No. 2 Texas vs No. 8 Oklahoma Preview

The Texas Longhorns suffered another brutal midweek loss on Tuesday, this time against the Houston Cougars. Still, there is no time to dwell on that game, as Oklahoma is in town just one day removed from that brutal loss, and the No. 8 ranked Sooners are going to be looking to make a statement in Austin.

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While playing a game on Thursday without a holiday on Sunday is somewhat new for Texas and its fans, it is not new for the SEC. The Longhorns will have to be ready to take the field despite limited rest, a common theme for this week. On Sunday, the Horns’ flight was delayed, resulting in an even later arrival back to Austin. After having Monday off, they then travelled by bus down to Houston. That game ended around 10:30 PM, resulting in another late arrival back in Austin for the players.

However, the quick turnaround time may be a benefit for today’s game in particular. There is less time to sit around and dwell on the loss to Houston, though any pitchers Texas used on Tuesday may need to wait to be brought in on Friday or Saturday.

Pitching Matchups

This should come as no surprise to Texas fans, but Skip Johnson has yet another elite unit of pitchers to take the mound. Both the starters and the bullpen. The semi-cold Texas bats will be facing some of the best pitching they will see all year long, adding to the challenge of getting those bats hot again. Texas will rely heavily on the starters to get some crucial innings out of the way before turning the ball over to the bullpen, which has had fans in a tizzy in recent weeks.

THURSDAY – Oklahoma RHP LJ Mercurius (1.87 ERA) vs. Texas RHP Ruger Riojas(1.93 ERA)

LJ Mercurius, the transfer out of UNLV, had been stellar prior to conference play. However, he has seen his ERA rise after facing Texas A&M and LSU in his last two outings. With a 5.23 ERA in conference play, he is not untouchable. As always, Texas will have the steady freak-like presence of Ruger Riojas on the mound, coming off an excellent outing on the road against Auburn.

FRIDAY – Oklahoma LHP Cameron Johnson (3.60 ERA) vs. Texas LHP Luke Harrison (2.37 ERA)

Cameron Johnson is in a similar boat to his Friday night starter; he pitched very well in non-conference play, but has dipped in performance in recent weeks. He has the second-highest ERA in conference play with an ERA of 12.27, while only pitching 3.2 innings. His last two outings have not been good, to put it nicely. Texas on the other hand has had two excellent outings from Luke Harrison in some much needed spots after losing the Friday night games in heartbreak fashion.

SATURDAY – Oklahoma LHP Cord Rager (4.97 ERA) vs. Texas LHP Dylan Volantis (1.35 ERA)

The freshman out of Maypearl, Texas, has been solid, but to keep with the theme of the previous two…has not pitched outstanding in conference play. His normal Sunday slot will come on a Saturday, where the Disch will likely see its highest attendance numbers on the weekend. He did pitch well enough in front of a rowdy LSU fanbase, but his youth could get the best of him in front of a packed crowd. While Dylan Volantis didn’t see his ERA get hurt against Auburn, he is coming off of a performance where he struggled with efficiency early on. He will look to bounce back against OU.

However, that is not the end of the story for Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma has had one of the best bullpens in conference play to this point, while Texas has had a bullpen that is still above average in the SEC, but has disappointed Texas fans in recent weeks.

Oklahoma has five relievers it trusst to get them out of issues and carry the team through some long relief outings. Beyond that, there are some pitchers who can get them some much-needed outs, not doing so in a flashy way but just getting the job done. Simply chasing a starter off the mound won’t be the win it usually is.

Hitting/Baserunning

The Texas bats are, for the most part, ice-cold; there’s no running from that fact. Carson Tinney, Aiden Robbins, and Ashton Larson are the only routine starters who are batting above .300 in the last 8 games. Jayden Duplantier and Casey Borba are both in the mid-high .200’s, while the rest are below a .175 batting average. The worst part is these are some of Texas’ best hitters with Anthony Pack Jr., Ethan Mendoza, Temo Becerra, and Adrian Rodriguez all falling in this group.

Texas needs the bats to heat up again.

Oklahoma has a solid but not elite offense, with multiple spots in the lineup that the Texas pitchers can attack. However, the real threat is on the bases. Skip Johnson is very much a fan of the bunting that Augie Garrido used to teach and preach, and has turned it into what they call chaOUs baseball. Texas pitchers will need to avoid walking batters, or else Carson Tinney will have an already busy weekend behind the plate get even busier. This is not a team that will be looking to hit the ball out of the park; the Sooners will look to force the issue on the bases and work guys in.

The Texas Longhorns will certainly have their hands full as they look to capture back-to-back top 10 series wins in SEC play with the Sooners in town. It won’t be easy, but there is certainly a path for Texas to get the job done. The Longhorns will likely need the bats to get hot, but will lean on the extraordinary trio of starters to win these games.