Texas Keeps Fighting At College World Series

Image credit: Pete Hansen (Photo by Eddie Kelly)

OMAHA —  As good as Texas has been this season, as well as the season has gone for the Longhorns – 49 wins, a Big 12 title and a run to the College World Series – they have had to work hard for everything they have gotten. They started the season 0-3, they won the conference title on the final day of the regular season after a furious comeback and they lost their first game in Omaha, dropping them immediately into the loser’s bracket.

But through it all, Texas has kept fighting. The Longhorns did it again Thursday night in an elimination game against Virginia, battling through an extended rain delay at the start of the game, a game-tying home run in the fifth inning and a tenacious opponent that hung tough until the bitter end.

In the end, Texas ground out a 6-2 victory to beat Virginia and advance to the bracket final against Mississippi State. The Longhorns will need to beat the Bulldogs on back-to-back days to advance to the CWS finals, but for a team that has had to scrap and claw all season long, it’s only fitting that their season has come to this point.

“We started having a saying back in the early spring, no matter what the conditions are, if we have adverse calls, it’s just the way we like it,” coach David Pierce said. “So, we just try to change the mindset in a positive way and in our favor.”

For the most part, Texas has been able to do just that all season long. After getting swept Opening Weekend at the State Farm Showdown in Arlington, the Longhorns ran off 14 wins in their next 16 games. After losing a series to Texas Tech at the start of May that knocked it out of first place in the Big 12, it came back to beat Texas Christian and West Virginia to win the title. After losing 2-1 to Mississippi State in the opener in Omaha, Texas bounced back to on Tuesday beat Tennessee, 8-4.

Thursday, after jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning and then seeing Virginia level the game in the bottom of the inning on a home run from Chris Newell, the Longhorns didn’t get down.

“I was really interested in watching them when we came in after the two-run home run see how we respond, and they just keep going,” Pierce said. “That’s the beauty about this team. And they just keep going. They’re going to play until the end.”

After the home run, Texas kept Virginia in check. Lefthander Pete Hansen turned in a solid start, holding the Cavaliers to two runs in 5.2 innings, and relievers Cole Quintanilla and Aaron Nixon combined for 3.1 scoreless innings.

With the bullpen again putting zeros on the scoreboard, the Texas offense had time to work. Eventually, after a strong start from righthander Mike Vasil, the Longhorns broke through. DH Ivan Melendez gave them the lead with an RBI single in the eighth and first baseman Zach Zubia delivered the insurance runs with a two-out, three-run double in the ninth inning.

Texas won’t have much time to enjoy the victory. The game ended just before 1 a.m. CT, leaving the Longhorns 16 hours before they face Mississippi State in another must-win game. Texas must beat Mississippi State twice to advance to next week’s CWS finals – another challenging task. Mississippi State has twice beaten Texas this season – once on Opening Day in Arlington and again on Sunday in Omaha.

Still, the Longhorns are finding a way to view their predicament in a positive light.

“I’d say we have the momentum right now,” Melendez said. “Mississippi State beat us twice. Now we have to go beat them twice. We’re hungry for more.”

It wasn’t easy for Texas on Thursday against Virginia and the level of difficult will only go up this weekend in the bracket final. But after everything Texas had thrown at it this season, Texas isn’t going to shy away from the challenge.

“We don’t want it easy,” Pierce said. “It’s going to be hard. We understand it. They’re going to have blows. We’re going to have to accept them and just keep playing.”