Tuesday’s loss to Mississippi State stung. There’s no way to sugar coat it.

Now, the Hoos are in familiar territory in the loser’s bracket in the College World Series.

Texas will get the first crack at ending UVA’s season.

Alexa play "Survivor" by Destiny's Child ? @UVABaseball pic.twitter.com/A0QPC6033F

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) June 24, 2021

Game Schedule

Thursday, June 24 – 7:00 PM

Team Records

Virginia: 36-26 (Overall), 18-18 (ACC)

Texas: 48-16 (Overall), 17-7 (Big 12)

Common Opponents

The Hoos and Longhorns share three common opponents – South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Tennessee.

Texas went 3-0 against South Carolina during the regular season. They hosted the Gamecocks in a March weekend series. Texas picked up a sweep in that series. UVA is 1-1 against South Carolina with both games coming during the Columbia Regional.

Texas is 1-0 against Tennessee after beating the Vols in the first loser’s bracket elimination game in Bracket Two. UVA is also 1-0 against Tennessee after beating Tennessee to open College World Series play for both teams.

Texas is 0-2 against Mississippi State. Texas lost its season opener to the Bulldogs at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown. Texas then lost its College World Series opener to Mississippi State as well. UVA is 0-1 against Mississippi State having lost the first winner’s bracket game of Bracket Two to the Bulldogs.

Stat Comparison

Stats and rankings are as of games completed through June 22, 2021.

Batting

OBP = On Base Percentage

SLG = Slugging Percentage

Pitching

K/9 = Strikeouts Per 9 Innings

BB/9 = Walks Per 9 Innings

Miscellaneous

FLD % = Fielding Percentage

SOS = Strength Of Schedule

Note that all stats are from NCAA.com. Strength of schedule data is from Warrennolan.com and is as of games played through June 22, 2021.

Ballpark Comparison

How do the home parks of Texas and UVA compare to TD Ameritrade in Omaha?

Projected Starting Pitchers

Texas LHP Pete Hansen (9-1, 1.79 ERA, 85.1 IP, 21 walks, 74 strikeouts) vs UVA RHP Mike Vasil (7-5, 4.82 ERA, 74.2 IP, 17 walks, 65 strikeouts)

Hansen, a redshirt freshman, is in his second season at Texas. He competed for the Longhorns during the 2020 season, but like the rest of college baseball he had his season cut short due to the pandemic.

He pitched mostly in relief during the 2020 season, making just 1 start in 6 total appearances. Across those 6 appearances, Hansen pitched a total of 17.0 innings. He posted a 2-0 record and 0.00 ERA during the abbreviated 2020 season. He also collected 1 save. Opposing batters hit just .158 against Hansen in his true freshman season.

He’s worked almost exclusively as a starter for the Longhorns in 2021 making 13 starts in 18 total appearances. Opposing batters are hitting .199 against Hansen on the season.

He made his last appearance on the mound for Texas in their College World Series opener against Mississippi State. In that outing, Hansen came in to relieve Texas starter Ty Madden. He pitched 2.0 innings in the 2 to 1 loss. In those 2.0 innings, Hansen gave up 1 hit and no runs. He also struck out 2 while walking no batters.

D1 Baseball’s lead scout David Seifert saw Hansen pitch against Mississippi State in the season opener for each team. Hansen was still feeling the effects of a bout with COVID at the time, so his stuff wasn’t at its best. However, Seifert was still able to offer a scouting report on Hansen based on prior views of the lefty.

Seifert notes that Hansen is known for his ability to control the strike zone while avoiding walks. His primary pitch is a fastball that normally works in the 89 to 92 MPH range. Its max is usually up to 94 MPH. For his secondary pitches, Hansen will utilize a slider and changeup. The slider sits in the lower 80s. And the changeup is almost always thrown 81 to 82 MPH. And while used sporadically, Hansen also has a fourth pitch in the way of a curve ball. Hansen typically throws that pitch in the mid to upper 70s.

.@AggieBaseball OF Logan Britt (22’) absolutely destroyed this Changeup from Texas LHP Pete Hansen.

Britt is an incredibly gifted athlete. Prototypical RF.

70 Arm & Raw Power
60 Game Power
45 Hit
55 Run & Defender

1st or 2nd round talent for me in a loaded class. #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/XJNHfgEniM

— Jake Tillinghast (@JTillinghast27) March 31, 2021

Weather Forecast Via Weather.com

Expect temps in the upper 80s at first pitch. They should hold steady most of the game before dropping into the lower 80s towards the end of the game.

The entire game will be contested under the threat of scattered and/or isolated thunderstorms. The chance of precipitation will vary between 33% and 35% most of the game. It will increase to to around 40% at the same time the temperature begins its drop.

Winds should be around 5 MPH during the entirety of the game.

Media Coverage

The game broadcast will be on ESPN2. ESPN will also carry streaming on their various streaming platforms.

The radio broadcast will be carried on WINA.com or over the air in the Charlottesville area by WINA on 98.9 FM or 1070 AM.

Longhorn To Watch

The top two options here are leadoff hitter / CF Mike Antico and DH Ivan Melendez. Both bring a little something different to the table. I’m going to go with Antico.

The Second Team All-Big 12 outfielder is a classic table setter atop the Longhorns’ batting order. The grad transfer from St. John’s is in his first season in Austin and he made an immediate impact.

Antico enters the UVA game with the third highest OPS among Texas regulars at .935. His slash line is .271 / .440 / .495. His .440 on base percentage is tops among Longhorn regulars.

He also leads Texas in walks (62), runs (66), and stolen bases (40 for 44).

Antico is near the top of the Texas leaderboard in hits (59, tied 4th) ,doubles (15, tied 3rd), triples (2, tied 2nd), homers (10, tied 3rd), RBI (44, 4th), and total bases (108, 4th).

Keeping him off base should be a major focus of the UVA game plan.

Mike Antico is the linchpin of a dynamic Longhorns offense and is ready to lead the Longhorns in Omaha.#CWS x @TexasBaseball pic.twitter.com/S6ZdUzWx16

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 19, 2021

Prediction

The Hoos are in a familiar situation now that they’re in an elimination game.

There’s a valid school of thought that this team needs their backs against the walls in order to bring out their best.

You could also theorize that if you keep playing with fire, you’ll eventually be burned.

Given that UVA’s pitching staff might be running on fumes because of the effort it took to get to this point in the season, it’s really easy to assume that the Hoos are finally too close to the proverbial blame.

Texas, given their national 2 seed in the tournament, is clearly a quality squad. The Longhorns are the obvious favorite here.

But am I ready to concede that the UVA run is ready to come to an end? That there’s no magic left in the tank? Not today!

The Hoos defy the odds, once again, and upset Texas.