The story of 2022 Texas Longhorn baseball can be summed up in one word “inconsistent.” The question was always which Texas team would show up “good Texas” with a stacked lineup and major league talent throughout its pitching staff or “bad Texas” with a mentally shot bullpen, starters that cant get into the fifth and bats that disappeared at key stretches. 2022 Texas showed flashes of being one of the best to ever play in Austin when good Texas showed up. Yet for every game that took your breath away with the power up and down the lineup, bad Texas would continually appear and there would be blown leads by the bullpen, days when the bats just went silent, and overall the failure of a pitching staff to ever truly step up and take command the way their talent suggested they were capable of. Ivan Melendez had a season for the ages and made himself seven figures with his decision to come back but too many others struggled to meet their potential and didn’t live up to what their talent said they were capable of. If anything 2022 has to go down as a successful failure, successful because any season that ends in Omaha is a success but still also a “failure” because this team more than any since 2009 was built not just to get to Omaha but to win it all. This one will rank up there with 2004 and 1984 as the best Texas teams I have seen that fell short of winning it all.
So on to the year in review. With the return of Melendez and Tristan Stevens along with a young core that made it to the national semifinals last year, 2022 set up for a real shot at an NC. The Horns had a starting rotation of Hansen, Stevens and Witt for the weekend, a number four starter that would be a weekend starter on any other team in Lucas Gordon, and a five hole starter in DuPlantier for long relief and the odd two mid week games weeks. Combine that with the best closer in the country last year in Aaron Nixon and a stable of bullpen pitchers and the Horns had a pitching staff to start the year that was far and away the best in the country coming into the year. Then add a lineup that had power at multiple slots and a defense that was solid at every position and Texas justifiably started the year ranked number one.
During the first three weekends the Horns jumped out an 11-0 start and they certainly looked the part of an NC contender culminating in back to back wins in Houston over a stacked Tennessee team and a Saturday night stomping of LSU. Based on the early returns Texas had more than lived up to the preseason billing. Then the roof started leaking. Heading into the third game in Houston, Witt was pulled from a start for elbow pain. That same day the Horns lost their first game to UCLA and just a day or two later learned that Tanner Witt was done for the year with tommy john surgery. An injury to Austin Todd in the first of two midweek games with Texas State knocked him out of the lineup for a couple of weeks. Aaron Nixon who had been playing with fire in several relief appearances started being punished for his wildness. The injuries to Witt and Todd combined with Nixon’s wildness were early indicators that luck would not favor this team for very long.
The next week saw a 2-3 road trip for spring break to South Carolina which left the team reeling and when Big XII play started with a pair of kick you in the stomach losses in Lubbock the Horns started dropping in the rankings. Series wins over TCU and OU hid some of the slide but the Horns were off and anyone paying attention could tell. Even the big Sunday comeback against OU was more disconcerting than it was thrilling. It was also in South Carolina, Lubbock and then Arlington that Tristan Stevens started running into problems including a pair of starts where he didn’t get out of the second inning. Texas started the year with five possible starters but by midway through Big XII play was down to only two, as just Hansen and Gordon could be counted on. More disappointing, Texas completely lost its closer and the bullpen had no one you could absolutely count on to come in a shut down a rally. By April the roof wasn't just leaking it was flooding.
Through it all Ivan Melendez just kept hitting and hitting and hitting. He was hitting home runs at a record setting pace and staying above .400 overall. Stehly hitting in the four spot was also on fire and the Kansas transfer Messenger got hot as did several others so that at one point the Horns had seven hitters in their lineup hitting over .300. The lineup was scoring runs at an average of nine a game and the team was hitting home runs like it was the ‘90’s and the live bat era was back. But for all the offense, the bullpen just kept blowing games and it was always a question which Texas team would show up.
A blow out at home by Air Force and then a lost weekend in Austin against Okie State including a Sunday seven run blown lead saw the roof finally cave in as Texas blew any real shot at winning the Big XII and frankly blew any shot at a national seed. The Horns sat at 9-9 in the Big XII and could have mailed in the year. But then as quickly as it had disappeared, good Texas reappeared and the Horns won series against WVU and KU to finish the year 14-10 in conference and climb back in the top 20 overall.
It was mostly good Texas for a run in Arlington to the Big XII championship game which got the Horns RPI up enough to set up a home regional. The inconsistency landed on good Texas for the regional as strong pitching and hitting showed up together and combined to get the Horns to a road super regional in Greenville. The Horns had relied on Hansen and Gordon all year but in Greenville both struggled with Texas getting blown out in game one and then falling behind 7-2 headed to the seventh inning in game two. Texas was on the verge of ending its season when a magical three inning run erased the five run deficit and the Horns walked off a game two 9-8 win to force a game three winner take all. Game three saw the Horns again show their potential and absolutely destroy a mentally shot ECU to get to Omaha. Tristan Stevens found his early season from in a gem of an outing and “good Texas” was back in Omaha.
The Horns came to Omaha hoping to stay on the right side of their inconsistency but it just wasn’t to be. Bad Texas made its final appearance of the year and Hansen and then Gordon both struggled and both ended the year with a loss in Omaha on their record. The bats never did show up and Texas went 2 and Q to end the year in what will be a two way tie for seventh. The Friday loss to Notre Dame seemed inevitable from the top of the first on and even though they jumped out to an early lead against aggy there really was never a point today where it didn’t seem like bad Texas was in control and things would eventually go south. The salt in the wound of it being aggy that ended the Horns season is really minor in the grand scheme, this team was going 2 and Q whichever side of the bracket it was on once the inconsistency wheel landed on bad Texas for Omaha.
As I said at the top of this opus, the season ends in Omaha but short of the national championship so a successful failure it is. The expectations for this team were sky high and the fact is they didn’t meet them. But that happens. Look at Arkansas last year and Tennessee this year. Hell look at every number one national seed since 2000. Baseball is a strange game and the most talented teams don’t always win.
I have been and remain a fan of the Pierce hire. When Texas hired Pierce he was by far the best choice who was willing to take the job and he has had a five year run that stacks up better than Augie’s first five years in Austin and frankly given the level of competition is comparable to Gus’ start that included four runs to Omaha by Gus' first five teams in the late 60's and early 70's. In Pierce’s now five full seasons in Austin, the Horns have been to Omaha three times, won all three super regionals and been to four regionals. The covid year team was stacked and I believe it would have made a solid run at Omaha too. While there will likely be a step back next year given the talent moving on, there is no question that the pipeline is stacked for runs in the future and I have faith in Pierce, Tulo and the coaching staff to continue to build toward an eventual NC while stacking up the trips to Omaha. Dont sleep on next year making a run even with the lost talent from this years team. There is a ton of talent on that Texas bench that has its chance to step up in 2023.
Finally, a huge thanks to Chop for his work throughout the year. His next level stats and updates on the rankings were must reads every week and we all owe him a drink at the next tailate. This board is fortunate to have a lot of great posters for whom baseball is not just a way to get through the wait for football season but is a way of life. The great posters and the lively debate and discussion make this board a great place to follow the Horns. The draft and portal season will now be upon as we look to see what the 2023 lineup will look like and we will blink and next February will be upon us. Have a great summer and Hook em!
Last edited: Jun 20, 2022
