Texas Baseball is Developing a Concerning Trend

It came close to happening all over again for the No. 2 Texas Longhorns. But relief pitcher Thomas Burns was able to mediate the damage in the final inning to secure a 7-6 victory over No. 5 Auburn to split the series at 1-1.

Still, the Longhorns' lack of a lights-out closer, similar to the production they had last season with then-freshman Dylan Volantis, has been the weakest point on one of the best teams in the nation so far.

It’s been an issue since the start of conference play and will continue until someone emerges to fill the shoes left by Volantis, leaving the pen to become the Sunday starter. In the Longhorns' three losses on the year, two of them have come off the back of the bullpen's struggle to maintain control of the night.

In their first loss of the year, Ole Miss fired a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning, winning the game in extras, and last night’s series-opening loss to the Tigers, with the Longhorns being on the wrong side of a bases-clearing single.

Texas Survives Auburn’s Late Rally

Texas baseball, Luke Harrison — Texas Longhhorns graduate pitcher Luke Harrison throws the "Horns Up" after a start | Texas Athletics

With the woes the bullpen has experienced so far this season, the Longhorns' starting pitching has done its job, especially Saturday starter Luke Harrison, delivering on his past two appearances in conference play.

Harrison allowed two runs in the fourth inning when he loaded up the bases, but was strong down the stretch, ending his night tossing for 5.2 innings with six strikeouts and four hits. But once the bullpen was called, things started to fall apart.

Veteran Max Grubbs was first out of the pen, replacing Harrison in the bottom of the sixth inning. Grubbs night would end in the seventh inning, allowing a two-out solo home run, a single, and walking a batter.

Brett Crossland and freshman standout Sam Cozart did not find much success either in relief. Crossland let Auburn score on back-to-back singles, with the earned runs being credited to Grubbs.

Cozart was not the same dominant force, hitting a batter and allowing a single to put runners at the corners with two outs when he was pulled in favor of Thomas Burns.

Although Burns picked up his third save of the season, he was not perfect either. Auburn was able to knock through an RBI single and started its rally in the ninth inning after falling with two outs.

Burns quickly struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Tigers' hitters were able to put together long at-bats, drawing three consecutive walks to load up the bases.

Unlike the series opener, the Longhorns already had two outs on the board, and Burns was able to secure the series split, forcing a fielder’s choice for Temo Berrerca to end off the night on a positive note.

Texas escaped Saturday with a victory and the opportunity to take the series tomorrow – the bullpen will have to tighten its control moving forward. The long, dominant outings from Harrison, Volantis, and Ruger Riojas will be a hard ask as the season moves closer to April and May.

Texas will look to take the series in Sunday’s rubber game against No. 5 Auburn at 2 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Alabama.

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