• Baseball
  • Texas Longhorns Baseball Set To Face Indiana For First Time Since 2018's Austin Regional

Texas Longhorns Baseball Set To Face Indiana For First Time Since 2018's Austin Regional

Details
Baseball

Texas continues its first homestand of the season, hosting Indiana for a three-game series at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The Longhorns and Hoosiers have only played once previously, in the 2018 NCAA Austin Regional Final. Texas defeated Indiana 3-2 to advance to the NCAA Super Regional and eventually the College World Series.

Indiana has a 2-2 record after dropping the opening weekend series at Auburn before beating Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday in Bloomington.

A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—The Longhorns feature several new faces on the roster and coaching staff as they look to advance to the College World Series for a third-straight season. On the coaching staff, Steve Rodriguez will work with the hitters and infielders while Woody Williams will coach the pitchers. The roster features 10 freshmen and nine transfers that will compete for several key roles after the Longhorns lost seven everyday starters in the lineup and two experienced starting pitchers. Outfielders Eric Kennedy and Dylan Campbell and infielder Mitchell Daly are the most experienced position players on the roster. Lucas Gordon returns to the pitching the staff after being named second team All-Big 12 last season. The Longhorns could also see the return of Tanner Witt to the mound after missing most of last season.

THE TRANSFERS—The Longhorns have seven transfers from Division I programs that could make an immediate impact, including outfielder Porter Brown (TCU), infielder Tanner Carlson (Long Beach State), catcher Garrett Guillemette (USC), RHP Cody Howard (Baylor) RHP Charlie Hurley (USC), LHP David Shaw (Rice) and RHP Heston Tole (Arkansas). Additionally RHP DJ Burke and LHP Chris Stuart transferred from San Jacinto College.

HOME SWEET HOME—Texas went 27-7 last season at the friendly confines of UFCU Disch-Falk Field. During the regular season, Texas played a total of 34 games at home and 30 games away from UFCU Disch-Falk Field. In home games, Texas had a team batting average of .340 and a .990 fielding percentage. The Longhorns also averaged a program record 6,918 fans in attendance at home last season, the fifth-highest average attendance in the country.

OWN THE DISCH—A large part of the Longhorns success under head coach David Pierce has come down to dominating at home. Since 2017 Texas has produced a 148-40 (.787) record at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, including a 27-7 mark last season. Since the stadium opened in 1975, Texas has gone 1580-400-3 at home for a .798 winning percentage. The fan base has also done a great job of making the Disch a difficult place to play. With the exception of the 2021 season because of limited capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas has led the Big 12 in attendance for 15-consecutive seasons.

THE SCHEDULE—The 2023 schedule features 36 home games at UFCU Disch-Falk Field after opening the season at the College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington. In Big 12 play, the Longhorns will host Texas Tech, Kansas State, Oklahoma and West Virginia and will travel to Oklahoma State, Baylor, TCU and Kansas. Texas also has a marquee midweek match up at home, welcoming LSU to UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Feb. 28.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS—It's an old adage that played out well in Texas' journey to back-to-back College World Series appearances in 2021 and 2022. During the 2021 season, the Longhorns' .980 fielding percentage led the Big 12 and was the 10th-best percentage in the nation. In 2022, Texas set the program record and led all of Division-I Baseball with a .985 fielding percentage.

PRESEASON HONORS—Two Longhorn pitchers Lucas Gordon and Tanner Witt were named to the All-Big 12 Preseason team. Last season Gordon went 7-2 with a 3.05 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 85.2 innings after moving into the weekend rotation. Witt made two starts on the mound in the 2022 season before undergoing season ending surgery. He finished with a 2-0 record, a 1.64 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched.

INFIELD HIT MACHINE—Throughout his career on the Forty Acres, Eric Kennedy has used his speed as a means to get on base. With seven infield singles (three bunt) lst season, Kennedy now has 58 career infield singles (31 bunts). In 2021, Kennedy had 27 infield singles, including 16 bunt hits.

ROOKIES—Several freshmen will play big roles this season, including infielders Jalin Flores (San Antonio) and Jared Thomas (Waxahachie). Flores is likely to start at third base on Opening Day, while Thomas is expected to be the Longhorns starting first baseman. Additionally, infielders Jayden Duplantier and Cade O'Hara, catcher Rylan Galvan, outfielder Max Belyeu, and pitchers Kobe Minchey, Max Grubbs and Pierce George could all find significant playing time.

BOMB SQUAD—Texas shattered the program record for most home runs in a season in 2022, smashing 128 bombs in 69 games. The home run total led the Big 12 and ranked third nationally. Seven different Longhorn players hit 10 homers for the first time in program history. Only one of those players with 10-plus homers last season returns in 2023, as Dylan Campbell hit 10 bombs as a sophomore. In all, only 23 of the homers were hit by returning players.