The Good, The Bad and The Ugly From Texas Baseball’s Win Over Texas A&M–CC

Texas Baseball rolled into its third midweek victory in a row after a disappointing weekend in College Station.

Texas Longhorns outfielder Aiden Robbins celebrates after hitting a home run against the Auburn Tigers. | University of Texas Athletics

The feeling heading into Tuesday night’s matchup against Texas A&M–Corpus Christi was certainly one of frustration. After back-to-back losses in College Station to Texas A&M, the No. 4 Longhorns entered their midweek game having dropped a weekend series for the first time this season.

A reset was much needed with a top-10 matchup against Alabama looming this weekend.

Fortunately for Texas, it got exactly what it needed. It wasn’t pretty early, but the Longhorns responded with 12 unanswered runs to pull away for a 14-7 win over the Islanders — their third straight midweek victory.

Here’s everything good, the bad and the ugly from the win. 

The Good — Offensive explosion and lineup depth

Texas Longhorns Aiden Robbins, Maddox Monsour and Anthony Pack Jr. throw up the Hook 'Em Horns. | University of Texas Athletic

Once Texas settled in, the offense looked like itself again.

The Longhorns scored 14 runs, strung together multiple big innings and got production from up and down the lineup. Carson Tinney led the charge with a career-high five RBIs, continuing his red-hot stretch with another home run and extra-base hit.

Anthony Pack also continued his recent tear, driving in two runs with a first-inning sacrifice fly and a game-tying RBI in the fourth.

All nine starters recorded a hit as Texas racked up 16 hits and drew 11 walks.

The most encouraging sign, though, came from the bottom of the order. Ashton Larson reached base multiple times, Josh Livingston reached safely in four consecutive plate appearances and drove in three runs, and Dariyan Pendergrass made the most of his first start of the season with an RBI single, a sacrifice fly and a perfectly executed suicide squeeze.

The Bad — Another shaky start on the mound

Texas pitcher Max Grubbs (38) throws a pitch in game two of the Big 12 baseball series. | Chase Seabolt/For the Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

For the second time in a matter of days, Texas found itself in an early hole.

In his first start as a Longhorn, freshman Michael Winter failed to record an out, allowing four Islanders to reach base.

Texas A&M–Corpus Christi opened with three singles and a walk before Jarrett Flaggert drove in two runs, forcing Texas to turn to the bullpen almost immediately. By the time reliever Max Grubbs recorded the third out, the Longhorns trailed 5-0 before many fans had settled into their seats.

While the start had little to no effect on the outcome, it was certainly a disappointing showing for Winter, who had been sidelined for about a month due to illness. The freshman showed promise earlier this season, but Tuesday’s outing suggested he may need more time to get fully back into rhythm.

The Ugly — The Islanders’ meltdown

Temo Becerra celebrates a home run against Coastal Carolina in the Bruce Bolt College Classic at Daikin Park. | University of Texas Athletics

Texas deserves credit for capitalizing, but Texas A&M–Corpus Christi unraveled in a way that made the comeback easier than it should’ve been. Defensive mistakes, free passes and a lack of command on the mound opened the floodgates.

After building a 5-0 lead, the Islanders allowed 12 unanswered runs, struggling to throw strikes and finish innings. Without that early cushion, this game would have most certainly ended in another Tuesday run-rule win for the Longhorns.

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