MUSINGS FROM THE DISCH
How sweep it was this weekend at the Disch. The Horns took on the Broncos of Santa Clara this past weekend, the last non-conference weekend prior to SEC play and came away with the sweep. The games weren’t blow outs, but they were not expected to be either. Santa Clara has a tough squad that pitches well and competes, especially with 2 strikes as Coach Schlossnagle pointed out twice in his post-game.
Overall, I thought it was a great matchup for the Horns as they got to see several different looks and got the chance to stretch some pitchers out, got offensive production from different guys over the course of the three games, and overall played really good defense.
When looking at the 30 game SEC conference schedule ahead, every game matters and it is not that they wouldn’t matter otherwise, but Texas must stack wins in out of conference play because let’s face it, there are going to be losses, maybe more conference losses than fans are used to seeing in the SEC. The league currently boasts the top four teams in the nation in the Top 25 polls and there are twelve (12), yes twelve SEC teams in the Top 25 out of 16 total teams.
Texas is going to get punched in the face and it could happen as soon as this weekend, but before that, the Horns will take on UT-Arlington with a chance to run their win streak to 14 games. The one thing I do have confidence in with the current coaching staff is that when they do get punched, they will be able to stand back up and take more punches. This is not a team that is going to fold, but instead will continue to trust the process and adjust as necessary to be successful.
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Teams that Impressed this weekend: Oregon, Stanford, UTRGV, UTSA, Tennessee
- Oregon continues to cruise and has looked very good so far
- Stanford went into Chapel Hill and took the opening ACC series from #4 UNC
- UTRGV – the Vaqueros followed a sweep of Lamar with a sweep of New Orleans and are now 11-2 on the season
- UTSA – ho hum, 14 game win streak now, including a win over Texas A&M in College Station last week Tuesday
- Tennessee – yes, they play in a small park. Yes, they are very talented. They are a machine right now
Teams that disappointed this weekend: Texas Tech, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Miami, Missouri
- Texas Tech is now 3-11 on the season after getting swept by Grand Canyon
- Texas A&M admittedly blew away New Mexico State in the first two games, but losing to them on a Sunday…no bueno
- North Carolina lost the ACC opening series to Stanford. Don’t get me wrong, Stanford is a solid club, but UNC has looked amazing up until this weekend
- Miami – lost the series to a gritty UConn team
- Missouri – split a series with Binghamton, losing game one and game four. Yikes
Around the Horns - Monday’s with Coach Schlossnagle
Check out the latest episode of Around the Horns as I sit down each Monday to chat with Coach Schlossnagle about a variety of topics about Texas Baseball - Around the Horns - One on One with Coach Schlossnagle
Some nice tidbits about two-sport athlete Jonah Williams from Coach Schlossnagle towards the end of the conversation
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Useless Stat(s) of the Day
- Jalin Flores has hit 13 XBH in the past 8 games and prior to Sunday, had hit 2 doubles in 4 straight games
- Ethan Mendoza has 7 multi-hit games out of the past 9
- 13-1 is the best start to a season since 2005
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Updates Rankings for Texas
- D1Baseball - #11
- Baseball America - #9
- Perfect Game - #6
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Mid-Week Preview
- Opponent: University of Texas – Arlington
- Date: Tues March 11th
- Time: 630pm
- Where: Disch-Falk Field
- TV: SEC Network+
University of Texas Longhorns host University of Texas Arlington Mavericks on Tuesday night in the final tune up before SEC conference play opens on Friday night against Mississippi State. UTA has certainly tested themselves so far this season with series against UTSA, Houston, and UL Monroe, in addition to mid-week matchups against Oklahoma State (x2) and Sam Houston.
Series History:
- First Met: 1981
- All-Time Record: 59-18 (58-17 at home)
- Last Meeting: 2024 – Texas won 11-0, a game in which the Horns homered 6 times
- UTA is picked to finish 7th out of 9 teams in the WAC
- Past weekend, UTA lost two of three to UL Monroe
Records:
Texas: 13-1 (0-0 SEC)
UTA: 4-8 (0-0 WAC)
Probable Pitching Matchups:
- Texas RHP Jason Flores (1-0, 1.35 ERA) v. RHP Joe Steeber (1-1, 6.43 ERA)
Bullpen Leaders:
- Anthony Garcia (0-0, 1 save, 3.12 ERA)
- Rhys Stevens (0-1, 3.12 ERA)
- Caden Noah (0-0, 1 save, 4.91 ERA)
- Jack Hagan (0-0, 5.68 ERA)
Offense Leaders:
- Xavier Melendez (.333 BA, .874 OPS, 6 RBI, .436 SLG%, .438 OB%)
- Tyce Armstrong (.306 BA, .836 OPS, 3 HR, 14 RBI, .490 SLG%, .346 OB%)
- Cade Dodson (.295 BA, .740 OPS, 1 RBI, .386 SLG%, .354 OB%, 3-3 SB)
Prediction:
- Texas wins
- Horns are 13-1 on the season and I am also 13-1 on the season, my lone miss being that I predicted a 2-1 weekend in Vegas
Stats Comparison
| STAT | TEXAS (13-1) | UT-Arlington (4-8) |
| Batting Avg | .310 | .262 |
| OPS | .967 | .710 |
| Doubles | 39 | 20 |
| Triples | 4 | 1 |
| Home Runs | 22 | 6 |
| RBI | 103 | 58 |
| SLG% | .547 | .359 |
| Walks | 79 | 49 |
| Strikeouts | 119 | 108 |
| OB% | .420 | .351 |
| Stolen Bases | 21-29 | 10-11 |
| ERA | 2.77 | 6.66 |
| WHIP | 1.13 | 1.70 |
| Walks Allowed | 51 | 48 |
| Strikeouts | 127 | 82 |
| B/Avg | .200 | .305 |
| HR Allowed | 5 | 11 |
| Errors | 16 | 17 |
| Fielding% | .970 | .965 |
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Weekend Predictions:
- On the weekend, I went 7-1
- On the season I am now 23-9
- Week One: 5-3
- Week Two: 6-2
- Week Three: 5-3
- Week Four: 7-1
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SEC Weekend Recap:
- Alabama – Tide went 2-1 on the weekend, losing Sunday to Presbyterian
- Arkansas – Razorbacks swept Portland
- Auburn – Tigers went 2-1 against Old Dominion, losing Saturday
- Florida – Gators swept Harvard
- Georgia – Dawgs swept Columbia
- Kentucky – Wildcats went 2-1 against Wofford, losing Saturday
- LSU – Tigers swept North Alabama
- Mississippi State – Dawgs swept Queens
- Missouri – Tigers went 2-2 against Binghamton, losing the opener and closing game
- Oklahoma – Sooners swept Sam Houston
- Ole Miss – Rebels swept Jacksonville State
- South Carolina – Gamecocks swept Morehead State
- Tennessee – Vols swept St. Bonaventure
- Texas – Horns swept Santa Clara
- Texas A&M – Aggies went 2-1 on the weekend, losing Sunday to New Mexico State
- Vanderbilt – Commodores swept Xavier
SEC Standings (based on non-conference play):
- Tennessee (16-0)
- Georgia (18-1)
- Alabama (16-1)
- Arkansas (15-1)
- LSU (15-1)
- Oklahoma (14-1)
- Ole Miss (14-1)
- Texas (13-1)
- Florida (15-2)
- Kentucky (12-2)
- South Carolina (14-3)
- Auburn (13-3)
- Vanderbilt (13-3)
- Mississippi State (11-4)
- Texas A&M (9-6)
- Missouri (8-8)
SEC RPI Rankings:
- Tennessee #4
- Ole Miss #7
- Vanderbilt #8
- Arkansas #11
- Georgia #16
- Texas #17
- South Carolina #18
- Alabama #24
- Oklahoma #25
- Auburn #32
- Florida #33
- Kentucky #51
- LSU #78
- Mississippi State #95
- Texas A&M #139
- Missouri #241
Zach’s SEC Power Rankings:
- Tennessee (+0)
- LSU (+0)
- Arkansas (+1)
- Alabama (+1)
- Florida (+2)
- Texas (+2)
- Georgia (+2)
- Vanderbilt (+5)
- Oklahoma (-6)
- Ole Miss (+0)
- Auburn (-5)
- Mississippi State (+3)
- South Carolina (+1)
- Kentucky (-3)
- Texas A&M (-3)
- Missouri (+0)
Top 25 Rankings (per D1Baseball.com)
- LSU
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Florida State
- North Carolina
- Florida
- Oregon State
- Oregon
- Clemson
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- Ole Miss
- Wake Forest
- UC Santa Barbara
- Vanderbilt
- Alabama
- Stanford
- Texas A&M
- Dallas Baptist
- Troy
- Southern Miss
- Virginia
- Coastal Carolina
- Auburn
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