After their weekend in Nashville, the No. 4 Texas Longhorns (32-9, 13-7) are more aware than ever how tough it is to win a series on the road in the SEC. However, they handled adversity well and did just that against the Vanderbilt Commodores (26-19, 10-11).
It was a strong start for the Longhorns in the opener, as a combination of Dylan Volantis and an explosive showing from the bats led to an 11-4 win. Those bats were nonexistent in the second game, however, tallying only five hits and getting blanked in the 6-0 shutout loss.
This set up a thrilling rubber match and the two teams certainly delivered. The game was tied 2-2 entering the eighth, when the Longhorns scratched across a run to take a 3-2 lead. That didn't last long, though, as the Commodores answered in the bottom half. However, Texas took the lead again in the 10th and held on thanks to back-to-back K's from Sam Cozart to secure the 4-3 series-clinching win.
Prior to a pair of rough outings against South Carolina and No. 7 Texas A&M, Riojas had served as Texas’ Friday night starter this season. And he looked dominant in that role. However, he was shifted to the Saturday role against No. 13 Alabama.
While he appeared to be back to his usual dominant self, the veteran right-hander again struggled against Vanderbilt. In his outing against the Commodores, he allowed five runs and lasted only three innings.
There’s enough evidence to believe Riojas will turn it around, but the concern level is slowly creeping up as he continues to falter down the stretch.
If you only watched the openers from Texas’ last two series, one might imagine the Longhorns have one of the nation’s best offenses. Against Alabama and then Vanderbilt, they pounded out 10 runs and 11 runs, respectively.
However, that momentum came to a screeching halt after that in both weekends. Against Alabama, they managed just four runs on eight hits in the final two games. Then against Vanderbilt, it was four runs on 10 hits in the final two, which they did manage to split and win the series on the road.
Simply put, this Texas team has no chance at making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament if the offense continues to be wildly inconsistent.
In a season in which the bullpen has been up-and-down, freshman Sam Cozart has emerged as one of the nation's premier relief arms. He showed this in the series win over No. 13 Alabama last weekend, recording a save in each of the Longhorns' two wins.
Equally as dominant against Vanderbilt, he tossed two perfect innings on Friday night with three strikeouts in the series-openingn win. In the finale, he was even more impressive. Brought on in the eighth, Cozart delivered three innings of one-run baseball with five strikeouts — with the final two stranding the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.
As the season continues to come to a conclusion, he'll look to continue putting together sensational outings and bring home the coveted award.
The Longhorns are back in action on Tuesday evening, as they return to Austin to kick off a five-game home stand against the Sam Houston Bearkats.
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Connor Zimmerlee covers Texas Baseball for Texas Longhorns On SI. Zimmerlee received his Bachelor’s of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism with a Master’s of Science in Journalism with a Specialization in Sports Media.
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