Texas looks to make its case to host NCAA regional
AUSTIN — For three straight days last week, Texas absolutely pummeled what had been the Big 12’s best team all year long. The Longhorns outscored No. 6 West Virginia 29-9 during a three-game sweep that resulted in the programs sharing this year’s regular-season conference title.
By virtue of dominating the Mountaineers, Texas (38-18) put itself in position to host an NCAA Tournament regional at DischFalk Field next weekend. The latest field projection from ever-reliable D1Baseball.com bumped the Longhorns up to the No. 16 seed, making them the last regional host.
Texas coach David Pierce agreed with that assessment.
“I think if you’re the No. 1 seed in the third or fourth best conference in the country, you should be hosting,” Pierce said. “And if you’re not, then why don’t we just play it on the computer, you know? You go out there and beat the firstplace team handily late in the year, you’re playing your best baseball, and you get one of the best pitchers in the country (Tanner Witt) back.
“Yeah, I think this team is deserving to host a regional.”
This late surge — Texas has won eight of 10 — put the Longhorns in position to steal a host seed. And a good showing during this week’s Big 12 tournament at Arlington’s Globe Life Field would help solidify their chances of doing just that, though Pierce disagreed with the notion that a poor performance should force them to start the NCAA Tournament on the road.
“I don’t think a conference tournament should ever hurt a team in that category,” Pierce said. “It can help you, but it should never hurt you.”
Still, Texas should do its best not to fall flat in Arlington. The Longhorns have played well of late, but their RPI (No. 23) and 10-10 record in road and neutralsite games could work against them if they don’t show up this week.
The top-seeded Longhorns open up against eighth-seeded Kansas (2035) at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. If they handle the Jayhawks, they’ll face fourthseeded TCU or fifth-seeded Kansas State in the winners bracket Thursday at 4 p.m. The championship game is Sunday at 5 p.m.
Like Pierce said, Texas is playing its best baseball at the best possible time. Lucas Gordon and Lebarron Johnson Jr. have both pitched like aces, and Witt’s starting to cook again following his return from Tommy John surgery that required nearly a year of rehab.
Gordon, Johnson and Witt pitched a combined 15 1/3 innings in the WVU series. They allowed two earned runs with 22 strikeouts against four walks.
“Momentum starts with starting pitching,” Pierce said. “I mean, we did a great job of ambushing their starters. And our starting pitching did a great job of giving us innings to keep tacking on as well.”
For Witt, who hurled three scoreless frames in his fourth appearance of the season, that shake-offthe-rust performance marked a significant step forward after a few shaky outings.
“I mean, we could have gone up to 60 (pitches),” Pierce said of Witt’s 44pitch start against WVU. “But I think he’s climbing every week. His arm strength is coming. I think it’s more about staying in the tunnel, staying behind the baseball, creating angle and maximize velocity. Real impressed with his breaking ball and changeup, though.”
Should Witt or any of his fellow starters stumble in Arlington, they’ll at least have a potent offense capable of inflicting responsive damage.
TCU transfer outfielder Porter Brown cranked three home runs and drove in eight in Game 1 against WVU to bring his season totals to 12 and 54, respectively. Center fielder Eric Kennedy has upped his team-leading home run total to 16, while third baseman Peyton Powell has lifted his batting average from .331 to .369 over the past month. And right fielder Dylan Campbell is in the midst of a program-record 33-game hitting streak that dates to March 25.
Overall, Texas ranks among the Big 12’s top three in batting average (.302), slugging percentage (.511) and home runs (83) and has the fewest strikeouts (420) of any program.
“It all starts with mentality and preparation,” Pierce said. “So many things within the game you can’t control. But with those that are controllable and you do (control them), then you’re in a better spot to have success.”
Last week, Texas prepared like a Big 12 champion. And if the Longhorns just take that same approach this week, there’s a good chance they’ll earn the right to host NCAA games in Austin.
“I just like where they are mentally,” Pierce said. “They believe in each other. They’re confident. We always say that we played for five championships. We won the first one, but that’s just a step to get to the second one. It’s nice to win the conference championship, but that’s not why we’re here.”