Instant Takeaways: Texas falls to Tennessee 7-5 in 12 innings at the SEC Tournament

The Longhorns fell to Tennessee 7-5 in 12 innings during the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament. Here are a number of quick thoughts, takeaways, key moments, and more.

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Early aggressiveness benefits Texas against a premium arm

By no means were the Tennessee Volunteers at risk of missing the tournament, but their ability to host depended on a quality run in the SEC Tournament. Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello deployed SEC pitcher of the year Liam Doyle on the mound to try to shut down Texas and work to give the selection committee something to think about.

Texas handled Doyle as well as just about anyone had all year outside of Arkansas, and the tone was set right away. Ethan Mendoza started the game with a seven-pitch walk, and Texas put pressure on the Vols on the basepaths to take advantage of what could have been a precious amount of baserunners. Mendoza scored from second on a Kimble Schuessler single later in the first inning, and was able to do so thanks to an aggressive tag from first on a deep fly to center.

Doyle posted second and third innings to be expected from him, but once Texas had the chance to mount more pressure, the Horns did so in the fourth. Adrian Rodriguez doubled on a ball that just fell under the glove of the Tennessee right fielder, sliding into second just ahead of the throw. He made it home thanks to a Jalin Flores sac fly.

More aggressive hitting ended up chasing Doyle from the game. Mendoza knocked a two RBI triple off the top of the right field wall, removing the star after 3.2 innings.

Doyle had to labor with 60 pitches through three and concluded his outing with 79 pitches. The Longhorns logged four two-out hits against him, and were aggressive on the basepaths via tagging up from first, taking extra bases, bunting, and stealing bags. That helped put runs on the board and force Vitello to head to the bullpen after 3.2.

Ethan Walker makes the most of his opportunity

Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle spoke earlier in the week about how his focus was to get his team in the best position possible for the NCAA Tournament. That preference resulted in Walters State transfer Ethan Walker taking the mound for his first start of the year as an opener for the Longhorn pitching staff.

Walker, entering Thursday, had only made seven appearances and thrown 6.2 innings. His most recent outing was at Oklahoma, and prior to that it was in a midweek versus Lamar. Schlossnagle’s decision made it evident he wanted remaining starters like Luke Harrison, Ruger Riojas, and others to get a little more rest and be ready for the postseason, and that an early elimination in Hoover wouldn’t break his heart considering the Horns have a national seed locked up.

Walker didn’t get the memo. He baffled Tennessee hitters in the first 4.0 innings of his outing, with his only blemish being a hit batter. There were a couple of loud outs but nothing that damaged Texas nor put a runner in bright orange on base.

His outing was surprising yet welcomed. To face a team that entered Thursday hitting .310 with 121 home runs and to log 4.1 innings of shutout baseball before being lifted was possibly the most shocking performance of the tournament so far. Walker allowed a hit in the fifth and was lifted, but gave the Texas bullpen a sizable reprieve ahead of next week’s likely Austin regional. It functioned as yet another example of how this year’s Texas team has had so many different players step up to make critical contributions.

Walker had a couple of runs charged to him due to events that occurred after his exit. He ended the day with 4.1 innings pitched allowing one hit, two runs (one earned), three strikeouts, and two hit by pitches across 55 pitches (37 strikes).

Surviving, Struggling, Scratching, Succumbing

Walker left his outing with a couple of runners on, and one more made it to the bases thanks to a Jalin Flores error on a double play ball that would have ended the inning following his removal. This all occurred after a 16 minute delay due to needing to replace the home plate umpire, giving both teams a chance to reset.

The bloopiest of bloop singles off of Grayson Saunier brought home two to make it 4-2 Texas, but Flores helped to make up for it a few pitches later by starting a 6-4-3 double play that ended the frame and Walker’s day.

As Texas went deeper into the bullpen, the Vols started to add runs to the plate. Some of it had to do with control issues for Texas pitchers like Saunier and Thomas Burns, but the Vol bats started looking like a team known for knocking pitches out of Lindsey Nelson stadium.

Burns eventually settled in and did a decent job of keeping the game knotted a four in the eighth. He turned things over to Max Grubbs, who looked like Max Grubbs. A perfect eighth inning with a double play and a strikeout of cleanup hitter Dalton Bargo got Texas past capable parts of the Volunteer lineup. That carried over into the ninth, but it did not continue in the 10th. More on that later.

Conversely, Brandon Arvidson excelled in relief of Doyle for the Vols. He struck out five of the first seven batters he faced and stifled Longhorn bats in a manner most expected to see from Doyle. His looping breaking ball and herky-jerky motion fooled Texas hitters in a way that stopped the progress Texas’ aggressiveness had made in the first few innings. He posted a career high nine strikeouts in 5.1 innings, and made it possible for Tennessee to get back into the game.

Grubbs took the mound in the 10th and retired the first two batters. He got Gavin Kilen to a 2-2 count, and looked to put him away. Grubbs left it up, Kilen punished it, and sent it to the right field bullpen to give Tennessee a 5-4 lead. It wasn’t a bad pitch, but it was a pitch that a quality SEC leadoff hitter like Kilen had no problem reaching, pulling, and lifting out of Hoover Met.

Last At Bats

The Longhorns have figured out ways to plate more runs than the opponent all year. They just didn’t have enough on Thursday despite ample opportunity.

Rylan Galvan singled to lead things off in the 10th and occupied Arvidson’s attention at first. A lazy pickoff attempt sailed over the first baseman’s head and Galvan took two bases to put the tying run 90 feet away. Schuessler did his job with an RBI single to left to tie things at five. The Longhorns stranded the tying run in scoring position with their 17th strikeout, but they made sure to extend the game.

That also meant Texas brought in Dylan Volantis in the top of the 11th. Saving the SEC freshman of the year this weekend would have likely been preferrable, but an 11 inning game is an 11 inning game. Volantis entered with a runner on first and nobody out and successfully exited the inning without any damage.

That aggressiveness early against Doyle? It stuck around but didn’t do enough. Jayden Duplantier stole a base as a pinch runner with one out in the 11th, and that moved the winning run into scoring position. But it didn’t lead to any runs, and that would cost Texas.

Eventually, the potent Volunteer lineup spearheaded by Kilen got a hold of Texas pitching yet again. Kilen doubled on a 2-0 pitch with two on from Volantis that went back to the warning track in right center. Will Gasparino made a long run and tried to make a sliding catch, but could not haul in the ball and complete what would have been an extraordinary play. Two runs scored and Texas could not mount anything in in the 12th to see their trip to Hoover end quickly.

What’s next

All in all, Schlossnagle probably doesn’t mind the early exit. He used Volantis, Grubbs, and Burns but just for about 30 pitches apiece, nothing to worry about with over a week off until regionals start. He got the most out of Walker in a surprising way.

And while Texas won’t bring home another trophy, Schlossnagle gets to do what he identified as being crucially important this week: rest and get healthy.

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Tournament selection arrives Monday. The Longhorns are a lock to host and welcome teams to UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The remaining intrigue is who is heading to Austin, and who Texas has to defeat to advance to the round of 16.