Texas
The Longhorns (41-19) are back in the Super Regionals, making their ninth appearance in school history. They went into the Houston regional and knocked off host Rice and rival Texas A&M twice, including a 4-1 victory in the winner-take-all game. The Longhorns got great pitching performances all weekend, beginning with starters Nathan Thornhill (1 ER over 7 innings vs. A&M Game 1), Parker French (2 ER over 6 2/3 innings vs. Rice) and Chad Hollingsworth, who threw a complete game against A&M in the regional championship game. Oh and by the way, that was his first start all season long. And on the back end, Travis Duke (1 ER over 4 innings) and John Curtiss (4 shutout innings) were as magnificent as they’ve been all season long. On the offensive side, C.J. Hinojosa and Brooks Marlow led the Longhorns with six hits apiece. Mark Payton also extended his on-base streak to 99 consecutive games dating back to last season, which is the longest streak in the nation and a Big 12 record.
Houston
The Cougars (48-16) are making their fourth Super Regional appearance in school history and their first since 2003. The Cougars went into Baton Rouge and knocked off No. 8 national seed LSU in back-to-back games after coming out of the loser’s bracket. First it was a thrilling 5-4 comeback victory to extend their season, and then it was a 12-2 beat-down of one of the best teams in the nation and a popular pick to make it to Omaha. Kyle Survance was a force at the plate with eight hits in the regional, while they also got strong pitching performances from junior ace Aaron Garza (two runs over 6 innings vs. SE Louisiana) and junior Jared Robinson. Robinson allowed just one run over 6 2/3 innings in their opening-game win against Bryant, and then came back two days later to throw 6 1/3 shutout innings against LSU in the regional championship.
Pick: Texas
I do have some apprehension about the Longhorns’ ability to drive runs in, as they left countless runners on base during the Houston Regional. But I think they’ll squeeze out just enough runs, and the pitching staff (even without the services of Dillon Peters) will contain the Cougars’ offense and take the ‘Horns back to Omaha
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