Musings from the Disch
The second weekend of SEC play in the book and the Horns are exactly where you want them to be. Tied for first place in the SEC. The Horns beat a team in the regular season and won a road series in the regular season against a Top 5 team for the first time since May 2021.
As I mentioned in last weeks Rounding the Bases, the SEC is going to be a wild ride this season. You have teams like Missouri taking game one against Tennessee to teams like Alabama who were swept last weekend, rebounding to sweep a ranked Florida squad this weekend.
In general though, based on what I have seen, there is a group that is clearly rising to the top of the SEC and a group of teams that can run rule you if you don’t show up but other wise struggle with consistency. The good news is that Texas is firmly in the group that has proven itself as a contender so far, but the bad news is that every team is an injury or bad run of results away from finding itself on the wrong side of the line.
The Horns have eight remaining SEC series, which includes currently ranked #6, #8, #21 and #23 teams.
Current RPI of teams remaining are: 10, 12, 18, 21, 24, 93, 117, 174
The Horns will have to ignore the future though for now as they have a very short week and it is a big week regardless as rival Oklahoma is coming to town, looking to continue their hot start to SEC play.
Around the Horns with Coach Schlossnagle
Offensive Breakdown
Aiden Robbins: 6-13, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 HR
Carson Tinney: 4-13, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
Casey Borba: 4-13, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Maddox Monsour: 3-6, 2 RBI, 2 K
Overall, it was not the prettiest weekend at the plate but facing one of the best pitching staffs in the nation on the road, coming away with a series win means the Horns did good enough. The walk to strikeout ratio was up (16 BB/30K) but again, they were facing one of the best statistical staffs in the nation, so that is expected. Borba and Robbins continue to power the offense with freshman Maddox Monsour coming through with a big day offensively on Saturday, making Schlossnagle look like a wizard. Duplantier did not have a good weekend at the plate overall, but his lone contribution (3 run home run) was a big one. Freshman Anthony Pack Jr went hitless over the weekend (0-10), but he did draw four walks and only struck out 3 times, so it was still a solid contribution overall. A bigger concern is Ethan Mendoza who went 0-11 on the weekend and contributed just 2 walks against 3 strikeouts. The Horns need him to be the table setter and not hit pop ups.
Pitching Breakdown
Game One – Ruger Riojas (6.1 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts)
Game Two – Luke Harrison (5.2 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts)
Game Three – Dylan Volantis (4 IP, 3 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts)
Rotation Performance:
Ruger continues to be the staff ace and provides the Horns everything they need on Friday night to win. Even giving up 5 hits over his 6 innings pitched, he scattered them enough to only give up a lone earned run.
After many fans called for him to be removed from the rotation, all Luke Harrison has done is go out and provide back-to-back Luke Harrison performances…meaning Texas wins. Even when he put runners on the basepaths, his demeanor never changes and he did a great job of put together another quality start.
For Volantis, it certainly wasn’t pretty, but at the end of the day, he still gave the Horns 4 innings and did not allow a single earned run. Another learning moment for the young lefty as he continues to develop as a starter.
Bullpen:
Sam Cozart: 3.1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Brett Crossland: 2 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Max Grubbs: 1.2 IP, 2 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
Thomas Burns: 1.1 IP, 1 hit, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts
Haiden Leffew: 1.2 IP, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Ethan Walker: 0.1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 strikeout
I expect the freshman movement to continue as you will see a lot more of Sam Cozart and Brett Crossland on the weekend.
Overall, yes, there are still roles and situations to be ironed out, but fans should have faith in Schlossnagle and Max to put together the best combination each weekend that puts the Horns in a position to win. Is it going to look the same or even be standard, probably not. Hell, this is Max we are talking about and he gets the best out of guys by taking advantage of their uniqueness.
Takeaways from the Weekend
Auburn coach Butch Thompson summed up the weekend series pretty well. He stated, “It felt like I was sitting in a dentist chair today for three plus hours. They just systematically beat us. Metaphorically speaking, I think they took our home plate and then can take it home with them because they won the plate on both sides of the ball.”
Texas is now 16-1 on the season when scoring first with the only loss coming against Tarleton State and 18-1 when scoring 5+ runs.
The Horns struggle at times, but they punish mistakes and really grind down teams and that is exactly what they did this weekend. Just like last when against Ole Miss, the Horns grinded out at-bats and used their depth out of the bullpen to take the series. They also play really good defense (.985 fielding %) which is a must in SEC play as a single error can cost you the game, as the Horns found out on Friday night.
This weekend was a big statement win for the Horns on the road and there is a lot that they can take away from it going forward.
Useless Stat(s) of the Day
After much criticism on Friday night and Saturday night, the Texas bullpen did not allow a hit until the 9th inning on Sunday.
Of the 32 strikeouts delivered this weekend, the bullpen had 16 of them
Across 16 innings pitched by Texas starters this weekend, that trio gave up just 3 runs
With the 5-0 shutout on Sunday, the Horns recorded their first ever shutout during SEC play
This road series win against a Top 5 ranked opponent was the first time Texas had done so since they beat a Jim Schlossnagle coached TCU squad in May 2021
Teams that impressed this weekend
Alabama – A week after getting swept and losing to South Alabama, the Tide swept Florida
Notre Dame – Fighting Irish swept Clemson
Texas State – Swept Louisiana, including hitting 8 home runs on Sunday
Boston College – Birdball continues to put together quality wins, this time sweeping Cal
Arizona State – Took 2 of 3 against a talented Kansas State squad
Teams that disappointed this weekend
LSU – After winning game one, lost the series at home as they continue to struggle
Clemson – Tigers got swept by Notre Dame
Florida – Gators got swept by Alabama
Texas A&M – Aggies bounced back to take the Sunday finale, but lost the first two and didn’t look great. Their bullpen continues to be questionable
Louisiana – They finally got ranked and then they got swept by Texas State
Kansas State – Big series for the Cats and they choked on a hairball, but did bounce back to run rule the Sun Devils on Sunday. Dee Kennedy did hit a 478 foot home run though!
Mid-Week Preview
Opponent: Houston Cougars (12-11, 1-5 Big 12)
Date: Tuesday – March 24th
Time: 630pm
Where: Schroeder Park (Houston, TX)
TV: ESPN+
History:
All-Time Record: 99-34-2
Last Met: 2024 – Texas won the series in Houston 2-1
Texas has played Houston the last six games in Houston. Texas is 34-16-1 at Schroeder Park
2025 Record: 30-25 (12-17 Big 12)
Season Snapshot:
vs. Wake Forest (win 8-2)
vs. Boston College (win 5-1)
vs. Manhattan (win 4-2)
vs. Washington (win 8-7)
vs UTRGV (1-2)
at Sam Houston (win 5-4)
vs. Oregon State (loss 1-2)
vs. Iowa (loss 4-6)
vs. Alabama (win 8-2)
vs. Sam Houston (loss 2-5)
vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-0)
vs. Rice (win 13-1)
vs. Kansas State (1-2)
vs. Louisiana (loss 3-6)
at Kansas (0-3)
Opponent Notes:
- Picked to finish 12th out of 14 teams in the Big 12
- Experienced team, built with transfers
- Houston is glad to not play a Kansas school again after they start 1-5 against Kansas State and Kansas
- Houston has lost the last four games and are 2-6 in their last 8 games
Game Prediction:
Texas wins a close one due to having to use a lot of back of bullpen arms on a short week
Pitching Matchups:
Houston freshman RHP Caden Cooper (1-0, 2.93 ERA, 15.1 IP) vs. Texas TBD
Bullpen Leaders:
- Ryne Rodriguez (0-0, 1 save, 2.66 ERA, 9 apps, 23.2 IP)
- Max McCraray (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 apps, 2.2 IP)
- Alex Solis (2-1, 3.66 ERA, 9 apps, 19.2 IP)
- Connor Udland (1-1, 5.49 ERA, 8 apps, 19.2 IP)
- Tyler Bryan (1-3, 3 saves, 7.62 ERA, 11 apps, 13 IP)
Offensive Leaders:
- Tyler Cox (.328 BA, .854 OPS, 1 HR, 9 RBI)
- Blake Fields (.299 BA, .800 OPS, 9 RBI) – brother Brandon briefly played for Texas
- Xavier Perez (.286 BA, .931 OPS, 5 HR, 18 RBI)
- Dylan Maxcey (.286 BA, .817 OPS, 2 HR, 11 RBI) – transfer from Texas Tech
- Tre Broussard (.468 BA, 1.329 OPS, 3 HR, 17 RBI)
- Carsten Sabathis (.333 BA, 1.095 OPS, 5 HR, 14 RBI)
- Cade Climie (.333 BA, 1.031 OPS, 4 RBI)
- Easton Winfield (.200 BA, .761 OPS, 1 HR, 2 RBI)
Weekend Prediction Lookback
Week One: 6-2
Week Two: 8-0
Week Three: 6-2
Week Four: 5-2
Week Five: 4-4 (5-3 SEC)
Week Six: 6-2 (4-4 SEC)
Overall: 35-12 (9-7 SEC)
SEC Weekend Recap
- Alabama – swept Florida convincingly, getting a no-hitter on Fri night
- Arkansas – took two of three against South Carolina, dropping the Sunday finale
- Auburn – lost two of three to Texas at home
- Florida – got swept by Bama on the road
- Georgia – took two of three against Texas A&M in college station
- Kentucky – lost 2 of 3 to a tough Ole Miss squad
- LSU – dropped 2 of 3 at home to Oklahoma
- Mississippi State – swept a struggling Vanderbilt squad
- Missouri – lost two of three to Tennessee
- Oklahoma – Took the series against LSU on the road
- Ole Miss – Took the series from ranked Kentucky at home
- South Carolina – lost two of three to Arkansas, but the Cocks did put up a good fight Sat and Sun
- Tennessee – lost game one to Mizzou, but won the series
- Texas – lost game one in heartbreaking fashion, but won the series
- Texas A&M – lost the first two games before run-ruling the Dawgs on Sunday
- Vanderbilt – got swept by Mississippi State as the struggles continue
SEC Conference Standings:
- Texas (4-2)
- Mississippi State (4-2)
- Auburn (4-2)
- Kentucky (4-2)
- Georgia (4-2)
- Oklahoma (4-2)
- Arkansas (4-2)
- Ole Miss (3-3)
- Florida (3-3)
- Alabama (3-3)
- Tennessee (3-3)
- Texas A&M (2-4)
- LSU (2-4)
- Vanderbilt (2-4)
- Missouri (1-5)
- South Carolina (1-5)
