The No. 4 Texas Longhorns took the first two games and the series against the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide at home this weekend.
Head coach Jim Schlossnagle shuffled the starting rotation after last week’s series loss to the Texas A&M Aggies, moving sophomore starting pitcher Dylan Volantis to Friday and sliding senior pitcher Ruger Riojas and graduate pitcher Luke Harrison to Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The change worked, as Texas’ pitchers combined for 49 strikeouts on the weekend, the program’s most in a series since at least 2009. Still, Schlossnagle downplayed the rearrangement’s impact.
“They’re all three really good pitchers, I don’t think there’s any magic to (the order),” Schlossnagle said. “All three of those guys can give us really good length.”
At the very least, letting Volantis lead the weekend helped put Texas’ best foot forward.
Volantis set the tone in his first Friday start, striking out a career-high 12 batters while allowing just two runs. Riojas followed suit, punching out 11 batters in just five innings of one-run baseball. Texas’ staff combined for 19 strikeouts on Saturday, tying a program record for the most in a nine-inning game.
Riojas entered the game on the heels of two of his worst starts of the season and opened it by issuing a walk and then allowing a single and a run-scoring double. However, he managed to fight back to put together one of his best outings of the year.
“The hitters are paid to play the game too,” Riojas said. “But I just kept on doing my job and wouldn’t get away from the (coaches’) main emphasis, which was dominating zones.”
Harrison also set a career high in strikeouts when he punched out his tenth batter to strand Alabama’s loaded bases in the top of the sixth of Sunday’s match. He set another career mark by throwing 106 pitches on the day.
Texas’ bats failed to hold up their end of the bargain. After starting hot on Friday and doing just enough to squeeze out a win on Saturday, the Longhorns’ lineup was all but blanked and accrued just four hits and one run in their first Sunday loss of the season.
“Definitely a tough one to swallow,” Harrison said. “(I) felt like as a team we were in a good spot to come in today and complete the sweep, but that’s baseball.”
Supplementing the starting pitching this weekend was an impressive Texas bullpen, which did not allow a hit all series. Freshman reliever Sam Cozart notched his fifth and sixth saves of the season, pitching the final three innings of Friday’s game and closing Saturday’s by striking out the side.
Texas’ bats will look to get back on track Tuesday as they take on Air Force at UFCU Disch-Falk Field at 6:30 p.m.
