As the famous saying goes, “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” For what seems like the entire season, after an opening weekend to forget, the No. 3 Longhorns (31-8, 10-2) have been making their own luck. And thanks to their preparation, they keep winning and winning and winning.
Sure, winning 14 games in a row requires at least a little bit of good fortune. But make no mistake, there’s nothing fluke-like about the way these Longhorns compete because it starts with their preparation and mental makeup.
“It's great that we've been winning, you know, it feels like when we step on the field it always feels like we're gonna win the game. So, I would think that's the thing that we're really doing right is that we're all expecting to win,” said Mike Antico. “We all have that winning feeling like the last dozen games. We haven't ever, even if we were losing, we've never felt like we had our backs against the wall. We've always felt like we're in the driver's seat, and we're dictating the pace. And it's our game, and they're just playing with it.
“Besides that this team gets to work every day. I mean, game starts at one o'clock today (Sunday versus ACU). We were in here at eight o'clock in the morning with the coaches. They're throwing batting practice. These guys don't have to do that, but they do so. Just the hard work, you know, it really pays off. We really are all bought into the same ideas of whether it be hitting or defense or pitching. We're all really bought into the same types of deals, and we just try to execute it when it comes game time. And that is all working for us.”
What we’re seeing on the field is the result of what’s happening when we’re not watching. Players like Ivan Melendez, Mitchell Daly and Antico don’t dramatically improve at the plate by accident just like Tristan Stevens didn’t find Greg Maddux’s control overnight. Inside the Texas clubhouse and facility, there is a culture built upon a foundation of hard work. Everyone is involved. Egos are nowhere to be found. And that’s special.
“I would say it's a special thing. You'll see a guy have a great, great game, and still be showing up early the next morning or on the flip side, you have a bad game, still showing up the next morning,” said Antico. “So, I would say it's been very consistent. Unique? I mean, that's what great players do. Great players are going to no matter whether they're doing great or doing poorly, they're going to show up every day, and they're going to put in the work.
“But I would say as a group, it's definitely a special thing that this lineup and this team shows up every day and gets after it so that's why you guys are seeing the winning streak and then all the success. It's all the behind the scenes [work], and then once we get out on that field, we compete and the game comes easier when you put all that time in.”
David Pierce knows the road ahead, probably as soon as this weekend’s series at No. 24 Oklahoma State, will produce some adversity. No one has to venture too far out on a limb to suggest UT’s winning streak won’t last all season. The Big 12’s best, including Texas, are going to go head-to-head in three of the final five weekends. But when the losses do eventually arrive, they won’t bother Pierce because he saw this group coming. The Texas head coach knows whatever comes his team’s way, it’ll be ready to handle it, which is why he’s having a blast coaching it.
“I woke up at 4:30 this morning making notes,” said Pierce after Sunday’s win against Abilene Christian. “At six o'clock, I was finishing the game from yesterday. At 8:30, I was in the clubhouse. And it's just an adrenaline rush right now. You don't want to leave anything out. You want to make sure that you're there for them. You want to make sure that you're giving them everything you have because they are doing the same thing. And it's a very unique situation right now. “I said at the beginning of the year that this team is different. And also said I had no idea how many games we're gonna win. But every single day, if we continue to do what we're doing, I like our chances. And I’m having a blast.”
I don’t know how many games Texas is going to win these final weeks of the regular season. But how could you not like the Longhorns’ chances right now?
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