Jim Schlossnagle's Decision to Pull Luke Harrison Early Is Huge For No. 6 Texas

The No. 6 Texas Longhorns took a dominant 19-1 victory in their Austin Regional opener against the Holy Cross Crusaders.

The Longhorns were able to see 15 different position players take the field and four relief arms in the Austin Regional opener. Luke Harrison was able to last four innings, as the Texas bats secured the early victory, allowing the Longhorns to save their best arms for the road ahead.

“I thought that Luke did a really nice job to start the game off for us in the first couple innings of just throwing strikes,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said.

Harrison’s Afternoon Prepares Him and The Bullpen For Future Use

Texas freshman pitcher Sam Cozart eyes the plate in a midweek game at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas. | Texas Athletics

From the early jump, the Longhorns were not going to be in the most competitive games on the opening day of the NCAA Regional Tournament. Unlike other one-seeds around the country, Texas did not trot out Dylan Volantis, instead opting for Harrison.

The Crusaders did get a good jump on the veteran pitchers, with a two-hole double in the first inning and another hit in the second. After that, though, Holy Cross would not find a hit against Harrison.

“He started to mix a little bit more as the game went on,” Holy Cross outfielder John LaFleur said about Harrison. “He just had that cutter and sinker playing off each other.”

Harrison’s strength against the Crusaders was his efficiency — he was able to collect seven strikeouts on just 50 pitches.

The Longhorns held a 7-0 lead heading into the 5th inning, when Harrison was pulled in favor of Cody Howard. After Howard, Texas used Ethan Walker, Hudson Hamilton, and Jason Flores, preserving their best relievers for the weekend.

“I felt like we got him out, you know, scoring the extra runs there to get it to five made me feel better about it,” Schlossnagle said. “I thought everybody came in behind him, did a really nice job and set us up good for tomorrow.”

Schlossnagle pulled Harrison earlier than usual and will be available to come out in a bullpen role for the rest of the regional. It may be crucial if the Longhorns find themselves in the losers' bracket and need a reliable arm like Harrison to toss 40 pitches.

Now in the winners' bracket, the Longhorns will trot out Volantis, who should get at least 70 pitches in through six innings.

Texas still has relief pitchers — Sam Cozart, Haiden Leffew, Brett Crossland and Thomas Burns all fresh and available.

The Longhorns will face either Tarleton State or UC-Santa Barbara tomorrow at 6 p.m. CT at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

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