For the first time since 2011, the No. 6 Texas Longhorns host the Missouri Tigers in Austin as conference opponents as head coach Jim Schlossnagle\u2019s team tries to secure a favorable seed in next week\u2019s SEC Tournament \u2014 as Schlossnagle noted on Wednesday, he was told the Horns could finish anywhere from second to ninth.<\/p>\n
The context would make such a slide extremely disappoint, as Missouri enters the series in last place in the conference at 6-21 after entering the season with low expectations when the league\u2019s head coaches picked the Tigers to finish 16th in the 16-team conference.<\/p>\n
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Given that profile, it\u2019s unsurprising that Missouri has struggled on the road this year with a 3-12 record, but Kerrick Jackson\u2019s program did upset then-No. 24 Kentucky in Lexington for two of those wins \u2014 the other came in Knoxville against Tennessee \u2014 the first road series win for the Tigers over a ranked team since 2021.<\/p>\n
Missouri is also coming off a home series win against Vanderbilt, its first time taking a home conference series since April 2024, so the Tigers do present some level of danger for the Longhorns.<\/p>\n
That danger is not typically present at the plate, however \u2014 Mizzou is 14th in the SEC in batting average (.262), 15th in runs scored (312), and last in home runs (45) and slugging percentage (.405). With 11 home runs, first baseman Jase Woita is the only Tiger in double digits, while shortstop Kam Durnin and designated hitter Blaize Ward are the only regulars batting over .300 at .329 and .321, respectively.<\/p>\n
The pitching hasn\u2019t been much better because the Tigers are saddled with a 5.43 ERA that ranks 15th in the SEC and a .246 opposing batting average that slots 13th. But the No. 1 starter, right-hander Josh McDevitt (3-5, 4.08 ERA), has been good for Missouri, striking out 91 batters in 69.2 innings and ranking fourth nationally in whiff rate on his fastball at 31.8 percent. Left-hander Brady Kehlenbrink (3-8, 6.45 ERA) gets the nod on Friday, but the Saturday starter remains to be determined.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThat\u2019s the thing about Missouri is they play a lot of close games and their starting pitching, especially the first two guys, those guys can pitch for every single team in our conference in the weekend rotation,\u201d Schlossnagle said.<\/p>\n
The Texas rotation remains the same as last weekend, led by sophomore left-hander Dylan Volantis (6-0, 2.06 ERA) and followed by redshirt senior left-hander Luke Harrison (5-2, 3.88 ERA) and senior right-hander Ruger Riojas (4-2, 3.93 ERA).<\/p>\n
The key for all three starters is to get off to a better start. Volantis gave up three runs over the first two innings in last Friday\u2019s loss to Tennessee before reeling off three straight scoreless frames. For Harrison, every inning was a struggle against the Volunteers, but giving up two runs in the first inning is the continuation of a trend that includes eight runs allowed in the first inning against the Aggies and five runs allowed in the first inning against the Bulldogs. After Texas took a 4-0 lead on Sunday against Tennessee, Riojas gave up a first-inning grand slam and also conceded three runs in the first inning against Vanderbilt.<\/p>\n
Riojas cited some poor luck on batted balls as part of the randomness of baseball as a factor in his slow starts and recent struggles, but also referenced the need to play with emotion, but not emotional.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHonestly, the most exciting time is when you first when you first step onto the mound. You take everything in and it can be hard for you to refocus into that. I feel like I do, but maybe when I try to refocus off that excitement, it takes the edge away from it. When I try to be calm and collected, maybe I\u2019m just too calm,\u201d Riojas said.<\/p>\n