that would be one thing. But just to get embarrassed - it's a good staff and a dang good team in Mississippi State.
But I just think that their work that they put in from day one came out. And you have to be able to trust it, but then you also have to understand if we continue to stay frustrated we're not going to play well today. So there's a very mature approach by them -- not slamming anything, not pointing fingers, just understanding that it was a bad day. And we still have opportunity to play.”
*******
Tuesday 4:28 p.m. update:
Texas stayed alive in the College World Series and eliminated Tennssee with an 8-4 victory.
*****
Tuesday 11:48 a.m. update:
Texas moved around some guys in the lineup following Sunday's very rough night at the plate:
******
Tuesday 10:35 a.m. update:
At 1:00 p.m. from TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha a battle of the orange UTs will be a bracket two elimination game on ESPNU. No. 2 overall seed Texas (47-16) and No. 3 overall seed Tennessee (50-17) square off and hope to stay alive in Omaha. A few preview thoughts:
--- Tennessee will start freshman righty Blade Tidwell. Considered one of the better future MLB Draft prospects in the SEC, Tidwell doesn't lack potential. He throws a fastball in the low to mid-90's and can throw two different looking breaking balls with a changeup. Across 95.2 innings, he posted a 3.57 ERA with 87 strikeouts and a .235 batting average against.
I think there will be times when Tidwell looks truly overpowering and there will be other times when his lack of control and command give Texas opportunities to put together rallies. While his stuff will at times look good, he's not Will Bednar and I think he lacks the consistency to pitch deep into the game in dominant fashion. Texas should have some run-scoring opportunities early it needs to capitalize on.
--- Tristan Stevens will get the ball for Texas and while I like his experience and ability to throw all his pitches in any count, the Tennessee lineup is loaded. Against Virginia, Tennessee was surprisingly tight and overhwhelemed by a really, really good starting pitcher and was shutout. Sound familiar? If Stevens, as he typically does, limits the free passes, he should be able to keep his team right in the game or possibly hand a lead to his bullpen.
So far, TD Ameritrade has played smaller than usual. So, how much the ball is carrying and what the wind is doing will be a factor and could benefit a Tennessee lineup built on power if the wind is again blowing out.
--- I think this game will be determined by the first few innings. Both these teams are coming off woeful offensive performances and both arrived with legitimate national title ambitions. The team that grabs confidence early and pushes across a couple early runs could put a ton of pressure on the opposing dugout in an elimination game. With Texas' rested bullpen, expect David Pierce to be very aggressive if needed.
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Sunday 10:00 p.m. update:
OMAHA - Mississippi State (46-16) starting pitcher Will Bednar entered tonight’s game versus No. 2 overall seed Texas (47-16) with a K/9 of 13.7. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, that statistic improved and the Horns’ rallying cry of “Remember the Arlington” took on the exact opposite meaning than they hoped in a 2-1 loss to open their Omaha stay.
Bednar struck out 16 Longhorns across 6.0 innings, a truly absurd level of dominance. The future first-round pick overwhelmed Texas with his unique fastball that has good spin and very good late action up in the zone. Throughout Bednar’s outing, Longhorn hitters repeatedly couldn’t catch up and get on the right plane to Bednar’s heater. He then handed Landon Sims a 2-0 lead. Sims looked invincible during the seventh and eighth innings, but he looked fatigued in the ninth inning as his pitch count climbed. Texas responded by showing some life offensively for the first time all game.
Mike Antico jumped all over a 1-0 fastball and smashed a solo homer way out to right-center field. Ivan Melendez kept the game alive by lining the 11th pitch of the at-bat into left field for a single and Cam Williams followed by shortening his swing on 0-2, after two walk-off hacks, to line a single into center field. But Douglas Hodo, who looked unusually shaky, grounded out after using a defensive swing on a 2-0 pitch.
Ty Madden deserved better. On the sport’s biggest stage, the right-hander delivered one of his best starts of his Texas career. He gave up just two runs across 7.0 innings on four hits, two walks and he struck out 10. Early, Madden showed some of his best fastball command of the season and worked the pitch to both sides of the plate effectively, which allowed his at times dominant slider to rack up swings and misses.
“I knew from the start, felt good in my legs and changeup was really working,” responded Madden when asked how he felt and when he knew he’d have a really good outing. “And I think that's kind of the most I've thrown it this year. And people haven't really been able to see it, and this was a more dominant left-handed lineup that I haven't really faced too much. So, I think it was the most I've used my changeup all year. But from the get-go, I felt pretty solid. And the slider I knew after the first pitch I threw in the game that it had great depth. Especially with that shadow early it was going to be tough to see that spinner.”
Just as importantly, Madden used a first-pitch changeup often to lefties and had success with the pitch he typically doesn’t feature a ton. In what was perhaps his last start at Texas, Madden showed his full arsenal and deserved to end today’s game the winner. In fact, a good argument can be made Hodo could have caught a two-out fly ball down the right field line, which resulted in a run-scoring triple in the top of the fourth inning. That was the only inning Mississippi State scored a run.
“I still believe in this team. And I think everybody here does. We're not done yet,” said Madden before adding what his message to the fans would be. “Just keep believing in us. We've done it all year. We've won in multiple ways. And, like I said, this team's not done and we're going to keep rolling. I still have faith in us. And y’all should as well.”
The Longhorns will have a day to regroup after setting a College World Series record for strikeouts in a game with 21. There conference steadily declined with each inning against Bednar and didn't return until desperation kicked again against a tired Sims. No. 3 overall seed Tennessee is waiting as the opponent for Tuesday’s bracket two elimination game at 1:00 p.m. on ESPNU.
“We'll continue to challenge them. We're not going to back off and feel sorry for them. And they're not going to feel sorry for themselves. So, it's kind of what we do. We're going to go out. We're going to talk about the results, what happened, and how we're going to approach it. We can feel sorry for ourselves or we can get to work,” said David Pierce. “And I know that's what they're going to do is they're going to put the work in. They've got a lot of pride. They're young, most of them. But they're tough as nails. And they've got a lot of pride. But still Tuesday, there's no guarantees in this game. So it's our job to just get ready to play, get back here and compete.”
Pierce confirmed after the game Tristan Stevens will start Tuesday. Pete Hansen finished the game on the mound for Texas and looked sharp with 2.0 scoreless frames. Pierce, who rarely addresses the team immediately after games, was seen immediately talking to his group on the field after tonight’s game ended.
“I know how emotional the game was. I understand that they're frustrated and feel like they let their teammates down. But my biggest message is that these guys have been together from day one,” he said. “And 27 guys on the field just fighting every single day together, having fun together, listening to their coaches, working hard. So my message is, you know, we'll continue to go to battle with guys that are preparing right. And we've just got to get better tomorrow and that's the game plan. Just don't listen to the noise. We know what happened. Don't listen to the distractions of what happened in the box and it will be tough enough to get over it.”
******
Sunday 5:05 p.m. update:
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Sunday 12:05 p.m. update:
If I kept an Omaha blog for my duration at college baseball’s mecca, the second entry would probably be titled, “The Trip from Hell.” About two hours into the drive, a random piece of metal pierced my tire. The great thing about run flat tires is they don’t get flat. The bad thing about run flat tires is not many places carry them. At least the car dealership I had to drive 50 miles to had the Germany versus Portugal Euro game on a big screen with some free snacks.
Just wait. It gets worse.
After being put a couple hours behind schedule, halfway into the trip my left foot/ankle began to really hurt. It was swollen. I played basketball for a while on Wednesday and experienced some general soreness. Didn’t think much of it. Wasn’t that bad Thursday, was annoying Friday and kind of the same Saturday… until I was in Kansas. That’s when I learned I had something wrong. I don’t know what. Hopefully, I’ll find out at my urgent care appointment soon. As I type this from my airbnb, my trusty ice pack is wrapped around my ankle and foot. I tried beer. It didn’t work. Oh, Happy Father's Day!
But enough about my Clark Griswold-like trip. The Longhorns play baseball tonight at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. Assuming I can hobble/crutch my way to the press box, I’ll be there. No. 2 overall seed Texas (47-15) faces No. 7 overall seed Mississippi State (45-16) tonight at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN2. On the mound for Texas will be Ty Madden and Mississippi State will send right Will Bednar to the mound, another projected first-round pick.
For Madden, the most important element will be to remain in attack mode and controlling Mississippi State’s lefties. SEC Player of the Year Tanner Allen and team leader Rowdey Jordan will both face Madden from the left side at the top of the Bulldog order. If Madden can keep those two players in check, he should be able to navigate MSU’s lineup effectively; if he can’t, it could be a long day.
As for Bednar, he’ll take the mound with a 3.53 ERA and 113 strikeouts across 74.0 innings. As the numbers suggest, he can rack up the swings and misses, most notably with his slider. Texas will need to stay ahead in counts when it can and see the slider up to avoid chasing it in two-strike counts. Bednar’s control can escape him at times.
Considering this is the first game in Omaha for both teams, I’m expecting some aggressive bullpen usage because both teams won’t play again until Tuesday and then if they keep playing, they’ll play Thursday or Friday. Unfortunately for Texas, that probably means seeing Landon Sims at some point, but the Texas bullpen can match the firepower of MSU’s bullpen.
Last time Texas was in Omaha, it took almost a game and a half for it to settle in. The Longhorns have done an excellent job all season of remaining steady and treating each game the same. We’ll see if that trend continues tonight.
*****
Good morning. The College World Series will begin later this afternoon at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha when Stanford and NC State begin college baseball’s signature event at 1:00 p.m. The Longhorns, like all teams, arrived early to Omaha because of COVID-19 protocols. They also arrived with a different outlook compared to their last trip in 2018.
I’ve written about this before and actually discussed it earlier this week on a recent edition of the Extra Bases podcast. That said, this is the first time I’ve heard David Pierce candidly speak about the difference between taking the 2018 Longhorns to Omaha and this group.
“I think it's a lot different, honestly. From the staff to the team. I've been Omaha… this will be my sixth time and my first time as a head coach was here in ‘18. And I think then it was somewhat of a relief that, ‘Alright, we have an opportunity to do what Texas does. We're going to Omaha.’ It was only year two, but that relief of knowing that we've accomplished what Texas does and that's getting to Omaha. Now, we have an opportunity to play for a national championship. And I think that team really overachieved in ‘18. I thought the pieces fell into place. We had a tremendous year by Kody (Clemens). We had a tremendous year by David (Hamilton). We pieced the pitching together. They did well.”
I appreciate the honesty because I couldn’t agree more. The 2018 Longhorns overachieved and it was immediately apparent in Omaha. Once they settled in the second game, they began to play a little better. However, Texas simply didn’t have the roster, the experience or the mental makeup to beat the nation’s best on the game’s biggest stage. There was a feeling that Texas winning a Super Regional and punching its Omaha ticket was the moment of the season.
The Longhorns arrived in Omaha this year with more talent, better pitching, more experience, and a different mental makeup. When Texas won the Austin Regional and Super Regional, it felt like a really, really good baseball team destined to compete for a title simply checking another important box.
“But I mean, it wasn't what our pitching is now. And I think when you go to Omaha and you feel confident because your starting pitching gives you an opportunity, it's a different feeling. And so I think going in there this year, there's never been any thought of ‘Hey, we've made it to Omaha.’ The only thought that we've had is, ‘It's the next step. We're going to Omaha to win this thing.’ Now, whether we're good enough and the pieces fall into place, you got to have a little luck. You got to stay healthy. It's just got to work out. You got to calm your nerves.
“But there is definitely a different feeling with this team going into this ‘21 national championship run, and you can look at so many players on our team that have not had postseason experience. But they've had Team USA experience. They've had Area Codes experience. And I don't view him as a freshman anymore after the number of at-bats and the type of play that they presented all year. There's seven other teams that probably feel the same way maybe. Maybe there's two out of the eight teams kind of probably are in that category that we were in in ‘18 have a we're happy we're going Omaha and I think there's six other teams that are sitting in there going, ‘We're going in there to win it with a lot of confidence since. Don't ask me which six of the eight. I just feel like that's kind of what probably happens, you know.”
Some more notes....
--- This year’s Omaha group doesn’t lack offense, but many teams are led by their power in the lineup. Texas’ offense fits TD Ameritrade well, assuming the field and wind play like usual, because of its ability to score runs in a variety of ways.
“I think we've just all noticed the difference from Rosenblatt to Ameritrade, and it's definitely a different game. I think it helps us because we have the ability to score and in other ways than the longball,” said Pierce. “We've had some success with the longball, but we've also hit more doubles than we’ve hit in previous years. We have the ability to do some things in the short game when we need to.”
The one weakness for Texas offensively: it can swing and miss. A lot. Pierce knows that, and it’s what the Mississippi State pitching staff does best.
“So, I think the key for us… we've got to be good against the team that strikes out a lot of people,” said Pierce. “When you look at Mississippi State, they have [an] unheard of number - they have struck out 744 hitters this year. To put that in perspective, we've struck out like 516, and we've got a very good pitching staff. So, they have swing and miss stuff. So, for us we've got to put some pressure on the other teams by utilizing our speed and putting the ball in play.”
--- As for Mississippi State, this was what Pierce said earlier this week about UT’s first opponent in Omaha.
“A really well-rounded team. I think they have better team speed than most SEC teams. They also have the ability to drive the ball out of the park, but they can do some things with the ball in play; first-to-third, score from second. But we actually talked about this yesterday is that we're not playing Mississippi State in our revenge game because we were 0-3 in Arlington, and they were one of the teams… that's not what we've done all year,” the Texas head coach stated. “We understand that they're a very good team.
“Our intent is to go out and totally focus on ourselves and our team and what we do well, understand the percentages, understand what they could potentially give us as a defense to our offense and try to attack those areas. And I think the same thing with our pitching and defense versus their offense. So, it's not even about that opening weekend. It's just one of eight teams here that's going to play really well and have done a great job all year. And then finished really well against a very good Notre Dame team. So, there's not a team that's coming to Omaha that’s not confident.”
--- While Pierce said, in a big picture view, Texas’ pitching plan won’t change, he did acknowledge the way the College World Series is scheduled affords teams an opportunity to be more aggressive with their pitching staff because of the breaks between games. For example, no matter what happens to Texas Sunday night it won’t play again until Tuesday. If it’s still alive after Tuesday, it then wouldn’t play until Thursday or Friday depending on its record.
“I don't think you can sit back when you have spacing in this type of tournament and not utilize your number three and one of your best guys, especially that he's left handed. He can potentially take a bigger role in game one as a lefty matchup, or even a three-inning guy if that's what the game calls for, but also be available for a game two,” said Pierce. “But if you were extended in a game on following a Ty (Madden), hypothetically, probably would be burned for Tuesday, but then would be available to start on a Thursday. So it's definitely a little different strategy as opposed to a three-game back-to-back series of Friday, Saturday, Sunday, because I'm never going to use a Sunday starter on Friday night as a reliever and then go Sunday.”
--- Barring a surprise, Ivan Melendez will remain in the cleanup spot for Texas in Omaha. Texas’ head coach backed his slugger during Friday’s press conference.
“As far as I’m concerned, he’s our cleanup hitter and he’ll be in there,” said Pierce.
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