Disappointment vs. K-State nearly bounces Texas baseball from top 10

Much of the Big 12 slate so far for head coach David Pierce and the Texas baseball program has turned out to be a pretty massive letdown. But the level of disappointment in the way the season has gone so far reached a new low over the weekend as Texas fell short in a three-game holiday weekend series on the road in Manhattan at the hands of the Kansas State Wildcats.

Heading into the three-game series against the Wildcats last week, Texas was looking to start climbing back to the top of the Big 12 standings. And Kansas State came into the series with just one win in Big 12 play thus far.

But Texas helped Kansas State more than double their win total from prior to this series. Kansas State took the first two games in the series last week, which also keeps the Longhorns at .500 in conference play so far this season.

Until Texas knocked off Kansas State in the series finale on April 16, Pierce’s squad was in danger of falling two games below .500 in Big 12 play for the first time this season. In fact, you have to go back a ways to find the last time Texas sat below .500 in Big 12 play.

You have to go all the way back to the beginning of Big 12 play during the 2019 season to find the last time Texas was two games below .500 more than one series into the conference slate.

David Pierce and No. 10 Texas baseball down three spots in this week’s D1 Baseball Rankings

Yet, Texas actually didn’t wind up falling all that far down the major polls this week after a disappointing showing against the Wildcats in Manhattan. Pierce and the Longhorns saw at No. 7 in the D1 Baseball Rankings last week. Texas only fell to No. 10 in this week’s poll.

And you can see the entire rankings in this week’s major polls, thanks to NCAA.com here.

Most Longhorns fans, myself included, likely thought Texas was going to fall further than they did this week in the polls. Granted, Texas is all the way down to No. 20 (falling a whopping dozen spots) in this week’s version of the Baseball America Top 25. That seems more reasonable for where Texas is at in the Big 12 standings with respect to the rest of the teams in this conference in the top 25 right now.

Up to this point of the Big 12 slate, Texas is really lacking any meaningful and/or convincing multi-game series win. Texas does have series wins over solid teams such as the Oklahoma Sooners and TCU Horned Frogs. But each of those series victories came in narrow fashion by a margin of just one game.

Following their close 4-2 win over Kansas State in the series finale last weekend, the Longhorns are sporting a record of 26-12 (6-6 Big 12). Beating Kansas State on April 16 prevented the Longhorns from extending their losing streak to three games and getting swept in Big 12 play for the first time this season.

Texas needs to respond with a series win over the Big 12 foe Baylor Bears this weekend. Pierce and the Longhorns get Baylor in a three-game series at home at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin starting on April 22.

But before Texas faces Baylor, they need to take care of business against the Air Force Falcons at home in a two-game midweek series starting on April 19.