Jim Schlossnagle: What to know about Texas baseball coach
Four things to know about Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle
Texas baseball will start lefthander Ethan Walker against Houston Christian to begin NCAA Tournament play on Friday, the team announced Thursday night.
Walker won the trust of Longhorns coach Jim Schlossnagle with an impressive outing against Tennessee in the SEC tournament last week. The redshirt sophomore held the Volunteers, who own one of the nation’s 20 most prolific offenses, to one earned run in 4â…“ innings of work, striking out three and allowing two hits without issuing a walk.
Before that, he’d appeared in seven games all season, pitching just 6â…” innings. He owns a 2.45 ERA for the year.
The decision allows Schlossnagle to withhold Ruger Riojas and Luke Harrison, his two established weekend starters. If the Longhorns win on Friday, those two arms will be in position to pitch against higher-seeded teams.
“You just have to look at that first and then look at our own pitching staff and what gives us the best chance to win the regional,” Schlossnagle said on Monday. “And so Ruger and Luke currently are the only two remaining consistent weekend starters for us, so we got to figure out what the best matchup is.”
The top-seeded Longhorns will face 6-foot-5 senior Parker Edwards, a Houston native who spent the majority of his collegiate career as a catcher before making the move to the mound for fourth-seeded Houston Christian this year. He owns a 3.93 ERA on the season in 84⅔ innings of work.
Friday’s game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
Reach Texas Insider David Eckert via email at deckert@gannett.com. Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Access all of our best content with this tremendous offer.