Longhorns Notebook: Red Raiders Sweep Completes Perfect Home Stand
Much like Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" there has been no place like home for the Texas Longhorns this season. The Longhorns have played 19 home games so far and boast a 17-2 record at Disch-Falk Field.
Making that 17-2 record even more impressive is the current 14-game winning streak the Longhorns have put together, as they swept through a lengthy 14-game home stand.
The most recent string of wins came in a weekend sweep of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the first sweep of the Red Raiders for Texas since 2007.
After a shaky 4-7 start the Longhorns have completely turned their season around over the last 14 games, with the team firing on all cylinders. Of course there's still plenty of season left, but for now they're riding the momentum of the longest active winning streak in the country.
Following an electric three-game series, here are three key takeaways from the Longhorns' sweep of the Red Raiders.
Transfers spur sweep of Red Raiders
David Pierce and his staff had no qualms about using the transfer portal to retool the roster this offseason, with their efforts already paying dividends. In the sweep of the Red Raiders, three portal additions were instrumental.
TCU transfer Porter Brown was the star of the first two games, with his clutch performances leading the way. On Friday he launched a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to give the Longhorns the lead for good, while on Saturday he doubled to lead off the bottom of the ninth before eventually coming home to score on a wild pitch in a walkoff win.
Sunday, though, it was all about the pair of USC transfers - Charlie Hurley and Garret Guillemette. Hurley, making his first Sunday start, gave the Longhorns four innings of one-run baseball as he kept a lethal offense in check. His battery mate Guillemette was the hero, though, as he launched a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth to secure the series sweep.
Pitching starts conference play off strong
The Red Raiders entered this weekend series with one of the best offenses in college baseball, batting .325 as a team and averaging a whopping 10.1 runs per game. Before Friday it would have been safe to assume that it would have been an offensive showing.
Rather, the Longhorns pitching staff did a respectable job keeping the Red Raiders lineup in check. Over the three-game series they were held to only 15 runs, with eight of those runs coming in the series finale.
Charlie Hurley appears to be part of the rotation now, and was solid in his first weekend start. Aside from shaky innings from the bullpen on Sunday, the pitching staff shut down a potent offense. With conference play now underway for the Longhorns, if that trend continues then they'll do well against the rest of the Big 12.
Home Sweep Home
As we touched on previously, the Longhorns put together a perfect 14-0 showing in their home stand. While some of the competition wasn't the stiffest they showed with a sweep of the Red Raiders that this win streak was who they are, and not just stacking of wins against weak teams.
For a young team to get it rolling at home is a big win, especially now that they're set to hit the road for four straight games against quality opponents. They've shown they can beat anyone at home, and now will look to roll that momentum into conference play.
What's next for Texas?
The Longhorns are back in action on Tuesday for the first game of a mini four-game road trip, as they hit the road to take on the Texas A&M Aggies at 6 p.m. CT.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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