Texas Baseball: David Pierce is the right coach for the Longhorns

A special season for the Texas baseball program came to an end at the College World Series in Omaha on the night of June 26. Texas and head coach David Pierce had a nice run in Omaha before it rounded out and the team was sent back to Austin by the No. 7 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs this weekend.

Pierce and the Longhorns were squarely behind the eight-ball after their first game in the College World Series, falling short to Mississippi State for the second time this season in a one-run loss. And that wouldn’t be the only one-run loss for the Longhorns to the Bulldogs in Omaha in the span of one week.

Texas both started and ended their run in Omaha, and ended it, with a loss to Mississippi State. The 2021 season as a whole also started off with a loss to Mississippi State.

But in between those losses to Mississippi State within the past week, Pierce and the Longhorns had a very nice run showing why they deserved to be the No. 2 ranked team in the country.

The special journey for head coach David Pierce and Texas baseball in 2021

Texas knocked off the likes of the No. 3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers, No. 6 Virginia Cavaliers, and Mississippi State, in between their two losses in Omaha by a combined margin of 11 runs. It was a dynamic run for the Longhorns, sparked by mostly solid pitching performances and clutch bats, and baserunning.

It is a shame that there was pressure seemingly put on Pierce by the fans on social media throughout this run for the OmaHorns to round out the 2021 season. There are always areas that a coach can improve in hindsight, but there were some brilliant moves by Pierce in the College World Series.

Utilizing the bullpen the way he did was solid for Pierce and the Longhorns until the sixth inning against Mississippi State. Moving Mike Antico and Eric Kennedy into the top two spots in the batting order to face Houston Harding and Mississippi State on June 25 was also a good move that helped Texas get the 8-5 win.

Furthermore, this season as a whole has to be considered a resounding success for Texas. When it’s all said and done, the Longhorns will be the second-to-last team to be eliminated around college baseball.

Texas also finished up this season with 50 wins, the second trip to the College World Series in three years, and a Big 12 regular season title. This is also the second time in three chances that Pierce and the Longhorns made it to Omaha. That’s a pretty incredible feat for Pierce in the post-Augie Garrido-era.

The season finished for Texas with a record of 50-17 (17-7 Big 12), and with a likely top three ranking in the final polls. Texas cleared through the Austin Regional and Austin Super Regional unscathed. And the two losses for the Longhorns in Omaha came by a combined margin of two runs at the hands of the same stingy Mississippi State squad.

Fans of Longhorns baseball should be confident in the direction of the program under Pierce’s direction. He’s given this fan base plenty of reason to believe that they will remain a relevant contender year in and year out for his tenure as head coach.