No. 15 Texas Ends Houston Trip Against No. 9 Vanderbilt

The Longhorns look to snap their two-game losing skid against the Commodores.

HOUSTON -- From a game where they were completely outmatched to one they saw slip through their fingers in the final inning, the Texas Longhorns (7-3) enter Sunday's contest against the Vanderbilt Commodores (9-3) badly wanting a win.

Getting that win will hinge largely on the efforts of Cody Howard on the mound, as well as the bats staying red-hot following a performance against Texas State which saw them score 10 runs on 10 hits, including four home runs. 

Otherwise, it could be a long morning for the Longhorns as they look to avoid a three-game losing skid. 

How to watch/listen

Sunday @ 11 a.m. CT

Watch:

-

Astros.com

-

Astros YouTube channel

- All Astros' social media platforms

Listen: Longhorn Radio Network

Vanderbilt by the numbers:

Record: 9-3

Runs scored: 98

Runs allowed: 54

Team Avg.: .319

Team Avg. allowed: .208

Team ERA: 4.20

Longhorns Notebook: No. 15 Texas Outlasted, Falls to Texas State 11-10

Vanderbilt wins this game if...

It can follow the pattern of knocking out the Longhorns' starting pitcher early in the game set by both LSU and Texas State. The Tigers knocked Lebarron Johnson Jr. out in the fourth inning on Friday, while the Bobcats got to Charlie Hurley much sooner, knocking him out after just 1.2 innings of work. 

Sunday will see the Longhorns sending Cody Howard to the mound, who is coming off a start against Cal Poly in which he five innings of shutout baseball with a trio of strikeouts. Him coming out early, though, would allow the Commodores to test an already tired bullpen and leave the weekend with another win.

Texas wins this game if...

It can get complementary baseball from both the pitching staff and the lineup for the first time since arriving in Houston. On Friday night the bats were ice cold while the pitching staff held their own for as long as they could before eventually succumbing to LSU's potent lineup. 

Saturday was the other end of the spectrum as the Longhorns' bats roared to life, erasing an early 6-0 deficit and eventually hitting go-ahead home runs in both the seventh and eighth innings -- neither of which resulted in a win due to the bullpen giving up the lead.

Simply put, until both halves of the team put together a complete game in the same game, winning won't get any easier.