Texas stays hot with lopsided win over UTA

By Christian Corona

Texas has won 15 of its last 17 games. The Longhorns are hitting .300 in those 17 games. It’s been a month since they’ve lost in Big 12 play. They’re in the Top 10 of every major poll.

Yet head coach Augie Garrido still doesn’t think they’re good enough.

“We’re not good enough to win a national championship yet,” Garrido said after his team’s latest convincing victory, this one a 10-2 triumph over UT Arlington at Disch-Falk Field on Tuesday night. “I think they have a spirit about them and an energy about them. That’s called confidence.”

So it’s not all bad.

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The Longhorns dismantled an overmatched Mavericks squad, scoring three runs in the third inning, two of them on a two-run bomb by Ben Johnson, his team-high fourth homer of the year, on a 1-0 changeup from UTA starter Zach Hobbs, into the left-field bullpen.

They scored three more in the fourth, taking advantage of an ill-timed throwing error by Mavericks right-hander Jess Amedee and three walks, the last of them drawn by Tres Barrera, who later hit a bases-clearing triple in the eighth, to force home a run. In all, the Longhorns walked eight times and were hit twice for a total of 10 free passes – the mark of a patient team at the plate.

“[Hitting coach] Tommy Nicholson has done a great job with the offense and getting them to build their swing, getting them to trust their swing,” Garrido continued. “They’re separating balls they can hit from balls they can’t hit pretty well. That was one of the offensive weapons, taking the walks and taking advantage of what the defense was giving us.”

After managing only one hit in a loss to Rice last Tuesday, the Longhorns were much more productive at the dish this Tuesday night.

Mark Payton drew a career-high four walks, extending his ridiculous streak of consecutive games reaching base to 77 – the longest such streak in the country. Johnson also reached base four times – twice via a hit, once on a walk and another time after getting hit by a pitch – and scored all four times, a career high for the sophomore left fielder.

“Ben had a really good night offensively but I think the whole team, when you get three runs instead of one, it’s a big difference,” said Garrido. “We got three runs instead of when we used to only get one run. Then the rally would fall apart. I think we’re growing.”

Much has been said about Texas’ stellar weekend rotation of Parker French, Dillon Peters and Nathan Thornhill – who collectively hold a 15-4 record and 1.89 ERA – and the Longhorns’ front-end bullpen guys like John Curtiss (0.92 ERA, five saves), Travis duke (0.00 ERA, 14.1 IP) and Morgan Cooper (1.65 ERA, three saves).

Lukas Schiraldi, who normally starts for the Longhorns on Tuesday nights, was unavailable against UTA because of slight shoulder stiffness, along with Garrido wanting to get some other members of the bullpen work and the upcoming series against TCU starting on Thursday, instead of Friday.

But, after starter Blake Goins was pulled in the second inning, the Longhorns bullpen held the Mavericks to just one run over eight innings. Chad Hollingsworth and Ty Culbreth each tossed three scoreless innings, showcasing the kind of depth this Texas pitching staff has.

“They’re extremely important, because in your Regional championships, because if you go into the loser’s bracket, you are going to have the hardest time getting out of that,” Garrido said. “That’s almost why the tournament shouldn’t be played like that. You have to build a pitching staff for one weekend. But them being ready for that is super because most pitching staffs aren’t ready for that.”

If the Longhorns keep playing like this, the Longhorns will likely earn the right to host, not only a Regional, but a Super Regional series in the NCAA Tournament.

This time last year, Garrido wouldn’t have referred to the NCAA Tournament as if it was a foregone conclusion. He wouldn’t have had to say his team wasn’t good enough to win a national championship because everyone knew that already.

But not this team.