Coral Gables, Florida – Jared Thomas is new to this.
As a freshman at Texas, Thomas had never celebrated a regional championship finish in the NCAA baseball tournament before. Fellow freshman Jalen Flores said the team’s veterans told the newcomers earlier this year that the Longhorns don’t hold back until Omaha.
However, Thomas did not recall receiving this directive.
So how did he handle the end of Sunday night’s 10-6 win over Miami, which clinched the Coral Gables Regional?
“I kind of went with the flow,” said Thomas, who started at first base. “I saw Peyton (Powell) kind of running around and doing what we usually do after the game, so I went with that. I didn’t know if we were playing or not.”
Sparked by a nine-run third inning, Texas (41-20) wrapped up its regional championship at Mark Light Field. Texas, which went 3-0 over the weekend, qualified for the Super Regionals this weekend for the third year in a row and the fourth time in seven years for Texas head coach David Pierce.
The Longhorns would face either Stanford or Texas A&M, who were still deciding their district.
After Miami took the lead in the third period on Sunday, Texas found itself trailing 3-0. The Longhorns were also still looking for a first baseman against Miami’s Ronaldo Gallo.
Gallo opened the inning with a Flores strikeout, but the Longhorns then got to work. Texas’ next nine batters reached base against Gallo and reliever Carlos Liquereca, who entered the game after Dylan Campbell extended his school record and 12-goal career record to 38 games on his own.
Campbell didn’t have the only swing of note during the inning. Both Thomas and Powell have been racing cars. Texas hit and run on Garrett Guillemette’s double that led off Powell and allowed Campbell to score from the start. And (Flores) strike (strike) to open the inning? He made up for it with a big hit.
“The feeling (in the third inning) was just passing the bat to the next guy. Just taking the next guy out there and letting him do his thing,” Flores said.
By the end of the half, Texas led 9-3. “It happened quickly,” Miami coach Gino Demare admitted.
It was the tenth time this season that Texas had fought over its lineup in one run. The Longhorns previously accomplished the feat against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Manhattan, New Orleans, Incarnate Word, Abilene Christian and Texas Southern, and they did it three times during last month’s series against San Jose State. Of all of these teams, only San Jose State has qualified for the NCAA postseason tournament.
The third tear came on Sunday against a Miami team that finished its season with a 42-21 record and was the ninth seed in the NCAA Tournament, playing at home.
Thomas said, “We say all the time we don’t like any game being handed to us or for it to be easy. They put kind of a three-point line that lit a fire under us.” “I think it all comes down to the work we put in behind closed doors. We have faith in every single one of our guys to step up and do their job and that’s what we’ve done.”
After grabbing a 9-3 lead, Texas never allowed Miami to get closer than four runs. Guided by pitchers Charlie Hurley and Zane Morehouse to the bottom line, Texas ended the game on Morehouse’s seventh strikeout in a walk that lasted 2⅔ innings. Morehouse also pitched the last two innings of the inaugural regional win over Louisiana on Friday.
“For him to go out and do what he did in this tournament, it was great for us,” Pearce said of Morehouse.
Texas is now 12-0 in its last four NCAA regional games with Pierce. When asked about his secret to success, he said, “We prepared really well and tried to stay consistent.”
“We’ve been lucky to be healthy, and we’ve been really lucky to have good players with great motivation,” Pearce added. “I don’t know, but I’m not going to complain about it.”
Flores chooses the best possible time to buy
Key play: Jaylin Flores’ grand slam: On the first pitch of his second punt in the third, Flores cut the biggest swing of his senior year, connecting with Lequerica’s pitch that hit him deep into center field. The grand slam was the fifth of Utah’s season.
“Honestly, my job is to get ahead of the runners, run, scratch something, and get ground I can drive early on,” Flores said. “I got up there with that mentality and got the job done for my teammates, giving us the best chance of winning.”
Flores made his ninth consecutive start. Used as a shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter since the end of the Kansas Series last month, it was just his homer since the beginning of April.
Tanner Wet works twice
Notable number: 41. Texas starting quarterback Tanner Witt threw 41 pitches over two innings. It was the fifth appearance this season for Witt, who missed most of last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Witt retired Miami in order during the first half, but had trouble in the second half. He hit two Miami batters in the inning. Dominic Betelli, who called the ball and scored three times from Miami during the 4-1 loss on Saturday, then hit the ball over the fence in right field.
Witt finished second, but his day ended shortly afterwards. The 41 pitches were his second of the year, but Pierce had previously teased that Witt could extend it to 65 this weekend.
Overboard in Texas: Super Regionals
Up next: Texas A&M – or Stanford: Texas will face either Stanford or Texas A&M at the Super Regionals. Eighth seed Stanford was trying to avoid elimination against Texas A&M on Sunday night. If Stanford beats Texas A&M, a winner-takes-all game will be played between the two teams on Monday.
If Stanford wins its territory, Texas will head to California next weekend. If A&M wins, the NCAA will choose between hosting offers submitted by the schools before the start of the NCAA tournament and announcing a Super Regional site by Tuesday.
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