Texas baseball ends road trip trying to end losing streak

On the evening of March 16, head coach David Pierce and No. 2 ranked Texas baseball will try to snap their longest losing streak of the season so far when they face The Citadel on the road. Texas is set to round out their five-game road stretch in the state of South Carolina by taking on The Citadel in a one-game midweek series on March 16.

Pierce and the Longhorns are riding a three-game losing streak (and they’ve lost four of their last five) heading into this meeting with The Citadel in the middle of this week. Texas moved their losing streak to three games after falling short to the College of Charleston on the road on March 15 by the final score of 8-4.

Texas is really struggling in their last three games. Not only have the Longhorns lost three games in a row, but they’ve also fallen short by a combined margin of 11 runs. None of these three losses dating back to the Longhorns’ doubleheader loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks on March 13 came by one run.

David Pierce and No. 2 Texas baseball looking to end the losing skid vs. College of Charleston

Moreover, Texas will need the pitching to improve in order for them to get back on track on March 16 against The Citadel. Texas has allowed an average of more than six runs during this three-game losing streak. They’ve also given up eight runs in each of the last two games.

Yet, it will also be important to get a big night from the bats. Most of the blame for this losing streak can fall on the pitching staff. But it’s not enough for the Longhorns to be scoring an average of roughly three runs per game against opponents like the College of Charleston and South Carolina.

It will be interesting to watch the performance of the standout first baseman Ivan Melendez in this game. Melendez is the spark to Texas’ offense out of the gates this season. He was also solid for Texas, despite the loss, against the College of Charleston on March 15.

In that loss to CofC, Melendez registered two hits, one walk, one run, and one run batted in on March 15.

If Pierce and the Longhorns get an improved performance from the pitching staff, along with Melendez sparking the bats, Texas should be able to right the ship in the final game of this road stretch in South Carolina.

Texas heads into this meeting with the College of Charleston sporting a record of 13-5 (0-0 Big 12) after losing four of their last five games. After Texas gets this road trip done with, their next game is set to come against the Incarnate Word Cardinals at home at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on March 18.