3 Biggest Takeaways From Texas Baseball’s Wild Win Over Sam Houston

Tuesday nights tend to be a bit of a wildcard for any college baseball team, and Texas baseball is no exception.

After trailing by six runs, taking the lead, losing it again and staring down a ninth-inning deficit, the Longhorns escaped with a chaotic 15-14 walk-off win over Sam Houston.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from Tuesday’s roller-coaster win.

1. Carson Tinney is becoming the heartbeat of this lineup

Texas Longhorns catcher Carson Tinney and outfielder Aiden Robbins celebrate together at home plate. | University of Texas Athletics.

At this point, it feels like every big moment finds Carson Tinney.

The junior catcher continued his torrid stretch Tuesday night with two home runs, three RBIs and the 463-foot walk-off blast that saved Texas from another midweek loss. It was his second homer of the night, his 16th of the season and the first walk-off home run of his career.

Tinney is hitting .338 on the season, and his 16 home runs rank second on the team behind only Aiden Robbins’ 18. For a player who looked like he was still settling in early in the season, Tinney is clearly finding his rhythm at the perfect time.

Texas now just has to hope it stays that way.

2. Michael Winter is still searching for consistency

Tuesday was supposed to be another important developmental start for freshman right-hander Michael Winter. But alas, it turned into another frustratingly short outing.

Winter lasted just one-third of an inning, allowing two hits, walking one, hitting a batter and giving up two earned runs before being pulled in the first inning. It marked the second straight appearance where he failed to make it out of the opening frame.

While Texas still believes in his long-term potential as a starter, his inconsistency since returning from illness has become one of the more frustrating midweek storylines. Schlossnagle made it clear postgame that he is not worried long-term.

“He’s a really good pitcher,” Schlossnagle said. “But he just hasn’t had the repetitions because he’s been sick. He’s still a big part of us.”

Right now, Texas is intentionally letting Winter work through these struggles as a starter rather than shifting him into a simpler bullpen role because they believe that’s where his future is. We’ll see if he’ll remain in that position next Tuesday.

That patience makes sense, but with postseason play approaching, the Longhorns still need to know exactly what they can trust from him.

3. A positive outing from Casey Borba, finally.

Yes, Tinney hit the walk-off and Aiden Robbins tied the game. But Casey Borba’s fifth-inning three-run homer may have been the most important swing for Texas moving forward.

Borba had been stuck in a frustrating April slump after dominating in March. After hitting nine home runs last month, he had gone 47 at-bats without one entering Tuesday night.

Schlossnagle said Borba had spent the last two days simplifying things and trying to trust his approach again.

“He’s been struggling, but he’s been working hard, and the game rewarded tonight,” Schlossnagle said.

While one strong midweek performance certainly does not guarantee better play moving forward, it was encouraging to see Borba finally shake some of that weight off his shoulders.

If Borba starts looking like March Borba again heading into the final stretch of SEC play, that may be the biggest win Texas takes from Tuesday night.

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