This past weekend, with some help from Wildcat friends, No. 1 seed Texas won the Big 12 regular season crown. Now, they’re focused on the second of five possible championships - the Big 12 Tournament. Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+), Texas will play the winner of this evening’s play-in game between No. 8 seed West Virginia and No. 9 Kansas. While the Longhorns have eyes on another prize, they’re not going to sacrifice their chances at the more important championships down the road.
“The tournament, it's always interesting if you're in a good spot with your resume because you want to go out and compete and try to win the tournament, like you said,” responded David Pierce about keeping his starters fresh for the postseason. “But at the same time, you're probably not going to extend a starter. You're probably not going to [use] a guy back-to-back as much as a team that is in a little bit more desperate position to get into the national tournament.
“So it's a little bit tricky, because you're going to compete against some teams that are do or die. And we're gonna compete at the highest level we can but also be smart. So, you don't want to portray it like that to your team. You want the team to feel like that we're doing everything at all costs to win the game and we are within our health and the best thing for our team moving forward.”
Make no mistake, UT’s resume is in excellent shape. Heck, this is probably the best postseason resume Texas has built since 2011. Even if the Longhorns win the Big 12 Tournament, they’re probably not going to leapfrog Arkansas to become the No. 1 national seed. While a 0-2 stay in Oklahoma City could knock down Texas a spot or two on the national seed list, Texas has done so much already it would be a stunning surprise if it’s still not a national top eight seed.
All that said, when Ty Madden takes the ball Wednesday afternoon as the starter, he’s not going to be thinking about any of that.
“I'm going game one. I don't know about a pitch count. I mean, my body feels good. And I'll have something like eight or nine days until the regional starts. So I'm sure I'll let it fly like every week,” he said.
Rather, he’s going to be thinking about dominating and getting better following a frustrating outing versus West Virginia.
“I've watched film a couple times. And it was like, every other at-bat was a strikeout. I feel like my stuff was good. And I just made a couple mistakes. And they took advantage of it. And just to keep going. I mean, it's a long season. And I definitely got things I need to work on. But just yeah, just keep going. I think getting the ball back down, and my downhill angle is huge. And I think that opens up my elevated [fastball] instead of just kind of living in the middle, especially left-handed hitters. And so just going to work on that all week and just stay on with my cues and getting ready to roll again.”
Fortunately for Texas and Madden, his blister doesn’t sound like it’s an issue. When the hard-throwing righty encountered the blister during his start against Texas Tech, Troy Tulowitzki connected him with a former teammate who could help him remedy the blister. Plus, the week off from a weekend start came at a great time for the pitching staff.
“Since Tech, I got in touch with Aaron Sanchez through Tulo, and he kind of walked me through that," said the UT starter about the current San Francisco Giants starter. "And after a couple days, it was good to go. I was ready to go for TCU. And I haven’t had any problem since. But yeah, I feel great. I put the work in this offseason and then every week to keep my body in great shape. And I think the off week definitely came at a perfect time. All of our pitchers just being able to catch our breath, and really kind of focus on ourselves. And we had two weeks until we started, and so we were able to actually get some real work in the pen and focus on some things that you usually can't do during the season because you got to be ready to start again. So, I think it was good for our bodies and, and for our work as well.”
DISCUSS TEXAS BASEBALL AND LONGHORN SPORTS INSIDE THE 40 ACRES
A COUPLE OTHER NOTES:
--- Pierce explained part of the thought process behind starting Madden on Wednesday was because if Texas elected to do something like a bullpen day, it could tax the bullpen too much early on in a tournament that could last through Sunday. Based on Pierce's comments, I expect Tristan Stevens to pitch Thursday and then Pete Hansen Friday or Saturday, assuming Texas plays.
--- It sounded like Texas will try to get some game reps for players like Murphy Stehly and Dylan Campbell. In the postseason, Pierce knows he’ll need his depth ready for situations like pinch-hitting.
--- Madden described conversations pitchers have with the staff as “unique,” referencing the detail and all the different angles Texas can approach pitching with. He also said they’ve discussed mentality on the mound more than any team he’s been on, and the conversations after starts are “really in depth” for a college pitching staff.
