For the tenth time in its storied history, Texas Longhorns baseball will make its way to the super regional round of the postseason.
But accomplishing that feat, finalized by Texas’ thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 win over Indiana in Sunday’s Regional Final, became a landmark moment for head coach David Pierce and his program.
It marks the first time Pierce had guided a program to the super regionals in his career. But it was also vindication for a team vying for its first trip to the College World Series in Omaha in four seasons.
“This is what we worked for starting in September. I was talking about it earlier, this team has the best chemistry I’ve ever had at UT,” said Texas senior infielder Kody Clemens. “We worked all through the fall for this type of environment and this type of game and situation and everything we’ve been through so far. And it’s an unbelievable thing.”
Texas (40-20) was forced to overcome a formidable Indiana Hoosiers pitching staff, which limited Texas to only two runs on a handful of hits through the first six frames. Texas struggled against Hoosiers pitcher Andrew Saalfrank, who struck out eight batters and issued only two walks over the course of 5.1 innings.
“He (Saalfrank) really settled in there at times,” said Indiana head coach Chris Lemonis. “I told him when I took him out, I was so proud of him, the way he competed and fought, in a great environment against some great hitters.”
Texas leapt out to a 1-0 lead after two innings, but the Hoosiers rallied to take a 2-1 advantage in the third frame.
The Longhorns rebounded via a solo home run from Zach Zubia to tie the game at 2-2 in the sixth frame.
Texas recaptured the lead for good when Clemens smacked an RBI double to deep right center field, scoring freshman David Hamilton for a go-ahead run and a 3-2 lead. Pierce said the team “showed our character tonight.” The desire to escape a decisive regional final game Monday provided ample motivation.
“I will say this, we played a very, very good team tonight. It was well coached, they pitched really well and they can hit,” Pierce said. “So, we escaped that. We wanted to get that done tonight.”
The Longhorns also obtained strong performances from starting pitcher Blair Henley, who earned the win by going 7.1 innings and striking out eight Hoosiers. Pierce said the performance was Henley’s best to date and he “competed really, really well.”
A little luck also went a long way for Texas as well. Such was exemplified in the eighth frame when Indiana had a runner on first base and Hoosier Matt Gorski smacked an extra-base hit that became a ground-rule double. The moment, made possible by shortening the outfield two years ago, kept Indiana from scoring a possible go-ahead run that could have tied the game.
Instead, Texas forced a ground out to end Indiana’s threat.
“You never know when it comes to play,” Pierce said. “Fortunately, it happened for us tonight.”
Texas’ win over Indiana bookended a trio of wins that catapults the team into the next round. The Longhorns upended Texas Southern in its regional opening game, followed by a lopsided 8-3 victory Saturday over rival Texas A&M in front of more than 7,000 fans.
For Texas pitcher Chase Shugart, who earned the save against Indiana, reaching the super regional round is a dream come true.
“I stated earlier in the week it’s every kid’s dream to throw in a regional, and now it’s every kid’s dream to throw in a super regional,” Shugart said. “We got past week one and we’re looking forward to going into week two. You know it’s the same emotion as always.”
