No. 16 Texas wins the first series of the season thanks to 9-4 Sunday win

After moving past San Diego on Friday in the season opener thanks to a Jalin Flores grand slam and falling in extra innings to the Toreros in game two, the No. 16 Texas Longhorns took the first series of the 2024 season thanks to a 9-4 Sunday win over USD at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

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Peyton Powell and Jayden Duplantier each drove in two runs in game three, with Duplantier providing a pivotal run in the fifth inning on a two-out, two-strike bases-loaded infield single.

Right-hander Cody Howard earned the win on Sunday, the second of his career, thanks to 4.0 innings of one-run ball in relief of Tanner Witt.

Here are a few things to note from the weekend.

Texas’ top three is set

The early portion of the season is a time for teams to figure out good lineup combinations, but the upper third of Texas’ starting nine is very likely set. The trio of Jared Thomas, Peyton Powell, and Jalin Flores went 15-for-36 with two homers, two doubles, a triple, seven walks, and 11 runs scored with just four total strikeouts against them.

Thomas led the way with a 6-for-11 weekend with seven runs, one RBI, four doubles, two walks, and one strikeout. While his spot in the batting order is locked in, where he begins in the field is up in the air. He began the first two games of the year at first base before starting game three in center. He moved to first later in the game after some situational substitutions, a signal that David Pierce values Thomas’ defensive ability on the right side of the infield and trusts some younger players to capably man the outfield.

Powell and Flores both added important homers, with Flores’ two-out, two-strike grand slam putting the Longhorns ahead in game one of the series and sending Disch-Falk’s brand new Yeti Yard into a frenzy.

YETI YARD, GET SOME!@YOUNG_JFLOW GRAND SLAM AND THE HORNS LEAD, 6-3!#HookEm pic.twitter.com/cq8CcJJJFn

— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 17, 2024

Powell’s homer came in game two, a contest the Longhorns lost after they were unable to match the Tors’ 11th inning run.

That trio served as the steady presence in the Longhorn lineup all weekend. The rest of the squad? They provided 13 hits. After a slow opening two games, the rest of the lineup did respond in game three with five hits and four RBI. But Thomas, Powell, and Flores provided the offense needed by the Longhorns to take home the first series of the year.

1.55 WHIP

That was the WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) posted by the Texas pitching staff during the first series of the year. Fourteen different pitchers toed the rubber for the Longhorns, including the first starting trio of the year in Lebarron Johnson, Charlie Hurley, and Tanner Witt/Cody Howard.

Johnson gave up two earned runs in five innings of work on Friday before turning things over to the bullpen after 76 pitches. Then, Max Grubbs, Grant Fontenot, Gage Boehm, and David Shaw finished the last four innings and allowed only one earned run for a solid win.

Things were a bit more shaky on Saturday, when Hurley had to be removed for Easton Tumis after loading the bases in the fourth. Tumis got out of the jam but would allow an earned run the next inning. Texas held serve for most of the rest of the game before Boehm and Cole Selvig allowed three runs in the 10th and 11th. Texas’ bats responded in the 10th but couldn’t do the same in the 11th.

USD didn’t provide much as far as bat on ball in the rubber match but Texas hurlers allowed six walks in game three. Shaw, a lanky lefty, has started the season in the late-inning role with ninth-inning appearances in games one and three. Shaw pitched 1.0 shutout inning on Friday before being called in for the final out on Sunday.

Baserunners, over 1.5 per inning, were a constant and while the Longhorns were mostly able to handle the pressure, that’s still a figure that Pierce and company will look to lower over the course of the next few games.

Three errors over three games

While there were some defensive plays that were left on the field over the weekend, Texas committed just three errors. One of them was a ball Max Belyeu lost in the sun on Saturday. The other two were errors on the pitcher committed on Sunday.

21 runs in three games

The Longhorn offense was multiple for most of the weekend, making the most of the long ball over the first two games before moving runners over with proper execution in game three. Seven extra base hits over the course of the opening series were matched by three sacrifices, including a well-executed sac bunt by Kimble Schuessler in the fourth that led directly to a Longhorn run in the next at bat.

Texas likes being multiple on offense under Pierce and certainly were over the course of the first weekend, again mostly thanks to the efforts from the top three in the order but not without contributions from players like Schuessler and freshman Will Gasparino.

Tanner Witt

According to Pierce during game three’s postgame availability, the plan for Witt in his Sunday start was to essentially be an opener. Witt was supposed to be on the bump for 6-9 outs and then go to Cody Howard. Witt recorded a 123 first before encountering trouble in the second on a walk, another walk, then an E1. Witt was then replaced by Howard, who himself walked back-to-back batters which brought in USD runs charged to Witt. Howard eventually got out of the inning, but it was an inauspicious start for Witt as he continues his slow recovery from Tommy John surgery in 2022.

Pierce also told media after the game that Witt is dealing with a medical issue that’s not allowing him to get full extension in his throwing motion. It’s been a long road back for Witt, and it appears the road has another twist or turn remaining.

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What’s next

Texas hosts Houston Christian on Tuesday for the first midweek game of the season. The Huskies were picked to finish last in the Southland.

Next weekend, Cal Poly heads to town. The Mustangs were picked seventh out of 11 teams in the Big West preseason poll. All four games are slated to be on Longhorn Network. First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.