Monday 7:35 p.m. update:
South Florida (31-28) scored two runs in the top of the ninth and held on to win the Gainesville Regional with a 6-4 win over South Alabama. USF is a team led by its pitching and numerous injuries to position players throughout the season forced it to move guys around and squeeze every bit of offense out of the lineup it could. It won the AAC Tournament, its first tournament title since 1995.
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Monday 1:00 a.m. update:
Fairfield (39-5) was a nice story. Tonight, it was completely overmatched by the No. 2 overall seed. The Longhorns (45-15) are champions of the Austin Regional, finishing a perfect 3-0 and outscoring opponents 33-5. Later this week, they’ll host a Super Regional. And frankly, besides some baserunning blunders, they were head-and-shoulders above every team in their regional. The Longhorns played their game, took advantage of Fairfield miscues, and looked like an Omaha contender should by blasting an inferior opponent, 12-2.
Unlike Saturday, there wasn’t much excitement Sunday night. The game’s outcome was never in question. Fairfield, after a thrilling 9-7 win against Arizona State earlier in the day, couldn’t throw strikes and it stood no chance against Pete Hansen’s slider. While other top seeds across the country struggled or are struggling, the Longhorns treated their first three NCAA postseason opponents like they were midweek competition. Tonight, Fairfield was just another opponent Texas quickly disposed of.
“Just proud. This team is unbelievable, man. I mean, I get choked up about this team because they listen. They're very coachable. They play for each other. They're unselfish. When people tell me they love our energy; when people tell me how unselfish our players. It's true. It's real. And I mean, they just keep doing it,” said David Pierce after the win.
Thin on pitching, Fairfield elected to start right-hander Jack Erback. It was his first appearance of the season coming off injury, and it ended predictably. Erback failed to make it out of the first inning and walked four batters, foreshadowing what would soon follow. Texas walked 11 times, was hit by a pitch six times, and every starter reached base. Of the 205 pitches seven Fairfield pitchers combined to throw, just 104 were strikes.
Texas, ahead 1-0 after an inning, scored four runs in the second and five in the third inning. When they were gifted walks, they took them; when they were given an opportunity to terrorize Fairfield with small ball and steal bases, they did that too; and when they got something to hit, they were ready to drive it into the gap. Douglas Hodo delivered the early dagger in the top of the third inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, he cleared the bases with a triple into right-center, putting Texas ahead 10-0.
Fairfield, thanks in part to a throwing error by Cam Williams, pushed across two runs in the bottom of the third. However, the game never once felt like Texas wouldn’t cruise to a victory. In the fifth inning, Trey Faltine smacked a two-strike hanging breaking ball through the left side of the infield for a two-RBI single. There was no chance Fairfield would erase a 12-2 deficit.
There isn’t a story bigger than Texas moving on to a Super Regional at home. However, the way Hansen’s stuff looked tonight is a closer second than many might realize. With his best fastball of the season, routinely hitting 88 and 89 MPH deep in his start, Hansen looked the closest he’s looked this season to his dominant 2020 form when his fastball sat 88-92 MPH. Earlier this season, Hansen could barely break 86 MPH with his fastball and 89 MPH never appeared.
That said, the lefty’s slider was as good as it’s ever been, routinely racking up ugly swings-and-misses. Fairfield was overmatched, but not because it was a horrible lineup. Far from it. Hansen was just completely overpowering and put his slider where he wanted to against lefties and righties. He punched out 13 across 6.2 brilliant innings, didn’t issue a walk and gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits. Physically, he threw with more intent and looked to be in excellent shape, poised for a deep postseason run.
As he left the mound with two outs in the seventh inning, Hansen was greeted by a standing ovation. He applauded as he walked towards the dugout, eventually tipping his cap and putting his Horns up before he stepped down to greet teammates. Longhorn fans started a “Pete!” chant, which brought Hansen back out to tip his cap again. The deserved recognition blew Hansen away.
“That was by far the coolest experience I've been a part of. Not even just walking off, but just seeing The Disch packed,” said Hansen about the ovation and pitching in the environment tonight. “It was it was electric yesterday, and I was very excited to see it today and pitch in it. But I think just that is by far the coolest thing I've been a part of is just seeing, you know Longhorn faithful out in numbers. It's been an exciting weekend, and I know they're gonna be back out for the Super. Can’t wait.”
Behind Hansen, Texas used Lucas Gordon, Cole Quintanilla and Aaron Nixon to finish the game. By design, Pierce wanted to get all three of those relievers some work in the regional. Quintanilla, in particular, stood out because he ended his scoreless frame with a 98 MPH fastball, the hardest I’ve ever seen him throw. As expected, Nixon showed no signs of rust following a rough ending to the Big 12 Tournament.
While the Longhorns were understandably excited after the game, they didn’t seem overly impressed with themselves; there wasn’t any wild and unusual celebration for a team that has just two players who played on the 2018 postseason team. Very much so, this team truly does appear to be on a mission. That mission will continue at home versus either No. 4 seed South Florida (2-0) or No. 3 seed South Alabama, the last two teams standing in the Gainesville Regional.
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Sunday 11:53 p.m. update:
FINAL: Texas 12, Fairfield 2. The Longhorns win the Austin Regional easily and will host the winner of the Gainesville Regional in the Austin Super Regional. South Florida (2-0) will meet South Alabama (2-1) tomorrow in Gainesville. Tonight's outcome was never in doubt.
******
Sunday 7:30 p.m. update:
Texas vs. Fairfield set to begin at 8 p.m. on LHN. Lineups:
*****
Sunday 4:33 p.m. update:
Fairfield eliminated Arizona State with a 9-7 victory. It moves on to face Texas tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. The Stags have used a lot of pitchers, including five today.
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Sunday 12:50 a.m. update:
Longhorn fans were ready for this. They didn’t simply wait a few more hours than expected because of lightning delays that impacted the loser bracket’s game earlier. No, the 6,981 in attendance, easily the biggest crowd in a long time, and probably a thousand more tailgating just outside the stadium waited years for this. They were ready. They were into every single pitch. They created one of the best and loudest UFCU Disch-Falk atmospheres ever, and they made a noticeable impact.
“They were going crazy. I think they made a difference in the game for sure,” said Zach Zubia about the home crowd. “It was awesome to see. It was awesome to be a part of. I think they were a big help. And I hope to see even more tomorrow.”
No offense to them, but they didn’t matter as much as the guy taking the hill for No. 2 overall seed Texas (44-15). They might have rattled ASU starter Justin Fall and the defense behind him, but they couldn’t throw any pitches or swing any bat. Fortunately for all those fans, Ty Madden was ready too. He set the tone, and Zach Zubia delivered the big blow with a fourth-inning swing. The Longhorns beat Arizona State 10-3 and those fans tonight could see their team punch a Super Regional ticket tomorrow.
“Like we've said all year, we're still young. We're not perfect, but we never give up and keep playing. So, that's what we did,” said David Pierce about the win tonight. “We got to clean up a couple things, but just a great night. That's a pivotal game in the regionals to win that game and go 2-0. So now, we don't take anything for granted. But same time, it's a lot more comforting knowing that we get a little rest and get ready to go with Pete tomorrow.”
The Sun Devils (33-21) did their best to gift Texas some early runs. However, the Longhorns, in a very frustrating way, squandered those opportunities. Bad defense allowed Texas to put runners on first and third with no outs in the first inning. Zubia and Ivan Melendez both struck out before Cam Williams grounded out to waste the prime opportunity.
With one out in the second inning, Trey Faltine stole second on first move and aggressively advanced to third base when the throw to second from first trickled into the outfield. Silas Ardoin walked, which put runners on the corners with one out. Dylan Campbell, again the starter in left field against the left-handed starting pitcher, is tough to turn a double play on. However, ASU erased the threat with an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Texas, with the help of nearly 7,000 friends, finally broke through with a three-run bottom of the third inning. Mike Antico, Zubia and Melendez walked to load the bases with one out. Williams was hit by a pitch to put Texas on the scoreboard, and Douglas Hodo followed with another run-scoring free pass. As Texas fans watched a bunch of pitches fail to generate strike calls, they grew louder and louder; at one point, ASU sent a group of pitchers and catchers sprinting to its bullpen during the inning, which resulted in a deafening roar from Texas fans, including those down the left field line waving them on.
Fall, struggling mightily with his control after showing no signs of any issue in the previous innings, fired a pitch into the netting behind home plate, allowing Texas to take a 3-0 lead. After a visit from his coach and trainer, Fall left the game, forcing ASU to dip into its weak and taxed bullpen very early. The Sun Devils escaped the third inning without further damage, thanks in part to poor baserunning by Williams at third base when he failed to score on a grounder up the middle. However, the man who hoisted he Big 12 title trophy was lurking in the fourth inning.
Poor baserunning at third base, this time by Dylan Campbell when he tried late to score from third on a throw into second base on a stolen base, looked like it would impact another run-scoring chance for Texas, and derailed runners on the corners with no outs. With two outs and a runner on third, Zubia found himself in a two-strike count again. This time, he jumped all over a fastball and smashed a two-run homer off the batter’s eye in dead-center. With his Horns raised, Zubia floated around the bases quicker than his usual home run trot, perhaps guided by some extra adrenaline from the sound pouring onto the field in the fourth inning.
“I got a fastball, and I was just able to put a good swing on it. And I was just pretty pumped up to have that happen,” Zubia said about his homer. “And then our offense just started really rolling right then. It was a cool moment for me. I was just happy that I could contribute to the team, especially with striking out in the first inning with runners on first and third, no outs. So, to be able to kind of bounce back and help the team out right there was a big, big thing for me.”
Ahead 5-0, the Longhorns held a commanding lead. However, Arizona State threatened to ruin UT’s fun in the top of the fifth inning when it began to put the barrel on Madden’s stuff and capitalize on poor control. Arizona State loaded the bases with one out, but Zubia made a nice defensive play to record a force out before Williams made an even better play to barely get a force out at second base. Texas took a 5-1 lead into the sixth inning and added to it in the home half of the inning.
With two outs, Williams, who finished 3-for-4 with two runs and a RBI, doubled to left field and Hodo followed with a hard single. Down in the count, Trey Faltine battled and poked a RBI single into center field. Following a walk by Silas Ardoin to load the bases, Eric Kennedy, who entered the game for Campbell once ASU started using right-handed relievers, ripped a two-RBI single up the middle to give his team an 8-1 lead.
Madden gave up just one run across 6.0 innings on three hits, four walks and he struck out seven. Although his control wasn’t as good as he’d prefer, his command wasn’t bad; typically, a lot of his late-outing misses were close to the strike zone. Tonight, Madden finished his pitches with as good of feel and conviction as he’s displayed in a while, which really showed in his slider. The breaking ball had good late action and created a lot of ugly swings and misses. Madden was up to the challenge, and when he needed to fight through some traffic on the bases, he succeeded impressively.
“Everything felt good,” said Madden about his stuff tonight. “More walks than I'd like, but wasn't missing by much, just some small changes. I thought slider had really good depth tonight and fastball had good down angle and I threw some good elevated ones as well. But I got out on my legs a little bit, but other than that I felt good. And with that crowd it's easy to have a little bit of adrenaline and have your stuff so good.”
Texas led 10-3 after eight innings following Ardoin’s two-RBI single, preceded by Faltine’s bunt. Pierce praised Faltine’s unselfishness for putting down a good bunt in the eighth inning with a five-run lead. ASU tagged Tanner Witt for a two-run homer in the seventh inning, but the freshman completed 3.0 innings with three strikeouts and no walks.
Pete Hansen will start for Texas tomorrow. The Longhorns are scheduled to play at 8:00 p.m. against the winner of the Fairfield versus Arizona State game earlier in the day. So far, Texas hasn’t needed to use relievers Cole Quintanilla and Aaron Nixon, which means the UT bullpen is as fresh as it could have hoped.
*****
Saturday 8:00 p.m.
Campbell again gets the start in LF with another lefty starter on the mound.
View attachment 1128
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Saturday 7:13 p.m. update:
First pitch between Texas and Arizona State will be at 8:10 p.m. on LHN. Fairfield just eliminated Southern to stay alive in the Austin Regional.
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Saturday 4:10 p.m.:
The Southern vs. Fairfield game is scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m and the Texas vs. Arizona State game will begin 55 minutes after the conclusion of the previous game.
*****
Friday 10:00 p.m. update:
Texas will face Arizona State tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. Arizona State enjoyed a walk-off run, 7-6, thanks to a questionable call and some shaky bullpen usage by Fairfield. Fairfield erased a 4-1 ASU lead and forced the Sun Devils to use one of their better arms, Jared Glenn, the final 2.1 innings of the game. Fairfield left 12 batters on base and while the ASU bats looked solid, the pitching looked very shaky.
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Friday 4:30 p.m. update:
Realistically, the Longhorns (43-15), the No. 2 overall seed of the NCAA Tournament, couldn’t have started the Austin Regional any better. Against No. 4 seed Southern (20-29), the Austin Regional’s host team jumped out to a big lead early, to the delight of 5,447 in attendance, and received the exact start it hoped Tristan Stevens would deliver.
The weather also cooperated, at least for a day, and UFCU Disch-Falk Field created a postseason scene and buzz missing since 2018. Texas Baseball was back to truly feeling like Texas Baseball again. The Longhorns moved into Saturday’s winner’s bracket game by beating Southern, 11-0.
“I didn't sense any kind of nervousness; just sensed the same kind of deal. And I mean, they don't know what to expect. We don't have any of them that really played in postseason,” said David Pierce about the team’s impressive all-around performance today from beginning to end. “So, for them to just go out there and just kind of go business as usual was pretty important for us today. And they did a nice job of handling that. But the energy was different. I'm telling you; the energy was definitely different. You could feel it. Just really proud of them getting that first one under the belt.”
Texas began the game with a sharp 1-2-3 inning, which included both Trey Faltine and Mitchell Daly making impressive defensive plays. Immediately, the Longhorns grabbed the lead in impressive fashion. Mike Antico walked, stole second, moved to third on an error and scored on Zach Zubia’s sacrifice fly.
Then, Ivan Melendez announced his presence, following a week to forget in Oklahoma City, by smashing a moon shot over the left field wall. The solo homer put Texas ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first and nearly hit cars in line waiting to get into the parking garage.
In Oklahoma City, Melendez’s backside collapsed too often in his swing; today, he did a better job of getting his lower half and backside back into his swing.
“It’s all about confidence and it was a pitch he handled really well and hit it a long ways. And I just think that when Ivan stays in the middle of the field, he gets better recognition of the offspeed and he's in a good spot,” said Pierce. “And if they want to try to beat him hard in, then he can handle it and stay in the middle of the field. So, I think Ivan's gonna have a great weekend or potentially be good the rest of postseason if he just stays confident and just stay with his approach.”
A rare error by Faltine on a double play ball in the second inning didn’t hurt Texas thanks to Antico and Stevens. Antico fielded the missed grounder and threw out the runner trying to advance to third with a perfect throw and Stevens struck out the next two batters. Texas blew the game open during the home half of the inning.
With the bases loaded and one out, Daly drilled a hard fly ball to deep right-center field, and it had just enough slice off the bat to avoid an outstretched glove of the diving center fielder. Daly’s double cleared the bases, and Zubia then made it 6-0 with his RBI double.
Gifted a big lead early, Stevens went to work and did what he’s done, well, all season. The right-hander completed 6.0 or more innings for the 12th-straight time this season, a remarkable feat. Early, Stevens established his fastball to his glove-side, used his slider/cutter effectively early and late in counts and showed a swing-and-miss changeup against lefties.
“I didn't notice anything different from Tristan, and you never know. That environment’s completely different… You can just feel the buzz immediately. And you just don't know how guys are going to react. And I thought he did a nice job of being Tristan Stevens and just attacking the strike zone. I think he trusts himself, and when it comes to preparation and his routines. And he knows he's put the work in," Pierce said.
Southern was pesky in the batter’s box early, but Stevens was relentless. Routinely, the veteran starter kept challenging hitters with quality command and control. Across 7.0 shutout innings, Stevens allowed just four hits, didn’t issue a walk and struck out six. He needed just 82 pitches, which likely makes him a candidate to throw later in the regional if needed.
“I think he's in a good spot for being able to help us later if we need it,” said Pierce after the game.
Texas added to its lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Silas Ardoin’s deep fly ball found the turf near the warning track in right-center field, which scored two runs. In the bottom of the eighth, Cam Williams jumped on a pitch and hit a two-run homer that nearly hit the light pole and tree beyond the left field wall, putting Texas ahead 11-0. Williams finished 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI and hit the ball hard in every plate appearance besides one.
Palmer Wenzel tossed a scoreless eighth inning, and Jared Southard did the same in the ninth inning. The only Texas starter who didn’t reach base was Dylan Campbell, who had just two plate appearances before Texas inserted Eric Kennedy in the game to face the right-handed reliever. Kennedy hammered the ball twice right at the first baseman, and swung the bat much, much better than his 0-for-2 line suggests.
Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m., Texas will play the winner of tonight’s Arizona State versus Fairfield game. Pierce said Ty Madden will start tomorrow regardless of the outcome.
******
First pitch at 1:00 p.m. on LHN:
******
Good morning. For the first time in over 700 days, college baseball will play postseason baseball. The Austin Regional begins with No. 1 seed Texas vs. No. 4 seed Southern today at 1:00 p.m. on LHN. First, a look at the Austin Regional bracket:
Welcome back, college baseball postseason. And welcome back, full capacity UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Unfortunately, we must also welcome back Longhorn-branded panchos because weather is likely going to be a pain in the you-know-what this weekend. Fingers crossed.
But hey, The Texas Longhorns are hosts of the Austin Regional and No. 2 overall seed of the tournament. Their impressive consistency rewarded them with the possibility of home postseason baseball until a trip to Omaha. What will they need to do in order to emerge victorious from their home regional? I’m glad you asked…
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TEXAS CAN DO THIS WEEKEND?
Texas needs to be Texas. Period. There haven’t been many times all season when the Longhorns have gotten away from who they are and tried to do too much. There was some of that going on in Oklahoma City, but given the circumstances, I doubt we’ll see it this weekend. When Texas does its thing, it’s able to win baseball games in multiple ways and is often the mentally tougher team when it matters most. David Pierce agrees and explained at length his reasoning:
“I think the first thing is to not look at it as we have to do anything different,” responded David Pierce when asked what tops the list of things Texas needs to do in order to be successful. “I think that's when we get in trouble when we feel like we've got to drive the run in or we've got to make the pitch. For me, the biggest thing is getting back to slowing the game down. That's when we’re our best and having that mechanism to make sure that we can just step out of the box, control the box and that if the game speeds up defensively, that we control it because we have the ball in our hand. And I think those emotions for really a young postseason team, which we are, are going to be very critical.
“I don't look at any of our young players as freshmen or COVID freshmen at this time of the year, because they have so many at-bats. But they've never played in the postseason game. We have two players that are on the active roster that have played in a postseason game, and that's DJ and Zach. And so, I don't think it'd be a factor with this team. I told the team earlier today that this offense or the position players - I wasn't with the pitchers at the time - but this group of position players are equipped to play in postseason as well as any team that I've been associated with, maybe other than our national championship team in 2003. Because there were so many returning players that played in Omaha.
“I also think that when you don't have experience, and you're not successful, you use that as the reason why you weren't successful. I'm not going to let them go there. And we're not going to go there. I think we're a very good team. But for us, we need to just go out and perform and do what we've been doing, and understand and communicate with each other of what potentially the hitting issues are, what type of things we can pick up on the field, and continue to be good communicators on the field.”
While this team, as Pierce noted, lacks postseason experience in a major way, it’s shown a consistent maturity all season, strongly suggesting it can handle postseason baseball fine.
BY THE WAY…
Guys and gals, this isn’t the first baseball regional that’s going to deal with rain. And it won’t be the last. It’s probably going to be annoying, but they’re going to figure out a way to play the entire thing. Plus, things are looking much better today than they were yesterday.
THE MOST IMPORTANT POSITION PLAYER FOR TEXAS…
I think it’s Mike Antico. At the top of the lineup, Antico has often set the tone for his team’s offense late in the season, and he’s sometimes taken over the game in different ways. He can drive the ball out of the yard, turn a single into a double, swipe a bag, take a walk and make a great play defensively. If he has a strong regional, I have a hard time seeing Texas on the losing end of any game.
THE MOST IMPORTANT PITCHER FOR TEXAS IS…
Let’s say the expected outcome occurs and Texas beats Southern. That then makes Ty Madden the most important pitcher on the roster. Assuming Madden starts the second game, because it would be a shock if he didn’t, he essentially would control his team’s regional destiny. There is such a massive advantage being 2-0 in a regional. These are the moments Madden has been waiting and building for.
THE WILDCARD OF THE REGIONAL…
How could it not be Fairfield? I don’t think anyone truly knows how good the Stags are. They finished 37-3 with one of the nation’s top RPIs but, according to ELO strength ratings, didn’t play a single team outside Q4 all season. Plus, they lost their best player, MAAC Player of the Year Mike Caruso, to an injury this week.
Teams don’t win that many games by accident, but it’s impossible to know how Fairfiled is going to respond to playing a team like Arizona State and perhaps Texas in front of 7,000+ fans.
THE SECOND-BIGGEST WILDCARD OF THE REGIONAL...
The Arizona State pitching staff has been held together by bandaids and duct tape most of the season and brings a 5.12 ERA and 1.54 WHIP into Austin. Arizona State never lacks talent, but its pitching staff was crushed by injuries before the season. Scoring runs shouldn’t be a problem for the Sun Devils, although like Texas they can run into some swing-and-miss issues. However, it’s hard to look on paper and project a pitching staff capable of winning a regional, especially if ASU loses a game. We’ll see.
PREDICTION…
On paper, I have a difficult time coming up with any other scenario than Texas winning the Austin Regional. The Longhorns have the best rotation, bullpen, and defense of the regional. And even if you want to declare the offense a ‘push’ with Arizona State, it would still clearly make the Longhorns the best, most complete team in its home regional.
If Texas uncharacteristically plays tense and not to lose instead of the way it basically played 95% of the season, then it could lose. However, I just don’t see another team capable of being as consistent and good as Texas. Even if the Longhorns lost a game, they still have enough pitching depth to climb out of a hole and their offense is capable of exploiting other teams’ lack of depth.
South Florida (31-28) scored two runs in the top of the ninth and held on to win the Gainesville Regional with a 6-4 win over South Alabama. USF is a team led by its pitching and numerous injuries to position players throughout the season forced it to move guys around and squeeze every bit of offense out of the lineup it could. It won the AAC Tournament, its first tournament title since 1995.
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Monday 1:00 a.m. update:
Fairfield (39-5) was a nice story. Tonight, it was completely overmatched by the No. 2 overall seed. The Longhorns (45-15) are champions of the Austin Regional, finishing a perfect 3-0 and outscoring opponents 33-5. Later this week, they’ll host a Super Regional. And frankly, besides some baserunning blunders, they were head-and-shoulders above every team in their regional. The Longhorns played their game, took advantage of Fairfield miscues, and looked like an Omaha contender should by blasting an inferior opponent, 12-2.
Unlike Saturday, there wasn’t much excitement Sunday night. The game’s outcome was never in question. Fairfield, after a thrilling 9-7 win against Arizona State earlier in the day, couldn’t throw strikes and it stood no chance against Pete Hansen’s slider. While other top seeds across the country struggled or are struggling, the Longhorns treated their first three NCAA postseason opponents like they were midweek competition. Tonight, Fairfield was just another opponent Texas quickly disposed of.
“Just proud. This team is unbelievable, man. I mean, I get choked up about this team because they listen. They're very coachable. They play for each other. They're unselfish. When people tell me they love our energy; when people tell me how unselfish our players. It's true. It's real. And I mean, they just keep doing it,” said David Pierce after the win.
Thin on pitching, Fairfield elected to start right-hander Jack Erback. It was his first appearance of the season coming off injury, and it ended predictably. Erback failed to make it out of the first inning and walked four batters, foreshadowing what would soon follow. Texas walked 11 times, was hit by a pitch six times, and every starter reached base. Of the 205 pitches seven Fairfield pitchers combined to throw, just 104 were strikes.
Texas, ahead 1-0 after an inning, scored four runs in the second and five in the third inning. When they were gifted walks, they took them; when they were given an opportunity to terrorize Fairfield with small ball and steal bases, they did that too; and when they got something to hit, they were ready to drive it into the gap. Douglas Hodo delivered the early dagger in the top of the third inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, he cleared the bases with a triple into right-center, putting Texas ahead 10-0.
Fairfield, thanks in part to a throwing error by Cam Williams, pushed across two runs in the bottom of the third. However, the game never once felt like Texas wouldn’t cruise to a victory. In the fifth inning, Trey Faltine smacked a two-strike hanging breaking ball through the left side of the infield for a two-RBI single. There was no chance Fairfield would erase a 12-2 deficit.
There isn’t a story bigger than Texas moving on to a Super Regional at home. However, the way Hansen’s stuff looked tonight is a closer second than many might realize. With his best fastball of the season, routinely hitting 88 and 89 MPH deep in his start, Hansen looked the closest he’s looked this season to his dominant 2020 form when his fastball sat 88-92 MPH. Earlier this season, Hansen could barely break 86 MPH with his fastball and 89 MPH never appeared.
That said, the lefty’s slider was as good as it’s ever been, routinely racking up ugly swings-and-misses. Fairfield was overmatched, but not because it was a horrible lineup. Far from it. Hansen was just completely overpowering and put his slider where he wanted to against lefties and righties. He punched out 13 across 6.2 brilliant innings, didn’t issue a walk and gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits. Physically, he threw with more intent and looked to be in excellent shape, poised for a deep postseason run.
As he left the mound with two outs in the seventh inning, Hansen was greeted by a standing ovation. He applauded as he walked towards the dugout, eventually tipping his cap and putting his Horns up before he stepped down to greet teammates. Longhorn fans started a “Pete!” chant, which brought Hansen back out to tip his cap again. The deserved recognition blew Hansen away.
“That was by far the coolest experience I've been a part of. Not even just walking off, but just seeing The Disch packed,” said Hansen about the ovation and pitching in the environment tonight. “It was it was electric yesterday, and I was very excited to see it today and pitch in it. But I think just that is by far the coolest thing I've been a part of is just seeing, you know Longhorn faithful out in numbers. It's been an exciting weekend, and I know they're gonna be back out for the Super. Can’t wait.”
Behind Hansen, Texas used Lucas Gordon, Cole Quintanilla and Aaron Nixon to finish the game. By design, Pierce wanted to get all three of those relievers some work in the regional. Quintanilla, in particular, stood out because he ended his scoreless frame with a 98 MPH fastball, the hardest I’ve ever seen him throw. As expected, Nixon showed no signs of rust following a rough ending to the Big 12 Tournament.
While the Longhorns were understandably excited after the game, they didn’t seem overly impressed with themselves; there wasn’t any wild and unusual celebration for a team that has just two players who played on the 2018 postseason team. Very much so, this team truly does appear to be on a mission. That mission will continue at home versus either No. 4 seed South Florida (2-0) or No. 3 seed South Alabama, the last two teams standing in the Gainesville Regional.
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Sunday 11:53 p.m. update:
FINAL: Texas 12, Fairfield 2. The Longhorns win the Austin Regional easily and will host the winner of the Gainesville Regional in the Austin Super Regional. South Florida (2-0) will meet South Alabama (2-1) tomorrow in Gainesville. Tonight's outcome was never in doubt.
******
Sunday 7:30 p.m. update:
Texas vs. Fairfield set to begin at 8 p.m. on LHN. Lineups:
*****
Sunday 4:33 p.m. update:
Fairfield eliminated Arizona State with a 9-7 victory. It moves on to face Texas tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. The Stags have used a lot of pitchers, including five today.
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Sunday 12:50 a.m. update:
Longhorn fans were ready for this. They didn’t simply wait a few more hours than expected because of lightning delays that impacted the loser bracket’s game earlier. No, the 6,981 in attendance, easily the biggest crowd in a long time, and probably a thousand more tailgating just outside the stadium waited years for this. They were ready. They were into every single pitch. They created one of the best and loudest UFCU Disch-Falk atmospheres ever, and they made a noticeable impact.
“They were going crazy. I think they made a difference in the game for sure,” said Zach Zubia about the home crowd. “It was awesome to see. It was awesome to be a part of. I think they were a big help. And I hope to see even more tomorrow.”
No offense to them, but they didn’t matter as much as the guy taking the hill for No. 2 overall seed Texas (44-15). They might have rattled ASU starter Justin Fall and the defense behind him, but they couldn’t throw any pitches or swing any bat. Fortunately for all those fans, Ty Madden was ready too. He set the tone, and Zach Zubia delivered the big blow with a fourth-inning swing. The Longhorns beat Arizona State 10-3 and those fans tonight could see their team punch a Super Regional ticket tomorrow.
“Like we've said all year, we're still young. We're not perfect, but we never give up and keep playing. So, that's what we did,” said David Pierce about the win tonight. “We got to clean up a couple things, but just a great night. That's a pivotal game in the regionals to win that game and go 2-0. So now, we don't take anything for granted. But same time, it's a lot more comforting knowing that we get a little rest and get ready to go with Pete tomorrow.”
The Sun Devils (33-21) did their best to gift Texas some early runs. However, the Longhorns, in a very frustrating way, squandered those opportunities. Bad defense allowed Texas to put runners on first and third with no outs in the first inning. Zubia and Ivan Melendez both struck out before Cam Williams grounded out to waste the prime opportunity.
With one out in the second inning, Trey Faltine stole second on first move and aggressively advanced to third base when the throw to second from first trickled into the outfield. Silas Ardoin walked, which put runners on the corners with one out. Dylan Campbell, again the starter in left field against the left-handed starting pitcher, is tough to turn a double play on. However, ASU erased the threat with an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Texas, with the help of nearly 7,000 friends, finally broke through with a three-run bottom of the third inning. Mike Antico, Zubia and Melendez walked to load the bases with one out. Williams was hit by a pitch to put Texas on the scoreboard, and Douglas Hodo followed with another run-scoring free pass. As Texas fans watched a bunch of pitches fail to generate strike calls, they grew louder and louder; at one point, ASU sent a group of pitchers and catchers sprinting to its bullpen during the inning, which resulted in a deafening roar from Texas fans, including those down the left field line waving them on.
Fall, struggling mightily with his control after showing no signs of any issue in the previous innings, fired a pitch into the netting behind home plate, allowing Texas to take a 3-0 lead. After a visit from his coach and trainer, Fall left the game, forcing ASU to dip into its weak and taxed bullpen very early. The Sun Devils escaped the third inning without further damage, thanks in part to poor baserunning by Williams at third base when he failed to score on a grounder up the middle. However, the man who hoisted he Big 12 title trophy was lurking in the fourth inning.
Poor baserunning at third base, this time by Dylan Campbell when he tried late to score from third on a throw into second base on a stolen base, looked like it would impact another run-scoring chance for Texas, and derailed runners on the corners with no outs. With two outs and a runner on third, Zubia found himself in a two-strike count again. This time, he jumped all over a fastball and smashed a two-run homer off the batter’s eye in dead-center. With his Horns raised, Zubia floated around the bases quicker than his usual home run trot, perhaps guided by some extra adrenaline from the sound pouring onto the field in the fourth inning.
“I got a fastball, and I was just able to put a good swing on it. And I was just pretty pumped up to have that happen,” Zubia said about his homer. “And then our offense just started really rolling right then. It was a cool moment for me. I was just happy that I could contribute to the team, especially with striking out in the first inning with runners on first and third, no outs. So, to be able to kind of bounce back and help the team out right there was a big, big thing for me.”
Ahead 5-0, the Longhorns held a commanding lead. However, Arizona State threatened to ruin UT’s fun in the top of the fifth inning when it began to put the barrel on Madden’s stuff and capitalize on poor control. Arizona State loaded the bases with one out, but Zubia made a nice defensive play to record a force out before Williams made an even better play to barely get a force out at second base. Texas took a 5-1 lead into the sixth inning and added to it in the home half of the inning.
With two outs, Williams, who finished 3-for-4 with two runs and a RBI, doubled to left field and Hodo followed with a hard single. Down in the count, Trey Faltine battled and poked a RBI single into center field. Following a walk by Silas Ardoin to load the bases, Eric Kennedy, who entered the game for Campbell once ASU started using right-handed relievers, ripped a two-RBI single up the middle to give his team an 8-1 lead.
Madden gave up just one run across 6.0 innings on three hits, four walks and he struck out seven. Although his control wasn’t as good as he’d prefer, his command wasn’t bad; typically, a lot of his late-outing misses were close to the strike zone. Tonight, Madden finished his pitches with as good of feel and conviction as he’s displayed in a while, which really showed in his slider. The breaking ball had good late action and created a lot of ugly swings and misses. Madden was up to the challenge, and when he needed to fight through some traffic on the bases, he succeeded impressively.
“Everything felt good,” said Madden about his stuff tonight. “More walks than I'd like, but wasn't missing by much, just some small changes. I thought slider had really good depth tonight and fastball had good down angle and I threw some good elevated ones as well. But I got out on my legs a little bit, but other than that I felt good. And with that crowd it's easy to have a little bit of adrenaline and have your stuff so good.”
Texas led 10-3 after eight innings following Ardoin’s two-RBI single, preceded by Faltine’s bunt. Pierce praised Faltine’s unselfishness for putting down a good bunt in the eighth inning with a five-run lead. ASU tagged Tanner Witt for a two-run homer in the seventh inning, but the freshman completed 3.0 innings with three strikeouts and no walks.
Pete Hansen will start for Texas tomorrow. The Longhorns are scheduled to play at 8:00 p.m. against the winner of the Fairfield versus Arizona State game earlier in the day. So far, Texas hasn’t needed to use relievers Cole Quintanilla and Aaron Nixon, which means the UT bullpen is as fresh as it could have hoped.
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Saturday 8:00 p.m.
Campbell again gets the start in LF with another lefty starter on the mound.
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Saturday 7:13 p.m. update:
First pitch between Texas and Arizona State will be at 8:10 p.m. on LHN. Fairfield just eliminated Southern to stay alive in the Austin Regional.
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Saturday 4:10 p.m.:
The Southern vs. Fairfield game is scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m and the Texas vs. Arizona State game will begin 55 minutes after the conclusion of the previous game.
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Friday 10:00 p.m. update:
Texas will face Arizona State tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. Arizona State enjoyed a walk-off run, 7-6, thanks to a questionable call and some shaky bullpen usage by Fairfield. Fairfield erased a 4-1 ASU lead and forced the Sun Devils to use one of their better arms, Jared Glenn, the final 2.1 innings of the game. Fairfield left 12 batters on base and while the ASU bats looked solid, the pitching looked very shaky.
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Friday 4:30 p.m. update:
Realistically, the Longhorns (43-15), the No. 2 overall seed of the NCAA Tournament, couldn’t have started the Austin Regional any better. Against No. 4 seed Southern (20-29), the Austin Regional’s host team jumped out to a big lead early, to the delight of 5,447 in attendance, and received the exact start it hoped Tristan Stevens would deliver.
The weather also cooperated, at least for a day, and UFCU Disch-Falk Field created a postseason scene and buzz missing since 2018. Texas Baseball was back to truly feeling like Texas Baseball again. The Longhorns moved into Saturday’s winner’s bracket game by beating Southern, 11-0.
“I didn't sense any kind of nervousness; just sensed the same kind of deal. And I mean, they don't know what to expect. We don't have any of them that really played in postseason,” said David Pierce about the team’s impressive all-around performance today from beginning to end. “So, for them to just go out there and just kind of go business as usual was pretty important for us today. And they did a nice job of handling that. But the energy was different. I'm telling you; the energy was definitely different. You could feel it. Just really proud of them getting that first one under the belt.”
Texas began the game with a sharp 1-2-3 inning, which included both Trey Faltine and Mitchell Daly making impressive defensive plays. Immediately, the Longhorns grabbed the lead in impressive fashion. Mike Antico walked, stole second, moved to third on an error and scored on Zach Zubia’s sacrifice fly.
Then, Ivan Melendez announced his presence, following a week to forget in Oklahoma City, by smashing a moon shot over the left field wall. The solo homer put Texas ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first and nearly hit cars in line waiting to get into the parking garage.
In Oklahoma City, Melendez’s backside collapsed too often in his swing; today, he did a better job of getting his lower half and backside back into his swing.
“It’s all about confidence and it was a pitch he handled really well and hit it a long ways. And I just think that when Ivan stays in the middle of the field, he gets better recognition of the offspeed and he's in a good spot,” said Pierce. “And if they want to try to beat him hard in, then he can handle it and stay in the middle of the field. So, I think Ivan's gonna have a great weekend or potentially be good the rest of postseason if he just stays confident and just stay with his approach.”
A rare error by Faltine on a double play ball in the second inning didn’t hurt Texas thanks to Antico and Stevens. Antico fielded the missed grounder and threw out the runner trying to advance to third with a perfect throw and Stevens struck out the next two batters. Texas blew the game open during the home half of the inning.
With the bases loaded and one out, Daly drilled a hard fly ball to deep right-center field, and it had just enough slice off the bat to avoid an outstretched glove of the diving center fielder. Daly’s double cleared the bases, and Zubia then made it 6-0 with his RBI double.
Gifted a big lead early, Stevens went to work and did what he’s done, well, all season. The right-hander completed 6.0 or more innings for the 12th-straight time this season, a remarkable feat. Early, Stevens established his fastball to his glove-side, used his slider/cutter effectively early and late in counts and showed a swing-and-miss changeup against lefties.
“I didn't notice anything different from Tristan, and you never know. That environment’s completely different… You can just feel the buzz immediately. And you just don't know how guys are going to react. And I thought he did a nice job of being Tristan Stevens and just attacking the strike zone. I think he trusts himself, and when it comes to preparation and his routines. And he knows he's put the work in," Pierce said.
Southern was pesky in the batter’s box early, but Stevens was relentless. Routinely, the veteran starter kept challenging hitters with quality command and control. Across 7.0 shutout innings, Stevens allowed just four hits, didn’t issue a walk and struck out six. He needed just 82 pitches, which likely makes him a candidate to throw later in the regional if needed.
“I think he's in a good spot for being able to help us later if we need it,” said Pierce after the game.
Texas added to its lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Silas Ardoin’s deep fly ball found the turf near the warning track in right-center field, which scored two runs. In the bottom of the eighth, Cam Williams jumped on a pitch and hit a two-run homer that nearly hit the light pole and tree beyond the left field wall, putting Texas ahead 11-0. Williams finished 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI and hit the ball hard in every plate appearance besides one.
Palmer Wenzel tossed a scoreless eighth inning, and Jared Southard did the same in the ninth inning. The only Texas starter who didn’t reach base was Dylan Campbell, who had just two plate appearances before Texas inserted Eric Kennedy in the game to face the right-handed reliever. Kennedy hammered the ball twice right at the first baseman, and swung the bat much, much better than his 0-for-2 line suggests.
Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m., Texas will play the winner of tonight’s Arizona State versus Fairfield game. Pierce said Ty Madden will start tomorrow regardless of the outcome.
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First pitch at 1:00 p.m. on LHN:
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Good morning. For the first time in over 700 days, college baseball will play postseason baseball. The Austin Regional begins with No. 1 seed Texas vs. No. 4 seed Southern today at 1:00 p.m. on LHN. First, a look at the Austin Regional bracket:
Welcome back, college baseball postseason. And welcome back, full capacity UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Unfortunately, we must also welcome back Longhorn-branded panchos because weather is likely going to be a pain in the you-know-what this weekend. Fingers crossed.
But hey, The Texas Longhorns are hosts of the Austin Regional and No. 2 overall seed of the tournament. Their impressive consistency rewarded them with the possibility of home postseason baseball until a trip to Omaha. What will they need to do in order to emerge victorious from their home regional? I’m glad you asked…
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TEXAS CAN DO THIS WEEKEND?
Texas needs to be Texas. Period. There haven’t been many times all season when the Longhorns have gotten away from who they are and tried to do too much. There was some of that going on in Oklahoma City, but given the circumstances, I doubt we’ll see it this weekend. When Texas does its thing, it’s able to win baseball games in multiple ways and is often the mentally tougher team when it matters most. David Pierce agrees and explained at length his reasoning:
“I think the first thing is to not look at it as we have to do anything different,” responded David Pierce when asked what tops the list of things Texas needs to do in order to be successful. “I think that's when we get in trouble when we feel like we've got to drive the run in or we've got to make the pitch. For me, the biggest thing is getting back to slowing the game down. That's when we’re our best and having that mechanism to make sure that we can just step out of the box, control the box and that if the game speeds up defensively, that we control it because we have the ball in our hand. And I think those emotions for really a young postseason team, which we are, are going to be very critical.
“I don't look at any of our young players as freshmen or COVID freshmen at this time of the year, because they have so many at-bats. But they've never played in the postseason game. We have two players that are on the active roster that have played in a postseason game, and that's DJ and Zach. And so, I don't think it'd be a factor with this team. I told the team earlier today that this offense or the position players - I wasn't with the pitchers at the time - but this group of position players are equipped to play in postseason as well as any team that I've been associated with, maybe other than our national championship team in 2003. Because there were so many returning players that played in Omaha.
“I also think that when you don't have experience, and you're not successful, you use that as the reason why you weren't successful. I'm not going to let them go there. And we're not going to go there. I think we're a very good team. But for us, we need to just go out and perform and do what we've been doing, and understand and communicate with each other of what potentially the hitting issues are, what type of things we can pick up on the field, and continue to be good communicators on the field.”
While this team, as Pierce noted, lacks postseason experience in a major way, it’s shown a consistent maturity all season, strongly suggesting it can handle postseason baseball fine.
BY THE WAY…
Guys and gals, this isn’t the first baseball regional that’s going to deal with rain. And it won’t be the last. It’s probably going to be annoying, but they’re going to figure out a way to play the entire thing. Plus, things are looking much better today than they were yesterday.
THE MOST IMPORTANT POSITION PLAYER FOR TEXAS…
I think it’s Mike Antico. At the top of the lineup, Antico has often set the tone for his team’s offense late in the season, and he’s sometimes taken over the game in different ways. He can drive the ball out of the yard, turn a single into a double, swipe a bag, take a walk and make a great play defensively. If he has a strong regional, I have a hard time seeing Texas on the losing end of any game.
THE MOST IMPORTANT PITCHER FOR TEXAS IS…
Let’s say the expected outcome occurs and Texas beats Southern. That then makes Ty Madden the most important pitcher on the roster. Assuming Madden starts the second game, because it would be a shock if he didn’t, he essentially would control his team’s regional destiny. There is such a massive advantage being 2-0 in a regional. These are the moments Madden has been waiting and building for.
THE WILDCARD OF THE REGIONAL…
How could it not be Fairfield? I don’t think anyone truly knows how good the Stags are. They finished 37-3 with one of the nation’s top RPIs but, according to ELO strength ratings, didn’t play a single team outside Q4 all season. Plus, they lost their best player, MAAC Player of the Year Mike Caruso, to an injury this week.
Teams don’t win that many games by accident, but it’s impossible to know how Fairfiled is going to respond to playing a team like Arizona State and perhaps Texas in front of 7,000+ fans.
THE SECOND-BIGGEST WILDCARD OF THE REGIONAL...
The Arizona State pitching staff has been held together by bandaids and duct tape most of the season and brings a 5.12 ERA and 1.54 WHIP into Austin. Arizona State never lacks talent, but its pitching staff was crushed by injuries before the season. Scoring runs shouldn’t be a problem for the Sun Devils, although like Texas they can run into some swing-and-miss issues. However, it’s hard to look on paper and project a pitching staff capable of winning a regional, especially if ASU loses a game. We’ll see.
PREDICTION…
On paper, I have a difficult time coming up with any other scenario than Texas winning the Austin Regional. The Longhorns have the best rotation, bullpen, and defense of the regional. And even if you want to declare the offense a ‘push’ with Arizona State, it would still clearly make the Longhorns the best, most complete team in its home regional.
If Texas uncharacteristically plays tense and not to lose instead of the way it basically played 95% of the season, then it could lose. However, I just don’t see another team capable of being as consistent and good as Texas. Even if the Longhorns lost a game, they still have enough pitching depth to climb out of a hole and their offense is capable of exploiting other teams’ lack of depth.
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