David Pierce and his squad have no time to dwell on the series loss against TCU this past weekend that was highlighted by two blown leads late in games.
The Longhorns return to action Tuesday night in San Antonio to face Incarnate Word for a non-conference mid-week game.
So far this season, the mid-week games have been friendly to the Longhorns. With seven games under its belt, Texas has racked up a 5–2 record, which includes splitting a two-game series with No. 11 Arkansas at UFCU Disch-Falk Field last week.
The Longhorn pitching staff has been the biggest concern through 17 games this season. Despite leading the Big 12 in strikeouts (224), the bunch also leads in walks (117) and wild pitches (38).
Those struggles were on display especially during the TCU series this past weekend, when Texas blew a 2-0 lead in the ninth inning of game one and a 7-2 lead in the series finale. Texas was unable to recover in either game and lost the series as a result.
Whether they play or not, pitchers Kamron Fields, Cole Quintanilla and Kolby Kubichek will look to use this trip to San Antonio as time to recoup and prepare for the Xavier series this coming weekend.
On the bright side, the Texas lineup has had no issue scoring runs. In the TCU series and two-game series against Arkansas, the Longhorns scored a combined 34 runs despite facing two of the top rotations in the nation.
“The position players have constantly been in a battle with just facing so many good arms,” Texas head coach David Pierce said during a postgame interview with Texas Sports over the weekend.
The offensive production has been headlined by left fielder Eric Kennedy, who hit .474 in those five games.
As a result, Kennedy was named the Big 12 Player of the Week in a release made by the conference Monday afternoon.
It was Kennedy’s second time to receive recognition by the conference after being named Newcomer of the Week in the third week of the season.
Incarnate Word is playing its best baseball of the season right now, though, currently riding a four-game win streak that includes a three-game sweep of McNeese State.
For the Cardinals, their pitching staff is heading in the opposite direction from the Longhorns. Opponents in Incarnate Word’s last four games have scored just 13 runs.
For the Longhorns to get back in the win column after a tough weekend, Kennedy will need to be an instrumental figure in the lineup against Incarnate Word.
The game between Incarnate Word and Texas will be held at Nelson Wolff Stadium, the home of the Triple-A San Antonio Missions. First pitch is currently set for 7:00 p.m.
