Longhorns Notebook: Bats Stay Hot, Pitching Cruises in New Orleans Sweep

The Longhorns are firing on all cylinders on the home stand, and the sweep of New Orleans saw the win streak extended to 10 games.

It is safe to say that the Texas Longhorns really enjoy playing at home so far this season, as they boast an impressive 13-2 record at Disch-Falk Field. 

Of course, a 14-game home stand that lasts almost the entirety of the month of March is a big help, with the Longhorns having won the first 10 games of said home stand. 

The most recent wins came over the weekend in a sweep of the New Orleans Privateers, a series that saw the Longhorns dominated all three games. Gone appears to be the same team that dropped a series to the Cal State Fullerton Titans to drop to 4-7 on the season. 

While the Longhorns have not faced the stiffest of competition during this home stand, they needed to stack up wins to get their confidence back and get some momentum heading into conference play.

Now, with the home stand approaching an end, here are three key takeaways from a weekend sweep of New Orleans. 

New roles, no problem

When David Pierce announced the starting rotation before the season started, Zane Morehouse was his Saturday starter and Lebarron Johnson Jr. was to see starts in midweek games. Now, though, both pitchers appear to have a different role moving forward into conference play.

After a strong start to his season in midweek games Johnson saw himself earn the Sunday start against New Orleans. While he struggled towards the end of his outing, he delivered three innings of shutout baseball - ultimately giving the Longhorns four innings while only allowing two runs on one hit and three walks while striking out six.

As for Morehouse, he has seemingly moved from the Saturday starter into the closer role for the Longhorns. Morehouse picked up his second save of the week, with the first coming in a 7-4 win over North Dakota State. If both pitchers can transition into their new roles smoothly, this Texas pitching staff will be elite in conference play.

Power surge

While the Longhorns likely won't put up historic offensive numbers like they did last season, with the way the bats looked against the Privateers it would be easy to think they can. Over the three-game series the Longhorns tallied 12 extra base hits, with all 12 coming on Saturday and Sunday.

Leading the charge for Texas was center fielder Eric Kennedy who was blistering hot to the tune of three home runs and two doubles. Kennedy also drove in six runs in a weekend that saw Texas outscore New Orleans 27-5. 

Yes, Texas took advantage of a weaker New Orleans pitching staff but the bats continuing to click is a big win. The Longhorns entered the home stand scuffling along on offense, and now they are poised to end it with a red hot lineup. 

Here comes conference play

There is just one left game between the Longhorns and the start of conference play, with the Texas Tech Red Raiders set to come to town this weekend. One series won't define the entirety of Texas' season, let alone how well it will perform in conference games. 

However, it can offer a glimpse of this team is more similar to its 4-7 version of if what it has shown over the home stand is sustainable. The Longhorns may very well lose their conference opening series to Tech, but if they can show they're competitive that will be a big step forward.

No one likes moral victories, but last season showed that an early season conference season won't determine who ends up in Omaha. 

What's next for Texas?

The Longhorns continue their 14-game home stand on Tuesday night with a midweek game against the University of Incarnate Word Cardinals at 6:30 p.m. CT.

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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