After the team’s third consecutive loss to start the season against No. 6 Ole Miss, Texas baseball head coach David Pierce felt it was time to turn things around, one game at a time. 

“Wednesday is game one,” Pierce said. “We’re not 0–3, and we’re not 3–0. We’re playing game one on Wednesday, and then we’re going to execute and play well, and then we’re going to do it again.”

Following a year that was cut short due to COVID-19, the Longhorns came into the season with high expectations as they ranked ninth in the nation. However, with limited practice time as a team, it was hard for them to start the season clicking on all cylinders, and the team lost three straight games against Top 10-ranked teams. 

Since then, the Longhorns haven’t looked back, winning 15 of their last 18 games to get to a favorable 15–6 record.

The Longhorns have improved their play tremendously on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field, and they have had multiple players step up and lead the way. 

Redshirt sophomore pitcher Ty Madden started the season on a bad note, allowing four runs and four hits in his first start against No. 7 Mississippi State. Since then, he has allowed just three runs on 10 hits in four starts.

Madden is having the best statistical season of his collegiate career, pitching a 1.62 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a .125 batting average. He has also had some great games under his belt this year, setting a career high in strikeouts in a single game with 14 against Houston on March 5. 

The Longhorns began the year struggling at the plate, striking out 40 times in their first three games. Since then, the Texas bats found their stride with redshirt junior infielder Cam Williams leading the way. 

Williams leads the team in home runs with four, and is second in both hits and RBIs with 20 and 16, respectively. 

Texas has shown great resilience in their mid-season turnaround. Pierce praised the way his team has worked through the adversity they have faced this year. After a 10-1 win against Incarnate Word on Tuesday night, Pierce gave a lot of credit to his team’s hardworking demeanor. 

“I thought we did a nice job in our prep earlier today,” Pierce said. “A lot of extra work in the outfield, (and) a lot of extra work offensively. This team just continues to impress how they like to work.” 

But the Longhorns still have a long season ahead of them. The team started its Big 12 regular season off strong with a series win over Baylor last weekend and will play Oklahoma this weekend at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

It’s the start of a grueling stretch of conference play, where Texas will look to build on the momentum they have been gathering to finish the regular season strong in May.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the March 26 issue of The Daily Texan.