No. 4 Texas' Offense Staves Off Sam Houston's Upset Attempt: Longhorns Notebook

The No. 4 Texas Longhorns' bats overcome a rough night from the pitching staff in their win over the Sam Houston Bearkats.

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

Anyone who follows college baseball closely knows how wacky midweek games can be. On any given one, a team can come out and secure a marquee upset win. The No. 4 Texas Longhorns (33-9) are well aware of this.

Prior to Tuesday’s contest against the Sam Houston Bearkats (20-25), the Longhorns had dropped a pair of midweeks earlier this season to the Tarleton State Texans and Houston Cougars.

They nearly earned that lesson again against the Bearkats. Going back and forth in what turned into an absolute slugfest, the Longhorns had to overcome several deficits -- including two runs in the bottom of the ninth, when Carson Tinney capped off the rally with a two-run, walk off home run to secure the 15-14 win.

Three key takeaways from the Longhorns’ win over the Bearkats

Texas Longhorns' outfielder Anthony Pack Jr. celebrates a grand slam against the USC Upstate Spartans. | Texas Longhorns Athletic

Michael Winter struggled again

In his last midweek start, Winter struggled mightily against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The freshman allowed four runs on three hits and a walk, failing to record an out before exiting in the first. With that, Texas hoped he’d bounce back against the Bearkats.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. While he did get an out, he only lasted 21 pitches and was charged with three runs – two of which were earned. For a team looking for bullpen depth with the season winding down, these last two outings are certainly discouraging.

There’s no denying the talent is there for Winter, but so far he just hasn’t quite been able to put it all together quite yet.

Bullpen depth sorely lacking

No one wants to lose games, whether they’re a conference clash or a midweek. Despite that, though, dropping a midweek game is not the end of the world. What could be is the Longhorns’ concerning lack of bullpen depth as the season ends its final stretch.

As it currently stands, the two most reliable arms in relief are the freshman duo of Brett Crossland and Sam Cozart. After them, it’s been a mixed bag at best. Guys like Thomas Burns, Max Grubbs Haiden Leffew have shown flashes but have also struggled to be consistent.

With postseason play looming, the potential lack of reliable arms in the bullpen could spell disaster for the Longhorns – especially after giving up 14 runs to a Bearkats team that entered Tuesday averaging 5.4 runs per game.

Offense wills Texas to a victory

Sluggish starts aren’t a new phenomenon for the Longhorns offense this season. Several times they have come out of the gate slowly and then roared to life in the middle innings en route to a victory. 

It was another slow start against the Bearkats, too. They headed into the bottom of the fifth trailing 9-3. Then they woke up in a hurry, pushing across five runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to suddenly take an 11-9 lead. And then in the eighth, they again tried to bail out the bullpen after a two out, RBI single tied the game at 12-12.

Ultimately, the offense was able to get the job done with three runs in the ninth -- capped by a Carson Tinney's two-run walk off blast. For a team that has been frequently carried by the pitching staff in recent weeks, the offense carrying the load was crucial and helped avoid the upset.

What’s next for Texas?

The Longhorns remain at home this weekend, welcoming the No. 10 Mississippi State Bulldogs to UFCU Disch-Falk to kick off a three-game series at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.