OMAHA - Following a frustrating loss to open the College World Series, Ty Madden told Longhorn fans to keep believing, and so did everything about the Longhorns’ season. All year the No. 2 overall seed Longhorns (48-16) have responded and looked like a team truly capable of going to Omaha and winning games. And they proved it today at TD Ameritrade Park.
“There's no panic. Obviously striking out 21 times in a game is unacceptable. But after the game coach Pierce is like, ‘Keep your head up, we'll go to work tomorrow.’ That's exactly what we did. We had a great batting practice yesterday and got our good work in. We had a team meeting, kind of cleared our minds, put that game behind us.“And then coming out and taking BP on the field today you could tell everybody was super focused and everybody was ready to go. That's in the past. Nobody's thinking about that game anymore.”
In an elimination game against No. 3 overall seed Tennessee (50-18), Texas was dealt some early adversity, responded with an excellent game offensively and stayed alive by winning, 8-4. On a day when its starting pitcher was unusually ineffective, Texas played fantastic defense, demoralized Tennessee with two-out hitting, and a freshman right-handed announced his future stardom on the game’s biggest stage.
Tennessee took control of the game with two runs in the top of the second inning, and the usually efficient Stevens struggled with control. His team picked him up in the bottom of the third inning in dramatic fashion. After Douglas Hodo struck out with one out and two runners in scoring position, Eric Kennedy battled deep into the count. The junior outfielder barely fouled a 3-2 pitch to stay alive. He’s talked recently about starting his swing earlier. That’s exactly what he did when he smashed a two-out, three-run homer to right field on a 95 MPH fastball.
Immediately, it appeared the Volunteers would regain the lead. Stevens struggled to miss bats because of his offspeed command and Tennessee loaded the bases with no outs. That other shade of orange in the ballpark sensed something brewing and an opportunity to not just take the lead but blow the game open. Then, Silas Ardoin made perhaps the defensive play of the season.
“Huge. Just trusting himself. I mean, the play - bases loaded, nobody out - and Cam just goosed the ball. And Silas never panicked. Looked like a shortstop on the pick,” described David Pierce. “And then throws a strike. I told him just now it's one of the best plays I've ever seen - ever - because of the situation. If that ball gets past him, they score two, with two guys - they score two and have a runner at second and third with nobody out. It could have unraveled on us. For me that was the play of the game, no doubt. And then the big two-out RBI.”
A hard grounder was smashed at Cam Williams, who was playing in. He snagged it, and fired an errant throw towards home. Like Yadier Molina behind home plate, Ardoin picked the hop with the calmness and confidence of a big leaguer before firing to first to complete the double play. A hyped, as usual, Stevens yelled encouragement at Ardoin. Zubia bounced off the first base bag emphatically as he pointed towards Williams for making the tough stop and shouted towards Ardoin. The next batter flew out and Texas, somehow, escaped bases loaded and no outs without giving up a run.
The following inning, Mike Antico did Antico-like things. He worked a leadoff walk on a 3-2 pitch, stole second, moved to third when the throw trickled into center field and scored on Cam Williams’ groundout to second base. Antico is now hitting .271/.440/.495 this season with 40 steals in 44 attempts.
Ahead 4-2, Pierce elected to stick with Stevens, one of the nation’s most efficient and consistent pitchers. But Stevens wasn’t able to turn it around. It was obvious early in the game the Texas starter didn’t have his typical control and command, especially with his changeup against left-handed hitters. Stevens didn’t complete 6.0 innings or more 12-straight times this season without battling through some lack of stuff and command. However, he needed more than competitiveness and toughness to survive Tennessee’s lineup.
A one-out walk in the top of the fourth inning was followed by a single and then a RBI single to cut the Texas lead to 4-3. Pierce came out of the dugout and made the move to Tanner Witt. Although Witt allowed an inherited runner to score and tie the game, he was about to show why his future as a college pitcher is as bright as any freshman in the country. And with the help of his middle infield friends, who combined to start a fantastic inning-ending double play, he minimized damage...
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