Longhorns Notebook: Pitching Shoves, Offense Explodes in Manhattan Sweep

The Longhorns continued their winning ways on the home stand with a weekend sweep of Manhattan.

What a difference a week can make. After a disappointing series loss to the Cal State Fullerton Titans, the Texas Longhorns sat at 4-7 and needed to right the ship in a hurry.

Well, one week later and it appears safe to say that the Longhorns are back on track - at least for now. The Longhorns started off their 14-game home stand on a dominant note with five straight wins, and with a 9-7 record are two games above .500 for the first time this season. 

After midweek wins over Sam Houston State and Mercer, Texas turned its attention to a weekend series against Manhattan.

It is safe to say the Longhorns came to play in their weekend series, cruising to their first sweep of the season while outscoring the Jaspers 34-11 in the process. For the first time this season, the offense and pitching staff have been dominant at the same time for multiple games. 

Now, as the Longhorns prepare to continue their home stand, here are three key takeaways from the sweep of the Jaspers. 

Pitching continues to shove

While the Jaspers don't boast the best lineup the Longhorns will face this season, holding a team to 11 runs, of which only nine were earned, is impressive. Lucas Gordon set the tone on Friday with six hitless innings with a season-high nine strikeouts. 

Even with the struggles of Saturday starter Zane Morehouse and Sunday starter Travise Sthele - the duo combined for eight innings while allowing seven runs on 12 hits - Texas' bullpen held it down. 

Over the three games the bullpen continued to be a strength for the Longhorns, as they only allowed four total runs across three games. As the home stand continues and conference play approaches, the continued development of the pitching staff is a big win for Texas. 

Hello, offense. Nice of you to join us

Look, there is of course a caveat for the Longhorns' offensive explosion against Manhattan in the fact the Jaspers don't boast an elite pitching staff. However, for a team that needed some momentum on offense in the worst way, they certainly delivered this weekend. 

A 34-run weekend, capped off by a 16-run, 15-hits performance in Sunday's 16-6 win, is exactly what the doctor ordered for Texas. As well, David Pierce tinkered with the lineups which resulted in Dylan Campbell sliding down and Peyton Powell moving up to second in the lineup behind Kennedy. 

Overall, these offensive showings must be taken with a slight grain of salt. That being said, picking up momentum at the plate and rolling it throughout the home stand will go a long way for the Longhorns ahead of conference play. 

Home sweet home

It is safe to say the Longhorns thoroughly enjoy playing at home, as evidenced by their impressive 8-2 record at Disch-Falk Field this early in this season. The only two losses so far have come in the series finale against Indiana and a 3-0 loss to No. 1 LSU in a midweek thriller. 

Lucky for the Longhorns, their home stand is far from over as they still have nine more games to go. If the Longhorns can keep the momentum rolling at home, and stack wins ahead of conference play, the 0-3 start to the season will be left in the rearview mirror. 

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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