The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from No. 2 Texas Baseball’s Loss to Tarleton State

Well, it was bound to happen at some point.

No. 2 Texas baseball dropped its second game of the season — and its first midweek contest — to Tarleton State in a thoroughly miserable performance.

It was an underwhelming showing across nearly every phase. Here’s everything good, bad and ugly from the loss.

The Good — Bright Spots on the Mound

that pitch can cause a wee bit of trouble 🤏#HookEm | @hudhamilton2023 pic.twitter.com/zYKRZEPbub
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) March 17, 2026

Lost in the result were a few encouraging pitching performances.

Hudson Hamilton looked sharp in his start, flashing mid-90s velocity and navigating early traffic with ease. He allowed just one hit and showed improved command, a positive sign for a pitcher still settling in early this season.

Reliever Brody Walls also delivered quality innings out of the bullpen, helping stabilize things after the fourth-inning unraveling. Max Grubbs chipped in with a needed bounce-back outing as well.

On a night where plenty went wrong, Texas at least found a couple of arms that could factor into bigger roles moving forward.

The Bad — Missed Chances at the Plate

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

Entering Tuesday, the Longhorns had scored at least 14 runs in each of their first four midweek games.

That explosiveness was not on display tonight. Not even close.

Aside from a solo home run from Carson Tinney in the first inning and a two-out single from Josh Livingston in the ninth, Texas generated little offense and repeatedly failed to capitalize on countless opportunities.

The Longhorns drew nine walks and consistently put runners on base but went just 1-for-12 with runners on. Despite the traffic, Texas managed just one run all night.

It’s a simple formula: free passes only matter if you cash them in. Texas didn’t.

The Ugly — The Fourth-Inning Meltdown

Texas pitcher Max Grubbs throws a pitch in game two of the Big 12 baseball series. | Chase Seabolt/For the Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

What we thought was a rare utter collapse of the bullpen in the ninth inning of Friday’s loss to Ole Miss may not have been so rare after all.

Texas had another one of those tonight.

After three solid innings from Hamilton, the staff completely unraveled in the fourth. Reliever Kade Bing allowed a hit batter, bunt single and walk to load the bases before Tarleton State broke through with a string of RBI hits and free passes.

Cal Higgins entered mid-jam but couldn’t stop the bleeding, allowing a run-scoring hit and walking in another before being pulled without recording an out. By the time Max Grubbs found his way out of the inning, the Texans had hung a crooked number and seized full control.

In total, Texas pitchers walked or hit eight batters, and all five arms used issued at least one free pass.

And on a night where Texas couldn’t come up with a big hit, that was more than enough for Tarleton State to take advantage of.

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