During this morning’s press conference, David Pierce announced righty Tristan Stevens (9-3, 2.99 ERA) will start Texas’ opening game of the Austin Regional Friday against No. 4 seed Southern (1:00 p.m. on LHN). The Texas head coach explained the thought process behind the decision:

“The first thing, I think he has the ability to bounce back better than any of our starters,” said Pierce, referencing Stevens’ ability to pitch later in the regional and his background as a reliever. “I think if you balance Pete in front of him, it puts you in a potential of not enough rest. And I like where Tristan is, as far as coming in one day earlier. I also feel like he is our best strike-thrower. And when you play a team like Southern that's going to depend on the running game, you've got to be able to be really good at making them earn everything they get. He can minimize pitches in innings, and so it allows him to possibly get deep in games without utilizing a bunch of pitches.”

My take: Totally get it, and I think it’s a perfectly fine choice. I wrote about why I’d start Pete Hansen versus Southern, but listed many of the same reasons Pierce mentioned in selecting Stevens- ability to bounce back later, controlling the running game, throwing strikes. In an ideal world, Stevens efficiently throws deep into Friday’s game, allowing Texas to save its big bullpen bullets while also allowing Stevens to throw later in the regional if needed.

Let’s not forget how beloved and respected Stevens is by teammates. Undoubtedly, he’s one of the main leaders of the team. So, it’s fitting he’ll be the one asked to set the tone and deliver a win to open the Austin Regional. He’s been Texas’ most consistent pitcher during Big 12 play and has completed 6.0 innings or more 11-straight times. That’s remarkable.