Texas Baseball: Can Horns pull off most improbably rally vs. Miss. St?
The time has almost arrived for No. 2 ranked Texas baseball to take the field in Omaha against the No. 7 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs for the fourth time this season. Texas and Mississippi State have already faced each other twice in the College World Series, and once during the regular season (the season opener for the men in burnt orange and white).
Something that appeared to be improbable just five days ago is about to be very possible for head coach David Pierce and the Longhorns in Omaha, though. Texas is looking to win their fourth straight game in Omaha after falling short to the Bulldogs to open up the festivities for the Longhorns last weekend.
Texas topped Mississippi State early in the morning of June 26 to move at least one game further in the College World Series, by the final score of 8-5. Thanks to a huge game from Ivan Melendez, the Longhorns were able to push through to the final on June 26 on this side of the bracket. But the final will come once more against Mississippi State.
It had to feel good for Texas to get that monkey off their back against Mississippi State this season. The second meeting between these two squads in Omaha saw the Longhorns come up with their first triumph of the season over the Bulldogs.
And it came behind the bats of key players like Zach Zubia and Melendez, along with the strong performance on the mound from redshirt sophomore right-hander Ty Madden. Melendez delivered an insanely clutch home run for Texas in the top of the ninth inning, prior to yet another weather delay.
Can Texas baseball get one final push from Ivan Melendez and Tristan Stevens in Omaha?
We would figure that redshirt junior right-hander Tristan Stevens would get the call for the Longhorns in this third meeting in Omaha with Mississippi State. The last time that Stevens started for the Longhorns came against the No. 3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers when Texas got the win 8-4 back on June 22.
Will Bednar vs what will surely be Tristan Stevens on 3-days rest. Longhorns will have Cole Quintanilla fully rested in the bullpen. Outside of that, who knows. Maybe Pete Hansen is available for an inning or left vs left matchup?
— HornSports (@HornSports) June 26, 2021
The last time Stevens was on the mound didn’t go so well. But this could be a nice shot for him to bounce back if Pierce does in fact give him the call on June 26. It’s hard to find who the other option would be since Madden started the day prior.
On the mound for the Bulldogs is likely to be their ace Will Bednar, who shut the Longhorns down with 15 strikeouts in the first meeting between these two teams. That will surely be another difficult matchup for the Texas bats to come through against.
Texas will be hoping to capitalize on any momentum they built from another clutch ninth-inning showing from the heart of the order, namely Zubia and Melendez.
Next. 3 flips to watch late in visit season. dark
Following their three-run win over Mississippi State on June 25/26, Texas now owns a record of 50-16. Get a win on the night of June 26, and the Longhorns will face the Vanderbilt Commodores for a shot at the National Championship. First pitch between Texas and Mississippi State in Omaha is set for 6 p.m. CT on June 26.