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Final Thoughts before the start of the Texas Baseball postseason

by: Evan Vieth05/30/25
Jonah Williams
Jonah Williams (Sara Diggins-Austin American-Statesman)

It’s a pretty exciting day all around—sub-80-degree weather in late May, a centerfield wall erected in an Amish barn-raising fashion, and the sights and smells of postseason ball at the Disch.

Admittedly, I messed up a little. The credential office opens at 11:30, and these words are being written outside the home plate gate, surrounded by only the most die-hard fans who got here two hours early for some reason. At least I have the busts of Disch, Falk, Gustafson, and Garrido here to keep me company.

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While getting to the stadium two hours early—and 30 minutes before a credential is even available for pickup—was not the best choice, it’s hard not to be energetic about what today presents. It’s the first regional of the Schlossnagle era and the best seed Texas has had since 2021, a team that nearly went all the way.

Even with the coverage Inside Texas has had leading up to this regional, and even this game in particular, there are still some bits and pieces,and even some opinions,that we haven’t really covered between ITYT, Schlossnagle’s press conference, and analysis since the Field of 64 dropped this past Sunday.

Firstly, Texas’ cold streak is a concern. You usually don’t see teams rated this highly that have lost seven of their last ten conference matchups. For as much grief HCU has been given for their lowly record and RPI, they ran the table in the Southland, beating some legit teams like UTRGV, who realistically should’ve gotten into the tournament. UTSA lost just two of its final 18 regular-season conference games in the AAC. At least the Wildcats have been similarly mediocre.

A UTSA matchup could be a struggle. They’ve already played here and won, after all, and players like Mason Lytle and Robert Orloski are closer to SEC players than they are AAC. They can hit, and in the game at the Disch earlier this year,, their gloves were on fire. If the pitching staff can hold up, this is not some cakewalk matchup.

Personnel-wise, Jonah Williams has to play today. That could mean at DH, with Borba or Farmer out of the lineup and Rodriguez in the field, but this is the most manageable opponent Texas faces for the rest of the calendar year. If Texas wants to learn where he is at, there needs to be a bit of trial by fire. Let the kid play and see if they can get his bat back to where it was against Auburn.

Speaking of Auburn, that series should be the exact embodiment of what a successful regional, and potentially Super, looks like for Texas. Auburn ended up being a top-four team in the nation, yet Texas swept them. Game one was a tough pitchers’ duel that Texas came out on top of. Three runs may be all you need when Grubbs and Volantis pitch six innings. The next day, the offense woke up. Harrison and Burns both had great outings, but it was multi-hit days from Kimble Schuessler, Farmer, and Williams that made the difference. You play the postseason two wins at a time, and if that’s the formula two out of three games, this team can get to Omaha.

Heading over to pitching, though you have to have confidence in Walker after his Tennessee appearance, it may be hasty to just chalk him in for four innings of one-earned-run ball every time he starts. This is a weaker team, but you need to see it twice to believe this can be the standard rather than a one-off. Even if he can only go two innings, you gotta hope guys like Bing, Flores, Saunier, and Duplantier can get through the bulk of today’s pitches.

Though I don’t think he pitches until Game Three, doesn’t it kind of feel like this team goes as far as Ruger Riojas does? If you get an early-to-mid-season Ruger, this team has a championship-level ceiling. That gives Texas two extremely high-quality starters with a stacked bullpen. But if he’s walking batters like he did against Arkansas and Florida, how confident can you be about this starting rotation? Is there even a second starter Schloss can be confident in? Walker’s not really a starter, Bing has really only done Tuesdays, and Flores hasn’t been great as a pure starter.

Finally, for today’s game specifically, watch out for this Parker Edwards kid. He’s a strike-thrower, the team’s ace, and he’s got energy. You can’t let a kid like that cruise through your first six batters unscathed. His energy is very evident on the mound when he’s on, and that’s not something you want to see as a heavily favored team. He’s gone six or more innings in all of his last six starts. Even with 42 innings pitched in those games, he had a 3.6 ERA. Oh, and he also had three RBIs in the Southland Tournament Championship Game. This guy is a game-changer.

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A lot of random thoughts come to you when you’re recovering from sickness and have to sit slumped over outside the gates of a college baseball stadium. Texas is obviously in a great spot, but blind confidence would be foolish given how the last three series and the SEC tournament went. Thankfully, instead of speculating, we can actually watch the games now. And there’s nothing like live playoff college baseball.

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