Inclement weather scuttles Texas Baseball's midweek contest, halting momentum and raising concerns about recent performance before a key weekend series.
Does Texas seal a series victory against Vanderbilt?
Over the weekend, the Texas Longhorns secured another series victory, taking down No. 13 Alabama, marking their eighth series win of the season.
The Longhorns sit comfortably as the No. 4-ranked team in the nation and were looking to carry that momentum forward into their midweek matchup against the Air Force Falcons in Austin.
However, Mother Nature had other plans.
The game was originally scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch, but the game was delayed an hour due to inclement weather.
Then, just 15 minutes before the updated start time, Texas coach Jim Schossnagle and Air Force coach Mike Kazlausky met near the Air Force dugout to help decide that the game would be cancelled.
Although the game won't be played, mutual respect between both teams was on full display.
Players from each side came out of their dugouts and met near home plate to shake hands, despite the cancellation.
The matchup at UFCU Disch-Falk Field was set to serve as Military Appreciation Night, honoring active and former service members in attendance, especially for the Air Force Falcons baseball players.
With the cancellation limiting that opportunity for fans, it was important to Jim Schlossnagle and the rest of the Texas baseball team to at least show appreciation to the Air Force players.
For Texas, this marks the second game canceled in the past 10 days, after their series finale against their bitter rival, Texas A&M, was also called off in College Station due to inclement weather.
Although the matchup between Texas and Air Force may not have carried the same level of anticipation as the A&M showdown, the cancellation was still disappointing for a variety of reasons.
The Texas Longhorns have struggled at times in midweek matchups this season. Two of their eight losses came in Tuesday contests against Tarleton & Houston, both of which were expected wins for the Horns.
It’s also worth noting their most recent midweek matchup against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, the burnt orange quickly fell behind 6-1 by the third inning.
Texas eventually regained momentum and pulled away for a 14-7 victory, but the early struggles were definitely not pretty.
This week's Tuesday matchup was an opportunity to see Michael Winter back on the bump and see how he would respond following his previous outing.
And while Texas did secure the series win against Alabama, it also served a chance to evaluate how the Longhorns would perform after falling short of a sweep on Sunday.
Looking ahead, with Vanderbilt up next for a weekend series, Coach Schlossnagle and the rest of the team would have undoubtedly preferred some additional game reps before heading to Nashville. Although Vanderbilt has shown some inconsistency as of late, the Commodores remain one of the premier programs in college baseball, so Texas will need to be at its best throughout the series.
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There may be some concerns for Texas due to the fact that live game reps are the most valuable when it comes to sharpening a player’s performance, and Texas will now be without that advantage heading into their weekend series. Not to mention, extended time off can often lead to slow starts at the plate, and that’s the last thing Texas needs going against a team like Vanderbilt.
With that in mind, it’s safe to say Texas Longhorns practices will be facilitating plenty of live at-bats, intrasquad scrimmages, and cage work as the Longhorns prepare for their trip to Tennessee.
The weekend slate begins Friday in Nashville at 6 p.m. CT, followed by a 7 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and a 12 p.m. finale on Sunday.