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A two-out pop-up to the outfield, the Longhorns have been out of the inning. Texas was one out away from one other probability at Omaha, but after a sequence crammed with dwelling runs and spectacular performs, Stanford gained recreation three in one of the heartbreaking methods attainable for Texas followers, a misplaced ball within the headlights. 

With two outs and a runner on first, junior Lucas Gordon labored by way of his second inning of aid, giving Texas hope for an extra-inning victory. Gordon confronted freshman catcher Malcolm Moore, whose improbable eye labored his means right into a 3-2 stroll, establishing one among Stanford’s hottest hitters, junior shortstop Drew Bowser. Bowser, who had already homered thrice in three video games together with earlier within the second inning, was the hope for the Cardinal devoted at Klein Area. 

Gordon’s first pitch, a ball. Gordon’s second, a stupendous changeup that Bowser swung proper by way of. Texas followers have been on their ft, cheering on their ace with hopes of Omaha turning into barely nearer. On the 1-1 depend, Bowser skied the ball into the air, an final result that Texas followers dreamed of within the high-pressure state of affairs. The play was the proper finish to an already intense 9 innings till it dropped.

From the second the ball was hit, senior heart fielder Eric Kennedy and junior proper fielder Dylan Campbell by no means noticed the ball. When it landed 15 ft away from Campbell’s ft, sinking into the bottom deeper than the hearts of the Texas followers at dwelling, Stanford was all celebration. Two batters earlier, the dugout cleared on what seemed to be a walk-off dwelling run that fell simply quick, hitting a white Pac-12 brand on the left area wall and tricking even the announcers. Two performs later, it was all celebration in Palo Alto. In Austin, silence and disappointment.

The Stanford Tremendous Regional ended with a 7-6 Stanford victory in recreation three, taking the sequence two to 1 and reserving a ticket to the crown jewel of school baseball, Omaha. The sequence was as shut and intense as a fan may ask for, with simply 4 runs separating the groups over three video games and a one-run walk-off win to ship Stanford to Omaha. In a sequence that featured a three-run, ninth-inning comeback in recreation one and a 156-pitch, 16-strikeout full recreation in recreation two, Texas followers will keep in mind the dramatic ending of recreation three for the remainder of their lives.

Although the Longhorns didn’t come out on prime, many gamers stepped up for the Longhorns. Redshirt junior Zane Morehouse stepped up when starter Tanner Witt couldn’t make it out of the second inning, pitching six innings and giving up three runs towards among the finest offenses within the nation. Junior second baseman Jack O’Dowd performed his finest recreation as a Longhorn, hitting two doubles and knocking in three of Texas’ six runs, together with a rally starter in an eight-run comeback eighth inning. 

Although more likely to be overshadowed by the dramatic ending, Campbell’s heroics for Texas previously two Tremendous regionals can’t be understated. The five-tool star knocked within the game-tying run within the eighth, and a half inning later, threw out a runner at third to finish the inning on what often is the best throw in Texas baseball historical past. Physique turned the alternative means, momentum pushing him towards first base, Campbell caught a fly ball, turned and launched a strike all the best way to 3rd. With one hop and a stupendous tag by redshirt junior third baseman Peyton Powell, Texas was fired up as their star outfielder bailed them out of a high-pressure state of affairs. 

Because the season ends for the Longhorns, it’s laborious to be dissatisfied with how far they’ve come. From beginning 3-6 and searching able to rebuild all the best way to 1 inning away from Omaha, it was a profitable yr for the younger, brand-new roster. However the 2023 Texas baseball season will likely be remembered by one play, the final play of the season.

The ball that dropped.

After climbing itself out of a 4–7 begin to the 2023 season, Texas baseball proved themselves worthy of the Huge 12 title on Saturday night time, defeating No. 6 West Virginia in a full sweep sequence.

Key gamers Jalin Flores, Jack O’Dowd and Jared Thomas turned a 6-4-3 double play to present the Longhorns their closing win to conclude a comeback season of observe.The trio that recorded the ultimate outs of the common season noticed simply 40 at-bats on final yr’s group, all of which got here from O’Dowd as a bench bat, however previous expertise didn’t appear wanted to boost the trophy.

Thomas and Flores, each of their closing video games of their first season, delivered when it mattered most. Alongside the double play to safe the 7-3 win and sweep over No. 6 West Virginia, the pair of younger stars delivered with their bats in a sport that meant greater than any they’ve performed of their lives. Thomas scored three of Texas’ seven runs off of his three-for-five night time, and Flores’ residence run and three RBI led the Longhorns on a Saturday that might be remembered by two of the youngest Longhorns.

Regardless of being three video games again from No. 6 West Virginia heading into its weekend sequence and the ultimate matchup for every group, Texas baseball got here in with confidence. By Friday night time, the Longhorns had scored 22 runs in two video games and have been only one sport again from being Huge 12 champions, one thing that didn’t appear promising at many factors inside the common season.

Even with West Virginia’s greatest pitcher, junior Ben Hampton, taking the mound on Saturday, Texas didn’t appear phased. Actually, WVU was the group pressured to panic, because the 4 runs scored off of Hampton within the first inning have been the one runs Texas wanted to clinch the victory and hoist the trophy in entrance of 1000’s of followers decked out in burnt orange on the UFCU Disch-Falk Area.

After a 2022 season that noticed seven beginning hitters go away an Omaha-bound roster, head coach David Pierce needed to search deep to search out manufacturing from anybody, whether or not they have been bench gamers, at different faculties and even utterly new to varsity baseball. With a primary seed and presumably a regional spot on the road, Pierce despatched out a lineup that consisted of 5 Longhorns who weren’t on the roster previously season, three of which have been freshmen.

The ultimate inning was entrusted to freshman right-hander Kobe Minchey and junior USC switch Charlie Hurley, whose floor ball pitch to West Virginia’s leadoff man Tevin Tucker secured the victory and despatched the Longhorns right into a frenzy of celebration.

Although the 2023 Longhorns story couldn’t be written with out the point out of recent faces like Thomas and junior transfers Porter Brown and Garret Guillemette, the veterans of the roster contributed greater than Pierce might’ve ever hoped for. Senior Eric Kennedy and junior Dylan Campbell, each key components of final yr’s Omaha run, not solely led the group within the clubhouse, however on the sector as properly. The pair led the group in runs, residence runs, and slugging proportion, and have been two of the 5 Longhorns with an OPS (on-base + slugging) over one.

The Huge 12 event, hosted in Arlington, kicks off on Wednesday, Could 24, and would be the closing check of the energy of the Longhorns earlier than regional play returns. At this level final yr, Texas was ranked because the fifth-best group within the Huge 12. That group ended up in Omaha, an honor that each group within the nation strives for all through a greater than 60-game season.