Texas' season ends at the hands of Texas A&M in the College World Series

OMAHA, Neb. — The club that Texas head coach David Pierce put together for 2022 season was carried by a historic offense, season-saving starting pitching contributions from Lucas Gordon, and top flight defense. There were issues with the team, consistency in the bullpen the most glaring, but the bats and the fielding were often enough to make up for it.

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When Texas’ offense, fielding, and Gordon are unable to match their previous excellence, it makes the chances of a win remarkably slim for Texas. That’s what happened Sunday afternoon in the College World Series, when Longhorn bats were 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, the defense committed two errors, and Gordon lasted just 1.2 innings.

Those are already tough pills to swallow. But against heated rival Texas A&M in a College World Series elimination game? The Longhorns’ 10-2 loss to the Aggies served as a bitter end to the 2022 campaign.

“Well, honestly, I’m a little numb right now,” Pierce said. “A lot of emotions. A lot of thoughts. It’s not even about today’s game; it’s much more about ending this season with an incredible group of young men that gave their heart and souls to our entire program, to each other, to coaches, to support staff. Very reciprocated by the coaches and support staff. The Aggies were better than us today.”

Texas scored one run in the first and another in the second thanks to run-scoring hits from Austin Todd and Douglas Hodo III. Gordon entered the bottom of the second with a 2-0 lead that seemed likely to be built upon.

But as has happened so often with the Longhorns this year, they were unable to handle a surge by the opposing offense.

“I thought we had momentum early in the game,” Pierce said. “We grabbed one in the first, one in the second. Overcoming big innings has been the story of the last three months, and that popped us today.”

The Aggies scored four runs in the bottom of the second and chased Gordon after 1.2 innings. Run one came as the result of a Brett Minnich double. Run two was the result of a Jordan Thompson single. Runs three and four were plated after Trevor Werner singled to left.

Every one of those at bats featured a count with at least two strikes. Werner’s single was on the 11th pitch of his at bat, the final of Gordon’s day.

“Didn’t put ’em away,” Gordon said.

The Aggies scored at least one run in every inning save the first and sixth against Gordon and the inconsistent Texas staff. The defense had its faults, too. In the third, Skyler Messinger committed an error that allowed a runner to reach third. When Ivan Melendez went to grab the ball, he knocked it into the first-base dugout with his foot allowing another run to score.

At that point, the Aggies had all the runs they needed. Texas had plenty of chances to cut into the lead, but never could. The game ended with 12 Longhorns left on base, and Texas’ season ends without a win in Omaha.

“It’s just pretty much a struggle,” Pierce said. “We didn’t feel like we played as well as we can the last two games. A lot of good teams. What an incredible run.”

Meanwhile, the Aggies won their first game at the College World Series since 1993.

Texas’ year began with high expectations, but that’s true of every baseball season in Austin. Ranked No. 1 by most publications, the Longhorns won its first 11 games before going through a mid-season trough.

The offense was always there, and is what boosted the program into the College World Series for the 38th time. It was there when they were struggling in mid-week contests and Big 12 series in March and April, and when Texas was down five runs late in the Greenville super regional. Led by Melendez, the Dick Howser Trophy winner and a first-team All-American, the 2022 Horns re-wrote several different hitting-related records at one of the top programs in collegiate baseball history.

That offense wasn’t there on Friday versus Notre Dame nor Sunday versus Texas A&M. The pitching reverted to its 2022 norm. The defense was surprisingly shoddy. As a result, the Fighting Irish and the Aggies are still playing, and Texas now will head back to Austin to begin preparation for the 2023 season.

“I kind of just don’t know what to say because I don’t think anybody was really ready to end this thing,” Pierce said. “Unless you win it all, though, you’re going to feel this feeling, and I’ll take this any day as opposed to not competing for the national championship.”

“I’m just so proud of our guys, and it’s just frustrating because we didn’t play well the last two games. But it took a lot to get here for our team.”