The Longhorns received the Regional draw many fans did not want, but it is probably what Texas deserves after an up-and-down season. It is difficult for the Texas fan base to give Texas A&M credit, but undoubtedly they are one of the best teams in college baseball this season. They have the great lineup to go along with a very solid pitching staff.
That being said, the Aggies have struggled over the last few weeks and like Texas, went 0-2 in their conference tournament. The Aggies are not the only formidable opponent in the regional…. Two seed Louisiana, is one of the best G5 teams and they enter the tournament with a 40-18 record. The Longhorns faced the Ragin’ Cajuns in the Miami Regional last year and beat them, so they are not unfamiliar with each other.
Texas head coach David Pierce may be coaching for his job this weekend and he will likely leave no stone unturned. Let’s get into what the Longhorns must do in order to be the spoilers to the Aggies and advance to their 4th straight Super Regional.
Pitching Cannot Lose Games for Them
The Longhorns enter the postseason with just under a 5.00 ERA as a team. That obviously is not very good, but even worse is when you consider the fact that Disch-Falk plays more to pitchers than most parks including Blue Bell Park where the regional is this weekend.
Should the Longhorns get past Louisiana on Friday, they will likely have to face the Aggies on Saturday. Texas A&M has one of the most potent offenses in the country and is led by future big-leaguer Braden Montgomery. The Aggies are hitting over .300 as a team and have 121 HR. They have cooled off offensively as of late, but clearly still have the potential to put up 10+ runs on any given night. The Longhorns’ pitching staff needs to give the offense a chance by not giving up runs in bunches. The WHIP of 1.47 is way too high and Texas A&M, along with Louisiana will eat Texas alive if that does not improve this weekend.
The Texas Offense Needs to Show Up Early & Often
The 2024 Texas Baseball team is a polar opposite from what Texas fans grew accustomed to under Augie Garrido. Augie’s teams were typically built on pitching and defense. The 2024 team is built on the long ball and outscoring their opponents, regardless of the number of runs it takes.
The Longhorns currently rank 9th among tournament teams with 109 HR. That is a fantastic stat, but Texas A&M is third with 121 HR. Ultimately this means it will take a lot for the Longhorns to outslug Texas A&M. Texas is going to have to get hits with runners in scoring position which is something they have been very inconsistent with this year and if they don’t, it is difficult to imagine the Longhorns’ season continuing beyond this weekend.
LBJ or Charlie Hurley Must Show-Out
The top two pitchers in the Texas rotation to begin the season were Lebarron Johnson Jr. and Charlie Hurley. By the start of conference play, Hurley was out of the rotation and Johnson was starting to struggle. Eventually Johnson found himself as the Sunday starter and then out of the rotation completely. Johnson had some moments later on in the year where he looked better, but overall his control still wasn’t there, much like the rest of the season. Hurley had an impressive showing in the final regular season series against Kansas, going 6 innings and giving up zero runs while striking out 9.
The bottom line is that nobody in the Longhorns’ rotation has the kind of stuff to shut down a lineup other than Johnson or possibly Hurley. Texas will need one of them to show up in order to survive the weekend and advance. It is pretty simple… Texas doesn’t have the arms they would like, so the ones they do have need to produce. Johnson threw a complete game against Miami last year in the regional and maybe he has another start like that in his back pocket. It will be interesting to see who Texas starts against likely A&M Saturday, should the Longhorns win on Friday. It likely will be Ace Whitehead who was the Saturday starter most of the year, but Whitehead has struggled the last few weeks and Pierce may surprise some by starting LBJ and seeing if he has any magic left.
Should Texas pitch well and have timely hitting, the Longhorns will have a chance to shock the Aggies this week and advance to their 4th straight regional with a favorable match up in the Super Regionals.
