Longhorns Drop Out of D1Baseball Top 25 After Oklahoma Sweep
Following a dramatic conference series win over the Baylor Bears and a 20-0 drubbing of the Abilene Christian Wildcats, confidence was high for the Texas Longhorns.
They entered their series against the Oklahoma Sooners ranked No. 14 overall and atop the Big 12. A series win or sweep would have likely propelled them even higher in the rankings and further solidified their chances at hosting a regional come June.
Instead, they were handed their worst series loss of the season so far as the Sooners came to Austin and swept the Longhorns. It was the first time the Sooners have swept the Longhorns since 1998 and the first ever sweep of Texas in Austin to boot.
After squandering a perfect chance to strengthen their hold of first place in the Big 12, the Longhorns as a result have plummeted out of the top 25 altogether. Not only have they fallen out of the top 25 but their chances to host a regional took a major hit, as they will have to finish extremely strong down the final stretch to do so.
Luckily for them there are still 14 games left in the regular season with nine of those games being conference games. Of those nine conference games, six come against teams currently ahead of them in the standings with a three-game road series against TCU on deck and a three-game home series to wrap up the season against West Virginia.
There isn't a ton of baseball left to be played but a strong finish in their final 14 games, and more importantly the nine conference games, is imperative. If they continue to stumble down the stretch then the Longhorns will likely go on the road for their regional when the NCAA Tournament starts.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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