Texas Baseball: A look at the four teams in the Coral Gables regional

The Longhorns’ postseason path includes Hurricanes, Black Bears, and Ragin’ Cajuns.

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Texas learned on Monday it will begin its NCAA tournament in Coral Gables, Fla. in a regional hosted by the No. 9 overall seed Miami Hurricanes. Texas was the No. 2 seed, with Louisiana as the No. 3 seed and Maine as the No. 4 seed.

“We don’t ever takes this stuff for granted,” Texas head coach David Pierce said Monday. “I’m excited for our team. You look at different routes of getting to Omaha and different routes of competing for a national championship, but there’s not one exact. I’m just proud of our team to just keep grinding it out and position themselves to have opportunities, keep competing, and playing together.

“I like our draw, really. I do because if you are sitting somewhere in the 8-9, then you’re matching up with different people who are in the similar situation you’re in. I like the opportunity we’re going to have in Miami.”

The Longhorns are set to be without three top bullpen arms in Miami. DJ Burke recently entered the transfer portal, plus Pierce said Monday that David Shaw and Heston Tole would not be available for the regional round. In addition, Tanner Carlson remains sidelined with an arm injury.

There was good news when Pierce said Tanner Witt threw a simulated game on Saturday to stay in routine after Texas’ elimination from the Big 12 Tournament. It was a 45-pitch outing that lasted 3.1 innings. Pierce he is comfortable throwing Witt for a 60-65 pitch outing.

Texas will play Louisiana on Friday, June 2 in Game 1 of the regional. First pitch is at 1 p.m. Central and the game will be aired on Longhorn Network.

Here’s a look at the four teams set for action at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

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No. 1 Miami

Record: 40-19
Conference record: 18-12 ACC (2nd in the Coastal division)
How they made the field: At-large selection
RPI: No. 12

Top hitter: Yohandy Morales – .405/.477/.680, 90 H, 53 R, 16 HR, 61 RBI, 30 BB, 51 K
Top pitcher: Andrew Walters – 4-0, 11 SV, 1.08 ERA, 27 app., 41.2 IP, 0.78 WHIP

Pierce on the Hurricanes: “Miami is a historical program that’s been there and done that. Had a few off years. Gino (DiMare) has done a great job with them.”

No. 2 Texas

Record: 38-20
Conference record: 15-9 Big 12 (T-1st)
How they made the field: At-large selection
RPI: No. 28

Top hitter: Peyton Powell – .358/.452/.588, 73 H, 49 R, 10 HR, 43 RBI, 35 BB, 33 K
Top pitcher: Lucas Gordon – 6-1, 2.55 ERA, 16 app., 15 starts, 88.1 IP, 1.12 WHIP

No. 3 Louisiana

Record: 40-22
Conference record: 18-12 Sun Belt
How they made the field: At-large selection
RPI: No. 47

Top hitter: Kyle DeBarge – .370/.449/.542, 71 H, 50 R, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 21 BB, 20 K
Top pitcher: Cooper Rawls – 10-1, 2 SV, 3.66 ERA, 25 app., 5 starts, 64.0 IP, 1.16 WHIP

Pierce on the Ragin’ Cajuns: “Matt Deggs replaced me when I left Sam Houston State and went to Tulane. Competed against his teams, I actually competed against him when he was the assistant at Louisiana. We played him in a regional at LSU. Very aggressive offense. They can hit for power, a really good running team. (They) take advantage of what you give them. They’re not afraid to lay down a drag bunt. They’re very consistent about how they label their offense.”

No. 4 Maine

Record: 32-19
Conference record: 19-5 America East (1st )
How they made the field: Won America East tournament
RPI: No. 124

Top hitter: Jeremiah Jenkins – .378/.506/.771, 71 H, 52 R, 20 HR, 75 RBI, 39 BB, 34 K
Top pitcher: Noah Lewis – 7-1, 4.41 ERA, 14 app., 13 starts, 79.2 IP, 1.24 WHIP