No. 4 Texas Bounces Back, Takes Series From No. 11 Alabama: Longhorns Notebook

Confidence was certainly not at its highest in Austin as the No. 4 Texas Longhorns (30-8, 11-6) headed into a pivotal weekend series against the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide (28-13, 9-9). Of course, that's what happens when you look as rough as they did against No. 10 Texas A&M.

They knew it would be important to shake off those two losses in College Station and focus on the task at hand -- taking care of business against Alabama. And that is certainly what they did, with an especially strong showing from the pitching staff.

Across the three games, they allowed only five runs and racked up a combined 49 strikeouts. This was more than enough for the offense in the first two games, as they secured a pair of wins to clinch the series. It was a different story in the finale, however, as they managed only one run on four hits and would drop the game, 2-1.

Three key takeaways from Texas' series win over Alabama

Texas Longhorns coachJim Schlossnagle — Texas Longhorns head coach Jim Schlossnagle stands in the dugout ahead of the Lone Star Showdown. | | Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Pitching bounced back

To put it kindly, it was not a good weekend on the mound for the Longhorns last weekend against the Aggies. Ruger Riojas gave up four runs in the opener and Luke Harrison lasted only two outs while giving up eight in his outing, while the bullpen was hit or miss at best.

It was a much different story against the Crimson Tide. Through the first two games they allowed only three runs and racked up a combined 36 strikeouts as a staff. On Sunday in the finale, they combined for only two runs with 13 more strikeouts.

Following a rough showing in College Station, Texas getting this version of its staff back down the home stretch in conference play is a big win ahead of the postseason.

New lineup, same inconsistencies

Prior to the start of the series against Alabama, the Longhorns sported a fairly consistent lineup at the top – with Ethan Mendoza leading off and Aiden Robbins third in the order. That was changed on Friday.

Mendoza, who has been slumping in recent weeks, was moved down to fifth with Robbins taking over leadoff duties. In the opener they pounded out 10 runs on 16 hits, yet in games two and three combined for just four runs on 12 hits -- including a mere four in the finale, a 2-1 loss.

When the bats are firing on all cylinders, as they were on Friday, this team is very hard to beat. However, they still show an inability to put together that level of production consistently.

Uphill battle in the SEC

After their showing in College Station last weekend, the Longhorns came into their series against Alabama tied with Texas A&M in second in the SEC. Winning the first two games kept them tied with the Aggies, who also took their first two games against LSU in their series.

Dropping the finale, though, put them in a tough spot down the home stretch. With the Aggies completing a sweep of LSU, they now find themselves down to third in the standings with 12 games left in conference play.

They aren't out of the race completely, as No. 5 Georgia sits at 13-5, the Aggies at 12-5 and Texas itself at 11-6. That being said, there is a narrow margin of error if the Longhorns want any chance at coming back down the stretch and repeating as conference champions.

What’s next for Texas?

The Longhorns are back in action on Tuesday evening as they wrap up a five-game home stand against the Air Force Falcons from UFCU Disch-Falk Field at 6:30 p.m. CT.

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