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Texas Baseball: Worst Game of Season Snaps Winning Streak

By James Caldwell

Dec 17, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns helmets wait to be used during the game against Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at the during the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl college football game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Southern Mississippi won 28-21. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns helmets wait to be used during the game against Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at the during the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl college football game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Southern Mississippi won 28-21. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /
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At a crucial point in the college baseball season, Texas Baseball played their worst game of the year against Louisiana Lafayette.

Texas Baseball dropped a neutral site game 8-1 against Louisiana Lafayette on Tuesday night in Sugar Land, just outside Houston.

The Longhorns were never in the game, as the Ragin’ Cajuns jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a grand slam by Joe Robbins.

Texas starter Blair Henley was credited with allowing five of the seven runs. But, Jon Malmin gave up the grand slam after coming out of the bullpen for Henley.

The bullpen then allowed the eighth run in the seventh inning for Lafayette’s final total. Meanwhile, Texas scratched across a run in the bottom of the ninth to avoid being shut out for the first time this season.

For all the inconsistencies on offense this season, Texas can say they have not been shut out in 2017. But, that’s the only silver lining to be found from this poor performance as the Horns fell to 28-16 on the year. [ Full Box Score ]

Texas Baseball Loses Winning Streak

Texas was riding a five-game winning streak into Constellation Field on Tuesday night. But, Lafayette was riding an eight-game winning streak.

The Cajuns’ streak helped Lafayette climb back into the college baseball polls this week at #24 in the country. And, they quickly shut down the Longhorns in this game.

It was especially frustrating for the Clemens Brothers returning to their home market of Houston. Kacy Clemens went 0-4, while Kody Clemens went 1-3.

As a team, though, things just never went right. Because the starting pitching has been so great this season, Texas had been in every single game until Tuesday.

Even their earlier most lopsided loss – 7-1 against Rice the first weekend of the season – was a 1-1 game in the sixth inning.

Texas’ losses this season have usually been one-run or walkoff type games where the bullpen gives up a late lead, the offense cannot produce in the late innings, or some other situation prevents the Longhorns from winning late.

But, they had not been blown out in a single game until Tuesday. That’s why Game #44 of the season was so stunning against Louisiana Lafayette.

How Does This Affect NCAA Tournament Chances?

What hurts the most about this game is Texas lost to a lesser team according to the RPI rankings.

Texas entered the game ranked #36 in the RPI, while Louisiana was down at #58 despite their Top 25 poll ranking.

So, although Lafayette is ranked in the Top 25, it looks like a bad loss because of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ RPI ranking.

Now, Texas has to work even more in their remaining schedule to enhance their resume for the NCAA Tournament.

That starts this weekend when Texas travels to Stillwater to play Oklahoma State.

Texas plays OSU, TCU, and West Virginia to close the Big 12 conference schedule. This will be a tough challenge, especially since six of the nine games are on the road.

Next: Kacy Clemens Interview - 2017 UT Baseball, CWS, more!

But, hopefully, Texas Baseball will use Tuesday’s disappointing loss as a springboard to finish their season strong. Then, make some noise in the Big 12 tournament and qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

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