Texas Longhorns Seeking Starting Pitcher Change Ahead of SEC Play?

The Texas Longhorns solidified their second tournament title this weekend after going 3-0 in the Las Vegas Classic, but the sweep didn't come without some pitching struggles that kept fans on their toes.

On the third and final day, the Longhorns faced their first scoring deficit of the three-day tenure as the Illinois Fighting Illini racked up a 6-1 lead by the top of the fourth inning. Starting sophomore pitcher Kade Bing allowed four hits and three earned runs, threw two wild pitches, walked one batter and hit two more across his 3.2 innings pitched, his worst performance of the season thus far.

Junior relief pitcher Max Grubbs stepped in for Bing and shut the door on Illinois while Texas slammed four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and another nine runs in the sixth to ultimately propel the Longhorns to a dominant 15-6 victory on Sunday.

During postgame interviews, head coach Jim Schlossnagle suggested that Bing's recent performance on the mound might cause a shift in who can be expected as the Sunday night starter from here on out.

"I thought he did ok, just too many free bases," Schlossnagle said. "But I think he's gotten progressively better, and he's definitely going to be a big piece of what we do, whether he continues to be a starter or not."

With only five more games before the team begins SEC play, Schlossnagle mentioned that he's been thinking ahead to what the pitching lineup will look like when Texas meets Mississippi State on March 14.

"Having Grubbs close a game and win a game this week, that's massive," Schlossnagle said. "I think we have some options. I want to see [Jason] Flores pitch on Tuesday again. Then we have some conversations as a coaching staff we have to have before next weekend so we can kind of tee-up things for conference play."

While Schlossnagle didn't specify if the staff would be replacing Bing, he did reveal the idea of potentially test-running some guys out of the bullpen within the next couple of weeks.

As senior Jared Spencer, redshirt junior Luke Harrison and freshman Jason Flores all occupy starting positions, Schlossnagle could turn toward a variety of players to take the spotlight. Senior Andre Duplantier, freshman Dylan Volantis, and junior Ruger Riojas all look to be viable options, but Grubbs might just be a name to look out for with his 0.00 ERA and through 11 combined innings.

"If there's somebody we want to start, other than Kade, then we need to probably do it before conference play," Schlossnagle said. "I'm not saying we will, but we have some weapons in that bullpen, and if you put one in rotation, who's going to take that spot? In conference play, you can only travel with 30 players, so you have to make sure you use them the right way."

The Longhorns will return to Austin on Tuesday to play Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 6:30 p.m. CT before their weekend series against Santa Clara begins on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT.

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