Tristan Stevens reveals mindset on pitching for Texas after weather delay with Omaha on the line

Texas Longhorns pitcher Tristan Stevens is a fifth-year veteran this season, and his experience came into the spotlight during Super Regionals this weekend. Stevens pitched in all three games against East Carolina in the Greenville Super Regional, and he got the start for Texas on Sunday in the winner-take-all Game 3.

The start did not come without some hiccups for Stevens, but they all came before the game even got underway. Game 3 was scheduled for a 4 p.m. ET first pitch, but it was delayed until 5:05. More inclement weather resulted in another delay during the top of the first inning, meaning that Stevens had to try and stay warmed up during the lengthy delay before he was able to take the mound in the bottom half of the inning.

Play officially resumed in the top of the first at 10:15 p.m., and when Stevens came out for the bottom half of the frame, it was smooth sailing from there.

“Yeah, I mean it was honestly trying to find a good balance between being locked in, but not being over, like too locked in,” Stevens said. “But the staff did a really good job at helping taking care of my arm, whether it’s heating it up, moving my arm around. I didn’t need a lot to get going tonight with what was at stake. This is what I wanted, and it worked out.”

Stevens felt ‘locked in from the start’ for Texas

Texas lost the Super Regional opener to ECU on Friday, falling 13-7. Stevens pitched in that game out of the bullpen, throwing 14 pitches across 0.1 innings. He allowed three hits, one walk, and four earned runs. Stevens pitched again in the Longhorns’ 9-8 victory on Saturday, walking the only batter he faced on nine pitches. He also threw a wild pitch.

But with a trip to Omaha on the line on Sunday, Stevens wanted the ball. He got it, and it was a great moment for him that made all of his hard work worth it.

“This is exactly why I came back,” said Stevens. “I remember I texted Coach Pierce and Coach Allen saying I wanted the ball, and they gave it to me. This is exactly why I came back, to help this team get to Omaha, win a championship. Getting the opportunity to do that tonight, it made everything I’ve ever worked for all worth it. Definitely paid off.”

Ultimately, Stevens went six innings for Texas while throwing 101 pitches. He allowed five hits, three walks, one earned run, and picked up five strikeouts while improving to 7-6 on the season. He also carries a 4.89 ERA on the year and has 12 starts to go along with 25 appearances in 81 innings of work.

“I felt locked in from the start,” he said. “The big thing is we wanted to minimize their big innings. We knew if we can keep them with zero to one runs per inning, we have a good shot. This team uses their crowd and uses momentum very well to their advantage, we saw on Friday. So that was our game plan and it worked.”