Longhorns’ bullpen peaking at the right time
AUSTIN — Andre Duplantier II can empathize with teammate Tanner Witt.
Tommy John surgery prevented Duplantier from throwing a single inning in 2021 as Texas charged toward the College World Series, where it came up one win shy of reaching the finals. A similar fate befell Witt, the sophomore ace who was 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 11 innings this year before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery in early March.
In truth, No. 9 national seed Texas never came close to patching up the hole created by Witt’s nearly seasonlong absence. But it has survived — advancing through the NCAA regionals and super regionals and into this week’s CWS in Omaha, Neb. — thanks in no small part to an array of relievers who’ve started to find their footing at the right time.
Count Duplantier among that group. He’s already made two multi-inning relief appearances this NCAA Tournament, throwing two scoreless frames in a 10-1 win over Air Force in the Austin Regional finals and the final 22⁄3 innings in the Longhorns’ 9-8 comeback win in Game 2 of the Greenville Super Regional over eighth-seeded East Carolina.
And when Texas (47-20) takes the field at 6 p.m. Friday against Notre Dame (40-15) at Omaha’s Charles Schwab Field, Duplantier will loom as a vital part of a rejuvenated bullpen.
“I’m just very grateful, because this time last year I was watching the team and really wanting to be out there,” Duplantier said. “So regardless of what’s happening, being able to be out there right now means a lot, because last year I was sitting in Austin watching it happen.”
Losing Witt for the season prompted coach David Pierce to insert sophomore lefty Lucas Gordon into the weekend rotation. He’s thrived in the role, posting a 7-1 record with a teambest 2.68 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 84 innings.
But Gordon’s exit also put Pierce down one reliable bullpen arm, one capable of handling long relief appearances without concern. Then sixth-year senior Tristan Stevens, a first-team All-Big 12 starting pitcher in 2021, came unglued, prompting the former reliever’s move back into the bullpen in early May and hurling the weekend rotation into disarray.
A prolific record-setting offense and several stellar outings from first team All-Big 12 starter Pete Hansen and Gordon kept the Longhorns chugging along, even weighed down by a shaky bullpen.
But Pierce couldn’t rely on first baseman Ivan Melendez bludgeoning a home run every at-bat or Hansen going the distance in each single start. Eventually, the season was going to hinge on whether Texas’ relievers could make outs and keep the game in hand.
Duplantier, Stevens, Travis Sthele, Jared Southard and the others have, of late, been up to the task.
“We’ve kind of gotten away from this guy’s the setup guy and this guy’s the closer,” Pierce said. “We’re really more into, how can this guy match up here, is he the right guy? Usually when we get one up (in the bullpen), we get two up and kind of look at the matchup and maybe the next (inning).
“Just the reliability is what we’re looking for. And guys going out in this (postseason) environment, knowing that they can control their emotions, they can breathe and they can focus on their job is a big step for a lot of them.”
Pierce, both through newfound trust and necessity, has relied more on his bullpen of late, and they’ve responded.
In six NCAA Tournament games — three regional, three super regional — Texas relievers have thrown a combined 27 innings and posted a 4.00 ERA with 31 strikeouts.. That includes the 10-1 regional final win over Air Force in which Sthele, Southard, Duplantier and Lebarron Johnson combined to throw all nine innings.
“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t a unit like that,” Pierce said. “If it was a couple of guys, then we probably wouldn’t have overcome it. But I think we have a team that’s full of winners and guys that just believe in each other, and they like playing together.”