Texas 8 Tennessee 4: Tanner Witt headlines a complete performance to keep the Longhorns alive in Omaha
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The most tumultuous inning Longhorn reliever Tanner Witt had to work through during Texas’ 8-4 win on Tuesday was the one he entered.
Texas starter Tristan Stevens did not have his normal, first-team All-Big 12 stuff versus Tennessee. Volunteer hitters were able to lay off pitches that were missing the expansive strike zone of Jeff Macias. David Pierce called Witt in from the bullpen with one out in the fourth after Stevens lasted 58 pitches.
Witt surrendered a single to Liam Spence that scored the Vols’ second run of the inning and tied the game at 4-4. The run was charged to Stevens, but Witt needed to get out of the jam with two on to maintain the tie.
He forced Max Ferguson to ground between first and second. Mitchell Daly ranged to his left, spun, and fired to Trey Faltine for the first out before Faltine rocketed a throw to Zach Zubia at first for the inning-ending double play.
From that point on, Witt shutout the Tennessee Volunteers for 5.0 innings. He completed his career-long 5.2-inning outing with three hits and no walks to his name, striking out two of the 19 batters he faced. Texas scored three runs in the bottom half of the fourth and one more in the later innings to provide all the run support Witt needed to advance the Longhorns.
“His performance was just outstanding on the biggest stage when the team needed him more so than ever,” Texas head coach David Pierce said. “When you get to postseason baseball, guys have to step up. And he did exactly that.”
Witt, recently honored as a first-team freshman All-American by Perfect Game, quieted the game down and cruised through the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth allowing only one baserunner in those frames. The double play to end the fourth kicked off an emotional inning, as Texas roared back in the bottom half with three runs, two of them a result of an RBI single from Silas Ardoin.
With two outs and runners on first and second, Ardoin singled to right center on a tough play for Jordan Beck. Daly scored with ease from second, but Pierce aggressively sent Douglas Hodo III home to try and complete the 270-foot trip.
Hodo III barely slid under the tag to make it 6-4 despite the cutoff throw from Ferguson being on the money. A few batters later, Cam Williams singled in Ardoin for his second RBI of the game.
“I think we held our composures when things were getting emotional,” Pierce said. “Our guys did a nice job of allowing that to just happen, not get caught up in it and just play the game.”
Ardoin’s two RBI single with a 1-2 count from the nine-hole tilted the momentum of the game in the Longhorns’ favor after a chippy half-inning that saw Tennessee assistant Ross Kivett get ejected and head coach Tommy Vitello nearly join him. Ardoin’s poise, according to his teammates, was indicative of the type of player he has been for Texas all season.
“He’s been grinding all year,” Kennedy said “He’s a great catcher, the best in the country. It was awesome to see him come through with that big hit.”
Texas added one more in the seventh when Kennedy utilized his speed to get to third and then score on a wild pitch. His run followed up his three-run homer in the second that gave Texas a 3-2 lead.
Ardoin wasn’t solely a factor at the plate. His glove contributed to Texas’ complete performance by saving multiple runs in the third. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Cam Williams fielded a hard grounder to third and fired home.
Texas’ catcher was forced to scoop the ball while keeping his foot on the plate. He did so and fired to first to roll a 5-2-3 double play. It was one of several defensive plays that kept a potent Tennessee offense below its season average of 7.0 runs per game.
Pierce said he told Ardoin it was one of the best plays he’s ever seen because of the situation Texas was in.
“If that ball gets past him, they score two and have a runner at second and third with nobody out,” Pierce said. “It could have unraveled on us. For me that was the play of the game, no doubt.”
Witt ended the eighth with his career-high 56th pitch, and Pierce approached his talented 6-foot-5 righty in the dugout.
“The only thing I told him is that if you’re out of gas, (Aaron) Nixon wants the ball and he’s ready to go,” Pierce said. “And that was a fun moment because he definitely wanted the ball.”
Said Witt: “I wanted it the whole time. I felt like I only got better and better and felt better and better throughout the game. I felt my best stuff was later in my outing and that’s big. I just wanted to do whatever I could, again, just to keep my team in the game.”
Witt allowed a leadoff single before getting two flyouts and a fielder’s choice to eliminate the Vols. Texas improved to 45-0 when leading after six innings, and the No. 4 team in the country in home runs was kept inside spacious TD Ameritrade Ballpark for nine innings.
The victory advances Texas in the elimination bracket of the College World Series and earns Pierce his first victory in Omaha as a head coach. The Longhorns will face the loser of Tuesday night’s game between Mississippi State and Virginia. Pierce did not commit to a starter, but did mention he felt like he had Pete Hansen ready to go.
After an up-tight performance on Sunday where Texas struck out 21 times, the Longhorns finally played loose and looked like a team comfortable doing it.
And following a complete performance, they also did not look ready to leave Omaha after just two games.
“We’re our best when we have fun,” Witt said. “We’re a loose, young team and we like to have fun, so we’ll keep doing that.”
Cover photo courtesy of the NCAA
