College World Series Run, Young Talent Indicate Texas is Back

Image credit: Texas DH Ivan Melendez (Photo by Eddie Kelly)

OMAHA—Whether or not Texas is “back” has become such an overwrought debate that it has turned into something of a meme, but when we talk about the baseball program, the evidence of the Longhorns truly being back is overwhelming. 

This season, UT went 50-17 overall, won the Big 12 regular season title with a 17-7 record and advanced to the College World Series. Its time in Omaha ended short of its goal of a national championship with a 4-3 loss to Mississippi State in walkoff fashion on Saturday night, but the 2021 season has to be viewed as a massive success. 

It actually hasn’t been that long since Texas was on the CWS stage, as a Kody Clemens-led squad made the trip in 2018, but that team went 0-2 in Omaha and preceded a 2019 team that finished last in the Big 12. 

This team, however, feels different, like it’s the beginning of something. 

“Our 2018 team was good, but this group has started that true standard that we’re looking for,” Texas coach David Pierce said. 

To hear Pierce tell it, it’s also a special team, and that’s easy to believe. A lot of this group was around for a last-place finish in 2019, a pandemic-shortened season in 2020 or both, so to send a lot of those players off with a postseason run like this had to be satisfying. 

“The only thing that I’m disappointed in is this team will no longer be this team anymore, and it’s the most incredible team I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve won a national championship and been here now six times,” Pierce said. 

Pitching was this team’s bread and butter, as it finished the season with a 2.93 ERA. Righthander Ty Madden, as advertised, was one of the best starting pitchers in the country. Fellow righthander Tristan Stevens, who started against Mississippi State Saturday and threw five quality innings, was a solid complement to Madden in the rotation. After some uncertainty about what he would be able to contribute early in the season due to an interrupted spring practice for him personally, lefthander Pete Hansen grew into an outstanding third starter. 

The Longhorns also ran three-deep with relievers who were as good as just about anybody in righthanders Cole Quintanilla, Aaron Nixon and Tanner Witt, who appeared in 26, 27 and 28 games this season, respectively. 

It was Quintanilla that Texas turned to on Saturday once Stevens exited. With MSU scoring the winning run in the ninth, he ended up getting the loss, but he was excellent up until then. 

He entered in the sixth with a run already in for the Bulldogs and two runners on. After walking Scotty Dubrule on a full-count pitch, he got a fielder’s choice at the plate against Brad Cumbest for the first out before striking out Kellum Clark and Josh Hatcher to get out of trouble and preserve the 3-3 tie. He then faced the minimum over the next two innings. It was a gutsy effort in a season full of them for Quintanilla, and right up to the end, the coaches felt like they were in good hands. Pierce wasn’t quite ready to let Quintanilla go as long as the righthander would have wanted to go, but he didn’t waver in thinking he was the right guy for that spot. 

“I don’t know about (going) as long as he wanted to go but I thought he was sharp,” Pierce said. “When the eighth was over, he was strong and I thought we’re sticking right there. I liked everything about it.”

The offense also made great strides as the season went along, and it acquitted itself well in Omaha. Texas scored just four total runs in two one-run losses to Mississippi State, but it scored eight runs twice, in a win against Tennessee and in the first bracket final against Mississippi State, and six runs in a win against Virginia. 

First baseman Zach Zubia was as consistent as ever this season, hitting 11 home runs, but he had a lot of help from newcomers in center fielder Mike Antico, who hit 10 homers and swiped 41 bases out of the leadoff spot, and DH Ivan Melendez, who led the team with 13 home runs. After putting up modest production in his first season in Austin in 2020, third baseman Cam Williams also enjoyed a big season, leading the team in doubles with 20 and adding 12 home runs. 

Young players like second baseman Mitchell Daly, right fielder Doug Hodo III, shortstop Trey Faltine and catcher Silas Ardoin all had big moments, with Daly ending the season second on the team in hitting at .316. Defensively, Daly and Faltine made for a rock-solid double play tandem and Ardoin has emerged as a quality defender behind the plate. 

All told, it was a roster that was a near-perfect blend of experience and youth that came together to do something special. 

“I think more than anything that I’ve been so pleased with is just the leadership from Ty and Tristan and DJ (Petrinsky) and all the older guys, Zach, they have just been tremendous,” Pierce said. “They set the standard. It’s crazy we got here in 2017 and we absorbed a team that was 24-31 and didn’t really know how to win. This group, starting last spring, started really creating that attitude that we were looking for.”

It’s the presence of the young players, both in the field and on the mound, that should have the Texas faithful excited about what’s to come. 

There will be some important departures. Madden is a surefire early draft pick, and it’s likely that Melendez and Quintanilla are drafted in a place that would make it hard for them to return to campus. Hansen and Zubia could also have decisions to make in that regard. Antico’s eligibility is up as well. 

But Daly, Hodo, Faltine and Ardoin, all first- or second-year players at Texas, plus Williams and left fielder Eric Kennedy, make for a really solid foundation in the lineup, should they all return. Witt and Nixon, both freshmen this season, plus freshman lefthander Lucas Gordon, provide a similar core on the mound, and if he’s back, Stevens would be a valuable veteran presence to lead the staff. 

The youth being served is not lost on those like Quintanilla, who have been around a while. 

“I think the future is bright for the younger guys that are coming up, especially like Tanner, Nixon, Lucas, they are going to play a huge role for this team next year and years to come,” he said.

Turning one CWS appearance into a run of them is the challenge. History is littered with teams that made it to that stage and looked poised to become Omaha regulars, only for the postseason run in question to end up being an isolated incident in hindsight. 

Of course, if Texas is really and truly back, taking on that challenge will be required. Texas is ready. Take it from Quintanilla. 

“I think we’re about to show college baseball that Texas is back and we’re here to stay,” he said.