At the midway point of Southeastern Conference play, Texas baseball moved to No. 1 in head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s first season in Austin.
Here are some of the factors that have gotten the Longhorns to where they are and what they need to do to keep their top spot:
Rising to the top: A new way to hit
From junior catcher Rylan Galvan’s walk-off home run over then-No. 3 Georgia to sophomore infielder Ethan Mendoza’s 14-game hitting streak, the Longhorns have been a hitting superpower.
The hitting success can be attributed to assistant coach Troy Tulowitzki, who has worked with the players to improve their hitting form. This has led to two Texas players batting between .290 and .300 and three producing at least a .300 batting average.
“(Tulowitzki) was a pretty big factor (to stay at Texas),” sophomore outfielder Will Gasparino said. “(Tulowitzki) played 10-plus years in the big leagues, a really good hitter, and one of the best shortstops in the game. He knows a lot, he’s going to develop you, he’s been through the game and he knows ins and outs.”
Shutting teams down so far with weekend pitchers
Senior Jared Spencer, redshirt junior Luke Harrison and junior Ruger Riojas have all led Texas on the weekend since SEC play started. Spencer, in five SEC games, ranks seventh in the conference for strikeouts with 65 and Riojas leads the conference in wins with four from five games.
Similar to Tulowitzki’s work with the batters, Schlossnagle credits assistant coach Max Weiner for the success on the mound.
“Coach Max (Weiner) challenged the pitchers that the team that dominates the middle of the strike zone more is going to have the best weekend,” Schlossnagle said after the Georgia sweep. “When Spencer gives you such a great start, it sets the tone. … When your Friday night guy gives you a great effort, then you don’t have to go to (other pitchers).”
A need to fill Max Belyeu’s shoes
Last year’s Big 12 Player of the Year, junior outfielder Max Belyeu, had a stellar start to the season. In 24 games and 95 at-bats, Belyeu maintained a .358 batting average. However, he has not returned to the field since late March after the first game of the Missouri series due to injury.
With Belyeu only playing in two complete SEC series, Texas ranks 10th in the batting average with .287 in the SEC. If Texas is to keep its success going, an outfielder will have to take over for Belyeu’s missed hitting.
“It’s disappointing (that no one has taken over the left fielder role),” Schlossnagle said. “We just need those guys to get on base, and then you need the marquee guys to drive them in. … It’s just super important that we play really good team offense with a little bit less stock in the lineup without Max (Belyeu).”
What lies ahead
Having won five SEC series, including three sweeps, the Longhorns still have another five left to play. On Thursday, Texas will start its home series against the No. 8 Auburn Tigers.
“They’re an Omaha team, just like every other team we play in this conference,” Schlossnagle said about Auburn. “We’re going to have to play our rear ends off against these guys. They just swept LSU, who I felt like that was the best team we played all year and the most complete team.”
After Auburn, Texas will have one more top-10 matchup against No. 2 Arkansas, followed by two rival series against Texas A&M and Oklahoma.
“This league, you can never read too much into any one weekend, good or bad,” Schlossnagle said. “As soon as you feel good about it, it slaps you in the face. You can get slapped, and you better get right back up off the mat.”
