Weekend review: Longhorns beat two top 25 teams, fall to UCLA
HOUSTON — The results from No. 1 Texas’ trip to Minute Maid Park for the Shriners Children’s College Classic were going to be revelatory no matter the result. Consider that Rice is rebuilding (and that may be putting it lightly), and Alabama was picked to finish fifth in the SEC West. Texas handled both programs in the first two weekends of the 2022 season, setting up an important trip to Houston to face No. 17 Tennessee, No. 7 LSU, and UCLA.
[Subscribe to Inside Texas today and get a FREE 7-day Plus trial!]
The Longhorns emerged from the weekend 2-1, topping the ranked Volunteers and Tigers and dropping the Sunday finale to the Bruins, 5-1. Those wins made it clear Texas will be a force to be reckoned with even against elite opponents. The loss to the Bruins showed that 1) the Longhorns aren’t going to go undefeated 2) they still have some small shortcomings to address and 3) they’ll need Tanner Witt on Sundays (Witt was scratched due to tenderness in his throwing arm).
“If you look at the positive, we fought and we pitched really well in some crucial situations,” Texas head coach David Pierce said Sunday. “We handled the environment today. Then when you look at the negative, I still think we got exposed with the strikeout, and we’ve got to improve that with two strikes and make some adjustments there.”
About the strikeout…
There’s little doubt Tennessee starter Chase Burns will end up being one of the best young pitchers in the SEC this season, if not one of the best pitchers in the SEC. His choice to go to school instead of the draft was a boon for Tony Vitello’s Volunteer squad.
In an emotional game where the Vols were looking for a semblance of revenge their defeat at the hands of Texas in the 2021 College World Series, Burns did his part to try to exact it. He used a mid-to-high 90s fastball and a sweeping slider to strike out 10 Longhorns on Friday. Six the seven Longhorn runs came against Vol relievers, with Trey Faltine’s solo shot the only run plated versus Burns.
Luckily for Texas, Pete Hansen, Travis Sthele, Luke Harrison, and Aaron Nixon were able to limit a potent Tennessee offense, but Longhorns hitters still struck out 14 times.
Saturday marked a small improvement in that area, with Texas striking out nine times. The Longhorns managed emotions well amid an environment usually reserved for the College World Series packed with fans from both Baton Rouge and Austin. Still, they faced tough pitching presented by the Tigers and plated six runs.
On Sunday, facing a Bruin pitching staff that had posted strong numbers, Texas hitters again struck out 14 times. UCLA starter Kelly Austin struck out eight in a 5.1-inning outing, while reliever Alonzo Tredwell earned a three-inning save and struck out five.
The performances somewhat harken back to the end of last year in the Mississippi State matchups in Omaha. Many of the players who were on that UT team are back and in key roles this season, yet the strikeout still rears its ugly head against good hurlers.
The Longhorns hadn’t struck out 10 or more times this year until this weekend. It’s a deficiency they have the ability to overcome, just look at their 1-1 record in those games. But it’s something the program would prefer not to have to overcome to reach their goals.
The strikeout was a key component behind Texas’ first loss. In order to make sure they limit the number of losses this year, they’ll have to figure out how to put more balls in play against quality pitching the likes of which they’ll see the further they progress.
About the lineup…
Maybe it was rest, maybe it was a shakeup, but Texas utilized a different lineup than their regular nine on Sunday.
A struggling Mitchell Daly received the day off, allowing Silas Ardoin to move up to the cleanup spot behind Ivan Melendez. Ardoin is hitting .317/.388/.512 (AVG/OPS/SLG) but had been in the five-spot in every game this season, whether as catcher or designated hitter. He was moved up today but wasn’t behind the plate until late in the game.
Any change Ardoin as a result of moving up?
“For me, the approach is always the same; stay line drive through the middle of the field,” Ardoin said. “That’s going to be my approach for the rest of my life. Nothing really changes from being five-hole, four-hole. It works anywhere in the lineup.”
Through his own efforts and the slow start from Daly, Ardoin may have earned a promotion in the batting order. He may not be the only Longhorn who has done so.
Murphy Stehly has begun the year slashing .409/.475/.556 in 36 at bats. His opportunities in the field have been limited with only nine chances, but his bat has shown up whenever he’s appeared in the lineup. Stehly was 5-for-12 with two RBI and a home run over the weekend, all from the six-spot.
He can play nearly any infield position. If Pierce decides Daly or third baseman Skyler Messinger needs a break, Stehly could fill in at second or third. But no matter where he plays, his bat has likely earned a spot in the lineup at this point in the season.
About Tanner Witt…
Put simply, Texas is a very, very good team with or without Witt, but they are not likely to reach their ceiling without No. 11 toeing the rubber on Sundays.
Witt was held out for precautionary reasons versus the Bruins. There didn’t seem to be any concern around the program about him being scratched, and Pierce was specific to say that the issue was “above his elbow,” not “his elbow.”
Above is doing a lot of work there, but he followed it up by saying structurally Witt was “good.”
Sunday’s group of pitchers gave Pierce an opportunity to see who, if needed, could step into Witt’s spot. Lucas Gordon received the spot start and pitched 4.0 innings of one run baseball. He left after 63 pitches, 12 pitches short of his career high of 75. That’s to say Gordon can be extended, but not to say he can step in for Witt and replicate the results.
Andre Duplantier, who is likely to start for the Longhorns versus Texas State on Wednesday, is being extended more and more in an effort to build pitching depth. He appeared on Saturday and had a so-so outing versus LSU.
Others who appeared on Sunday pitched to varying levels of effectiveness in short roles.
All that is to say without Witt, Sundays don’t begin with as large of an advantage for Texas as they would with him beginning the game on the bump.
The weekend was still a success for Texas. They weren’t going to go undefeated, of course, but the most revelatory weekend of the Longhorns’ young season did show areas Texas needs to shore up in the midst of two wins over top 20 teams.
The chances to show how they’ve addressed those areas will be plentiful this week, with one game versus Texas State in San Marcos on Tuesday, one game versus Texas State in Austin on Wednesday, then a three game set versus South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. beginning on Friday.
