No. 4 Texas baseball took its first real hit of adversity over the weekend, dropping its first Southeastern Conference series of the season in a rival matchup against the Texas A&M Aggies, and now the Longhorns seek to rebound.
The Longhorns now get to return home to UFCU Disch-Falk Field for their upcoming conference series, looking to improve their 28–7 overall record and a 9–5 conference record.
Making its way to Texas’ capital is the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide for a top-15 clash. The Crimson Tide has battled up until this point of the season, with a 27–11 overall record and an 8–7 conference record.
Alabama has pulled off a few high-leverage wins throughout the year, taking down bitter rivals, then-ranked No. 5 Auburn, in a series sweep, the same team the Longhorns took down on the road with a series victory. The Crimson Tide also had a series win on the road against the then-No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners, which the Longhorns swept in Austin just a few weeks ago.
However, the Crimson Tide, like the Longhorns, is also chasing a bounce-back series this weekend after being swept by the then-No. 22 Arkansas Razorbacks. Alabama was outmatched in the series, being outscored 25-13 at home in Tuscaloosa.
As a team, the Crimson Tide rolls into Austin with a .268 batting average and a .853 OPS, alongside 50 home runs, as Alabama averages a little over seven runs per game heading into the weekend.
Pacing the team is senior catcher Brady Neal, whose .375 batting average is the fifth-highest in the SEC. Additionally, Neal has an eye-popping 1.134 OPS alongside seven homers and a team-high 37 RBIs.
With the strength of Alabama’s team coming from inside the batter’s box, the Longhorns’ pitching staff will have to be more than up for the task.
This weekend comes with some change, as head coach Jim Schlossnagle mentioned that the pitching starting rotation will shuffle.
“We are going to go (Dylan) Volantis, Ruger (Riojas) and Luke (Harrison) this weekend,” Schlossnagle said. “And there’s nothing more to read into that other than I don’t want Dylan sitting for two weeks. There’s nothing more to it than if we don’t do that, then Dylan’s going to sit for almost 15 days, and I don’t want to do that.”
The change, as Schlossnagle mentioned, comes after sophomore pitcher Dylan Volantis was unable to get his start last Sunday, as the final game of the Texas A&M series was canceled due to weather.
The sophomore now moves into the Friday night role as the leading arm, as he touts the lowest ERA and WHIP out of the three starters. Volantis has allowed just 10 earned runs all season as he records 57 strikeouts, while limiting opposing batters to a .198 batting average.
Although the change is being made, Schlossnagle still feels strongly about all three of his starting pitchers.
“We feel like those three guys are interchangeable,” Schlossnagle said. “And so that’s what we’re going to roll this weekend.”
The first game of the three-game tilt between the Longhorns and Crimson Tide is set for Friday, April 17, at 6:30 p.m.
