Texas baseball’s season comes to disappointing end vs. Texas A&M
The 2022 season came to an end for head coach David Pierce and No. 9 Texas baseball after just two games in the College World Series on June 19. Texas was knocked out in painstaking fashion in Omaha, NE, to end their College World Series run well short of the goal of winning a title for the first time in more than a decade by the in-state rival Texas A&M Aggies in a de facto postseason Lone Star Showdown.
Pierce and the Longhorns fell short to the Aggies on the afternoon of June 19 after a rocky outing from the pitching staff and another quiet game from the bats. After boasting one of the most explosive offenses in recent memory for this baseball program, the Longhorns put up a total of just five runs in the two games in the College World Series.
The bats and some of the more notable arms in this pitching staff did fall flat when it mattered most this postseason. That was especially the case in this meeting with Texas A&M to round out the weekend in Omaha.
While Texas did get off to a fast start with a 2-0 lead by the middle of the second inning, that’s about where the positives ended for this team. Starting pitcher Lucas Gordon allowed four runs to the Aggies in the bottom of the second inning. That included the de facto game-winning run in that half-inning.
David Pierce and No. 9 Texas baseball fall short to No. 5 Texas A&M after a tough start for Lucas Gordon
This bad outing for Gordon peaked in the bottom of the second inning, which saw him allow four earned runs in just 1.2 innings of work on the mound. Gordon also allowed four hits, one walk, and struck out just one batter. This was maybe the worst start of the last two months for Gordon.
But most of the bullpen didn’t fare much better coming on in relief of Gordon. That was at least the case early on in this game. Jared Southard allowed one earned run, two runs, two hits, and one walk in his two innings on the mound. Andre Duplantier II also got shelled on the mound, allowing two earned runs in less than a full inning of work on the mound.
Gordon wasn’t the only issue in this game for the Longhorns, though. Texas’ offense was not up to snuff in this elimination game in Omaha. While Texas only had three fewer hits than Texas A&M, they put up eight fewer runs.
That lack of execution just can’t happen in an elimination game in the College World Series.
Texas left nearly twice as many runners on base compared with Texas A&M. Pierce saw this Longhorns team strand a dozen runners on base compared to seven for the Aggies.
Even the defense struggled for the Longhorns in this game. In one of the worst defensive games of the postseason for Texas, this team had two errors, which resulted in two unearned runs. Texas A&M also had two errors in this game, but that only resulted in one unearned run.
From the bottom of the second inning and on in this game, Texas A&M controlled things through and through. Texas A&M went on a 10-0 run from the bottom of the second inning through the end of the eighth.
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This 10-2 loss to the Aggies brings this season to a close for the Longhorns before this run could really get going in Omaha. Texas finishes up the 2022 season with a record of 47-22 (14-10 Big 12) with a pretty large level of disappointment in the showings in Omaha from Pierce and this squad.