Off The Bat: Texas Wins Big 12 Title On Wild Weekend

Texas Wins Big 12 On Wild Final Day Of Regular Season

Kansas State DH Chris Ceballos on Saturday got a first-pitch slider from Texas Christian closer Haylen Green. There were two runners on in the ninth inning of a tie game and Green, a lefthander, was looking for a double play to get out of the jam.

Instead, Ceballos, a righthanded hitter, cut loose and launched the ball deep to left field. It was a no-doubt, three-run, walk-off home run on his senior day. The Wildcats mobbed him at home plate, waiting with not one, but two tubs of Gatorade to douse him with. The relievers came streaming out of the bullpen as soon as the ball crossed the wall. Tointon Family Stadium descended into madness.

As big as the celebration was in Manhattan, Kan., however, the cheers in Austin might have been even louder. Going into Saturday, the final day of the regular season in the Big 12, TCU held a one-game edge on Texas in the conference standings. The Longhorns, however, held the tiebreaker between the two teams, by virtue of their series win in Fort Worth two weeks ago.

The scenario for the Big 12 title and the top seed in the conference tournament was simple. TCU needed a win against Kansas State or a Texas loss against West Virginia. Texas needed a win and a TCU loss.

With Ceballos’ homer, half of what Texas needed had come to fruition. All that the Longhorns needed to win their second Big 12 championship in three seasons was a win against West Virginia and they were leading 10-1 in the sixth inning.

Texas went on to win in walk-off fashion itself, defeating West Virginia, 12-2, in a run-rule shortened eight innings. The Longhorns (40-13, 17-7) won the Big 12 title and locked up a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Coach David Pierce said he is proud of his team and the work they’ve done all year long, going back to when they began fall practice.

“Nothing scares them,” he said. “They don’t back down from anything, they just put in the work every day.”

The scene Saturday in Austin was surreal. While Pierce was actively trying not to scoreboard watch, some of the Longhorns couldn’t help it and news from Manhattan was being passed around the dugout and the field throughout the game. But nobody could have seen the stunning ending coming and when it did, the fans around Disch-Falk Field erupted.

Texas slugger Zach Zubia was getting ready to hit when it happened.

“I’m on deck and everyone goes absolutely berserk,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Oh my god they lost.’ I was like, ‘How?’ Then you look up and it’s 10-1. Obviously, you’ve got to stay focused, but I was like, ‘Oh my god, this could happen.’ ”

Pierce coaches third base and so he was across the field from his team. He said he had no idea what was happening until the roar of the crowd.

“I was so proud of our team,” he said. “All I could do was look across the field at them and go, ‘Let’s finish this thing.’ ”

That’s just what Texas did before their own raucous on-field celebration as they lifted the Big 12 trophy.

The Longhorns came into this season with plenty of upside, but also a lot to prove. They had finished in last place in the Big 12 in 2019 and while they appeared to have taken a big step forward in 2020, when they went 14-3, the season was cut short before they could fully prove it.

Texas had an opportunity Opening Weekend to prove it, when it traveled to the State Farm Showdown in Arlington to play Arkansas, Mississippi and Mississippi State, all of which were ranked in the top 15 of the Preseason Top 25. The Longhorns went a disappointing 0-3 that weekend and left humbled.

That weekend could have led Texas to fall apart. Instead, the team used it as motivation, and it has fueled the Longhorns’ rise. They have slipped up just once since—a home series loss to Texas Tech. They won their other seven Big 12 series, including beating TCU in Fort Worth, and swept South Carolina.

Texas couldn’t have responded any better to that weekend in Arlington.

“We came out of Arlington thinking that we had to get a lot better,” Zubia said. “Every day, we joke around saying, ‘Remember Arlington?’ That weekend was not fun at all. We work with that in the back of our mind every single day, that we have to get to the level of that competition day in and day out. We’re not a finished product yet and that’s the scary part.”

Whether or not Texas reaches that next level, it is a dangerous team capable of contending for the national championship. Righthander Ty Madden (6-3, 2.55) leads the rotation and is a projected top 10 pick. Righthander Tristan Stevens (8-3, 3.13) and lefthander Pete Hansen (7-1, 1.80) follow him to form one of the best rotations in the country. With closer Aaron Nixon (3-2, 2.45, 7 SV), righthander Cole Quintanilla (4-0, 1.61) and righthander Tanner Witt (3-0, 2.21, 3 SV) anchoring the bullpen and a premier defense (.980 team fielding percentage), runs are hard to come by against Texas.

The Longhorns aren’t an offensive juggernaut, but second baseman Mitchell Daly (.354/.419/.470), DH Ivan Melendez (.346/.453/.667, 11 HR), third baseman Cam Williams (.308/.411/.604, 9 HR) and Zubia (.297/.433/.531, 9 HR) form a strong core. Outfielder Mike Antico (.262/.419/.503, 9 HR, 25 SB) and Eric Kennedy (.259/.335/.342, 17 SB) add dynamism to the lineup.

Zubia, who is in his fifth season at Texas and was a part of the team in 2018 that won the Big 12 and went to the College World Series, said this is the best team he’s been a part of. At Texas, however, Big 12 titles and Omaha appearances aren’t all that a team is playing for. This is a program with six national titles—only Southern California has more—so expectations are high.

Can these Longhorns reach Omaha and win the national championship for the first time since 2005? Time will tell. But it’s clear that the Longhorns are going to give it their all, just as they have done all season.

“What has been so rewarding this year is getting to know players a little better, sitting back watching them work,” Pierce said. “The love and care they have for each other, the way they pull for each other, it’s the most special team I’ve been a part of.”

An Eventful Week 14

It was a busy week around college baseball. There were four NCAA Tournament bids awarded, conference title races wrapped up and the coaching market got off to a fast start. Here are seven takeaways from all the action, on and off the field.

1. Arkansas left no doubt. The Razorbacks have been the best team in the country all season long, so it should be no surprise they made another statement with a sweep of Florida to close out the regular season. After winning Thursday’s opener, Arkansas (42-10, 22-8) on Friday clinched its first SEC title since 2004 with a walk-off, 4-3 victory. It finished with a two-game edge over both Tennessee and Mississippi State, two teams it went 5-1 against.

The Razorbacks enter the SEC Tournament as the favorites but no matter how it goes for them in Hoover, they will be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

2. Arizona is postseason ready. The Wildcats (38-14, 21-9) on Sunday clinched their first Pac-12 title since 2012 with a win at Oregon State and an Oregon loss to Stanford.

The Wildcats are conference champions and in a position to earn a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament in large part due to their offense, which averages 8.83 runs per game and has a case to be the best in the nation. But Arizona’s improvement—particularly its in-season improvement—on the mound should not go unnoticed. Its 1-2 punch of Chase Silseth and Garrett Irvin is solid, and it’s developed a strong bullpen, anchored by lefthander Gil Luna, righthander Dawson Netz and closer Vince Vannelle.

The last time Arizona won the Pac-12 title it went on to win the national championship. If history repeats itself in 2021, the development of the Wildcats pitching staff will be a big reason why.

3. Nebraska is red-hot. Nebraska (29-11) on Sunday clinched the Big Ten championship with a 9-0 win against Ohio State, sweeping a four-win weekend against the Buckeyes and Indiana, and a Maryland win against Michigan.

The Cornhuskers’ dogpile Sunday was a bit surprising just because it seemed like the Big Ten race was destined to go to the final weekend, when Nebraska plays Michigan and Indiana plays Maryland. The four teams went into the weekend tightly packed at the top of the standings, but Maryland’s upset of Michigan in Ann Arbor opened the door for Nebraska, which has been on a tear all month. Since getting swept by Rutgers, the Huskers have won nine of their last 10 games, opening a solid lead atop the standings.

Will Bolt, in his second season as head coach of his alma mater, said things could have gone one of two ways following the disappointing series against Rutgers.

“You could have said we put too much pressure on ourselves, you’re playing all these tough teams, you start looking ahead and you hit panic button,” Bolt said. “Or you could regroup and remember we were on the verge of winning first two games of that series and keep playing good baseball, just do it for nine innings.”

Nebraska took the second path and has rolled through the last three weekends against Indiana, Ohio State, Northwestern and Rutgers. It won its second Big Ten title and first since 2017 and will carry plenty of confidence into regionals in two weeks.

4. The SWAC Tournament championship game was wild. It will be hard to top the pandemonium of the ninth inning of Sunday’s SWAC Tournament title game. Jackson State, which had not lost a SWAC game all season, took a 6-4 lead to the ninth inning against Southern.

But the Jaguars weren’t going to go quietly and put the first two runners on base. DH O’Neill Burgos followed with a drive deep to left field, closely tracked by left fielder Jatavious Melton. He made a leaping play on the ball, crashing into the wall—or, rather, bullpen gate. As Melton leapt into the gate, it opened, leaving him and the ball on the floor of the Southern bullpen.

The Jaguars flooded out of the dugout, celebrating what looked to be a home run. The umpires initially weren’t sure, but after a review showed the ball flying over the wall before the gate opened, they ruled it a home run. Enrique Ozoa came on to pitch the ninth for Southern and he shut the door, earning his seventh save.

The wild finish gave Southern (20-28) its second straight SWAC Tournament title and sends it to the NCAA Tournament. Jackson State (34-9), meanwhile, is the hard-luck loser and due to an RPI of 122, will be left out of the NCAA Tournament.

5. Norfolk State is NCAA Tournament bound. The Spartans on Saturday became the first team to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 7-6 win against North Carolina Central in 11 innings in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament championship game.

The Spartans (25-26) swept through the MEAC Tournament and will now make their first NCAA Tournament appearance. The bid was hard-earned for Norfolk State—it was 0-for-9 in MEAC Tournament championship appearances before Saturday’s win.

6. Cinderella seasons end for La Salle, NC Central. La Salle and NC Central were both this year playing their final seasons in program history. Both received word in the offseason that they would be eliminated following this season.

Despite that devastating news, both the Explorers and Eagles put together historic final seasons. La Salle won a program-record 32 games and NC Central won the MEAC South Division for the first time ever. They entered this weekend with a chance to extend their seasons further and add to their sensational sendoffs. La Salle needed one win in a four-game series against St. Joseph’s to advance to the Atlantic 10 Tournament, while NC Central was playing for an NCAA Tournament bid in the MEAC Tournament.

Both fell short. La Salle was swept by its crosstown rival and NC Central fell short in the championship game against Norfolk State. The endings to their seasons were always going to be tough, but both the Explorers and Eagles acquitted themselves well this spring.

7. Coaching change season is upon us. This summer’s coaching market wasted no time getting started, as Texas A&M on Sunday announced it would not bring back Rob Childress after 16 seasons as head coach. Childress was out of a contract at the end of the season and the Aggies finished last in the SEC West, so the move was not unexpected, but he did lead the program to 13 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and two College World Series appearances.

A&M is a top-25 job and will undoubtably draw most of the early attention on the job market. But already there are more than half a dozen job openings. Expect that number to grow significantly over the next week as more teams wrap up their seasons.

After just a handful of coaching changes a year ago due to the canceled season and financial impact of the pandemic, this year projects to be a more normal market, meaning 25-30 changes should be expected.

Eight For Omaha

Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt

I’ve clearly settled in on an Omaha Seven: Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas and Vanderbilt have all been in the field for weeks now. That last spot keeps rotating, however. A week ago, it was Oregon’s turn and while I still like the Ducks, they this weekend lost a series to Stanford that dropped them to No. 17 in RPI. It seems unlikely now that Oregon will be a top-eight seed and while it’s played well on the road (14-6), it’s a different story when we’re talking about likely going on the road for a super regional in a rowdy environment.

So, this week the eighth spot goes to Texas Tech. I’ve been impressed with how well the Red Raiders have handled the bad injury news they got a few weeks ago when righthander Brandon Birdsell, outfielder Dylan Neuse and infielder Kurt Wilson were ruled out. Righthander Micah Dallas has stepped up and Tech can turn to him, lefthanders Patrick Monteverde and Mason Montgomery and righthander Chase Hampton, who was excellent in a spot start Saturday, to start games. Righthander Ryan Sublette is a weapon out of the bullpen and Tech’s offense remains strong. The Red Raiders are likely to be a top-eight seed, ensuring home-field advantage until Omaha. With the way they play in Lubbock, they’ll be a very tough out.

Looking ahead

It’s conference tournament week and you don’t need me to tell you to watch the SEC Tournament. You’ve already got that marked on your calendar. Probably the ACC and Big 12 Tournaments too. So, with that in mind, here are three other tournaments to watch.

Conference USA: Hosted by Louisiana Tech in the new J.C. Love Field, this has a chance to be the best tournament aside from the SEC. There’s a lot on the line. Charlotte, La Tech and Southern Mississippi are all on the short list of potential regional hosts, but only Charlotte (No. 18) ranks in the top 20 of RPI, leaving Southern Miss (No. 25) and La Tech (No. 29) with work to do. Old Dominion didn’t bid to host but has the best RPI at 12 and could still earn a No. 1 seed in a regional on the road. If any of those four teams wins the tournament, it will be a No. 1 seed. At the other end of the field, Florida Atlantic is on the NCAA Tournament bubble and a strong week could push the Owls into the field.

Southern: The SoCon Tournament this year has been reduced to a four-team, double-elimination format in a cost-cutting move due to the financial fallout from the pandemic. That won’t reduce the intrigue, however. The field of Wofford, Samford, Mercer and Western Carolina is high quality, and any team could emerge as the champion. While all four teams rank in the top 75 of RPI and Mercer and Wofford especially are flitting around the NCAA Tournament bubble, this is probably a must-win for all four teams in Greenville, S.C.

Sun Belt: The Sun Belt this season has been as open as any conference in the nation. Coastal Carolina and Texas State, the two division favorites, both finished in last place, but are talented enough to pick off any other team in the conference. South Alabama (29-20, 15-9) comes in as the top seed but any number of teams could emerge as champions. Improbably, the Sun Belt will be a one-bid conference this year, adding urgency to the proceedings in Montgomery.