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Longhorn baseball in good shape, but there are concerns
AUSTIN — Where in the heck did I put that panic button?
I can’t really push it if I can’t find it. And I’m not really sure I even want to look for it. In fact, there are a lot of other SEC baseball teams that should be that stressed, namely Vanderbilt and defending national champion LSU, which won’t even be in the postseason tournament. Even Texas A&M could be feeling a bit shaky after dropping back-to-back series to Auburn and Ole Miss.
But Texas? Locked in to a national top-eight seed as a regional and probably a super regional host. (That is, if the Longhorns don’t run into a middle-tier buzzsaw like UTSA.) That said, what are we to make of the series loss to an average Tennessee team that was projected as a 31st seed by D1Baseball.com?
Depends on how you look at it.
It’s never good news when Dylan Volantis loses. But we should allow him to be human and lose once in a while.
It’s anything but encouraging when Texas loses two on the road to a team projected as no higher than a No. 3 seed in a four-team NCAA Tournament regional.
And you surely don’t want to play less than solid baseball this close to the postseason. We all remember how last season went. And ended abruptly.
While it was a concern, it should only be a mild one. Let’s not forget that Texas has still won seven of its nine SEC series and has a full grip on that top-eight national seed with an impressive RPI of 4. Losing two to the Aggies on the road was no embarrassment.
And as I broke down weeks ago, those defeats by A&M could be traced to two horrific innings, including the eight-run meltdown by Luke Harrison. Plus, remember, Volantis and Sam Cozart didn’t throw a pitch in that rain-shortened series at Blue Bell Park.
But there have been some clear warning signs that all is not well. Some is well. Most is well. Just not all.
After all, Texas’ ERA in that series with the Volunteers was an unsightly 7.92, although in fairness, Tennessee’s was a bloated 7.67 as well.
But Carson Tinney followed up his 0-for-11 series against Mississippi State with a 1-for-10 showing last weekend without a single RBI. His only RBI in those two series came from being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Second baseman Ethan Mendoza is nursing a shoulder injury after diving for a ball and returned to the lineup as the designated hitter later in the series.
That’s the bad news. Now for the good.
First and foremost, we must point out that Texas remains tied with A&M for second place in the SEC standings, behind only Georgia, which clinched the league championship over the weekend by sweeping LSU. Finishing second in a league this brutal is commendable, and Texas (16-10) could sweep cellar-dweller Missouri (6-21 with a 122 RPI) this week in the final series of the year.
Second, for the most part, the Longhorns won’t see the same kind of overall elite pitching as they did in Knoxville when Volunteers ace Tegan Kuhns struck out 15 Texas batters — only LSU’s Casan Evans claimed that many punch-outs this season among SEC pitchers in a game against Oklahoma — and allowed just four hits and one walk in seven shutout innings. He’s projected as a first-round pick in this summer’s MLB draft.
Third, Texas’ offense is reawakening a bit. Casey Borba tagged two home runs, including a grand slam, in a six-RBI game in the Longhorns’ 13-6 win Sunday and had three deep flies. Temo Becerra has been lights-out for the past two series with six hits in the Mississippi State series and went 8-for-11 with six RBIs against Tennessee.
Fourth, Haiden Leffew was the pitching star for Texas with three scoreless, one-hit innings with five strikeouts. His rebound is much-needed as a situational lefty.
But to the concerns.
Ruger Riojas and Harrison have been anything but reliable down the stretch. In their past six starts, Texas has gone 2-4 behind Riojas and 3-3 with Harrison on the mound. Both are striking out a ton of people but have left too many hittable balls in the zone and have been victimized by the big inning.
Riojas has surrendered a staggering 30 hits in 25 innings, and Harrison has allowed 28 hits in 26⅓ innings. Each has given up 22 earned runs over that span, a recipe that will not ever work in the SEC.
I asked Jim Schlossnagle a week ago if he’d consider moving closer Sam Cozart back to starter as he had been during midweek games the first two months, and he said that isn’t a consideration. I still think it should be in light of Riojas’ and Harrison’s troubles. Cozart threw one inning in the series against Tennessee. Is that the best use of the second best pitching on the staff?
Texas should be able to get past a regional slate with less-than-stellar pitching, but a solid No. 2 is essential for any chance to beat a super regional opponent. In the regional, which the Longhorns will host, they can start Harrison in the opener against the fourth seed and probably win, but then have to use Volantis in the championship-clinching second game and have to rely on Riojas to close things out.
Texas has a lot of pitching depth in the bullpen, but it’s not always consistent.
Long and short of it, the Longhorns should be okay in the postseason but does have a wart or two. Kind of like every other team.
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Kirk Bohls, University of Texas Columnist |
Around the Horns
The torrid Texas softball team tore through the SEC Tournament, beating Alabama in the title game. Then it learned Sunday night that it was the No. 2 overall national seed and will host a regional at McCombs Field this week, starting Friday. Baylor, Wagner and Wisconsin will join Texas in the field, with Texas hosting Wager (22-26) at 3 p.m. Friday. The game will stream on ESPN+. Oh, and the regional winner advances to face the winner of the — wait for it — College Station Regional. … Texas’ Farah O’Keefe shot even par on the first day of the NCAA Regional at Chapel Hill, N.C., for the Longhorns, who went 1-under par. The Tar Heels lead the pack at 5-under par, four shots ahead of Texas. The top five teams advance to the national tournament.
Quote of the Week
“
If someone was considered the next Blake Gideon. I’m probably not recruiting him.
– Texas player-turned-coach Blake Gideon on recruiting at his alma mater
”
Trending up and down
Who’s hot
Texas left fielder Anthony Pack Jr. ranks first in on-base percentage (.496), second in average (.388), tied for third in hits (38), tied for fourth in 2B (10), tied for sixth in stolen bases (10), tied for eighth in walks (19) and ninth in OPS (1.078) in SEC play. Yeah, he’s pretty hot.
Who’s not
Longhorn catcher Carson Tinney has gone 1-for-21 in the past two series.
Stat of the day
Texas’ Cindy Hsu shot a bogey-free 66 with four birdies to sit in a tie for second place in the NCAA women’s golf regional at Chapel Hill, N.C., to rank one shot behind North Carolina’s Megan Streicher after one round Monday.
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📬 Texas Mailbag
Q: Does Texas need to sweep Mizzou to ensure a top-eight national seed? How much will the conference tournament matter? — Sonny in Kingwood
KB: Not at all. The Longhorns are locked into a top-eight seed because of their high RPI and second-place status in the SEC standings. The tournament should be meaningless as far as Texas is concerned.
Q: In the old days, football coaches didn’t get to work with their players from April until August. How much has that changed and where besides offensive line does Texas need the most coaching? — Dennis in Houston
KB: It's changed a huge amount. They work out all summer, but not under coaches’ supervision. Besides the offensive line, I’d say the Texas linebackers need the most coaching because Steve Sarkisian got two out of the transfer portal, Ty’Anthony Smith played a lot but was not a starter, and Will Muschamp is introducing the players to his system.
Q: Ruger Riojas seems to have slumped some in the past month as a reliable starter for UT. What do you see ahead for the Horns' rotation? — Greg in Friendswood
KB: I addressed that above. Riojas can hit 97 mph on his fastball and is a strikeout machine with 100 K's — third-most in the SEC — but has lost his groove. I’d toy with using Sam Cozart as a starter. He’s been a starter three times in mid-week games and won six games and he has a 1.66 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 43 innings, but he’d need to be stretched out again quickly to have that kind of impact in the postseason. They’d like to get freshman right-hander Michael Winter ready for a role like that, but it may be too late because he’s only had two starts and thrown just 10 innings.
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🤘 Longhorns Trivia
This week’s question: Texas is making its 26th appearance in the NCAA softball tournament. How many in a row have the Longhorns participated in?
Hit reply and let me know your guess for a chance to win.
Last week's question: Colt McCoy, who gave the commencement address on Saturday, set the NCAA record for career wins as a starting QB in 2009. How many?
Answer: McCoy won 45 games as the Longhorns' starting quarterback. His record has since been broken by Jalen Hurts, who had 51 at Alabama and Oklahoma.
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