Jeff Howe

With the MLB labor situation looming, Schloss said college baseball decision makers need to focus on making the game as viewer friendly as possible. That includes implementing rule changes that can speed up the game.

On Ruger Riojas, Schloss said it adds a lot to the program to have someone in the transfer portal era who loves Texas has much as Ruger does.

Carson Tinney had some good swings in Knoxville, Schloss said. He’s not worried about Tinney having an off weekend.

Schloss said Temo Becerra has made some swing changes lately. His aucccess though, Schloss said, has a lot to do with not over swinging and going back to being a contact hitter first and foremost.

Schloss and Max Weiner pushed Haiden Leffew on Sunday because they wanted to get a look at him in that role and the series unfolded in such à way that it made sense.

Schloss said they might audition a fourth starter next week. If one doesn’t emerge, the role of the fourth starter will be matchup dependent.

Schloss likes where the Longhorns are at with Burns, Cozart, Crossland and Leffew.

Schloss likes the way Cody Howard and Brody Walls are trending.

Schloss doesn’t know who will start at second base as of right now. Gumbo, Becerra and Early are all under consideration.

If the team wants to get to Omaha, their habits and work needs to reflect that. ”If not,” he said, “then shame on you.”

Schloss said the players are having to push through a lot right now, but… ”You want to be a pro player? Well, here it is, buddy,” he said.

Schloss: “Most soft tissue injuries are somebody’s fault.” Unfortunately, Texas isn’t dealing with a ton of those, which makes it tougher to explain some of the ailments.

Schloss said Anthony Pack Jr., who is fine now, previously aggravated his wrist throwing a medicine ball in the weight room.

Schloss said the starters will be on short leashes this weekend because of the short week.

Schloss said the pitching rotation will remain the same. ”We’re going to pitch to win,” he said.

Schloss said Dariyan Pendergrass is close to coming back. They’re being careful with him right now.

Schloss said Maddox Monsour is a better offensive player than he’s shown. He added that Monsour is giving the Longhorns what they want from him defensively.

Per Schloss, the plan is for Ethan Mendoza will DH this weekend. Schloss said he doesn’t have enough information to make a determination regarding Mendoza’s status beyond that.

That’s it for Gumbo. Schloss is up next.

On the Gumbo nickname, Duplantier said when he was a kid he put potato salad in him gumbo. His dad started calling him Gumbo Salad and it stuck. ”I don’t even hear my first name anymore,” he said.

Gumbo said that he’s continued to work with the infielders throughout the season to stay sharp. The work has come in handy now that he’s manning second base with Ethan Mendoza on the mend.

On why he didn’t transfer out of the program, Duplantier said he wanted to be at a place where he could win and succeed. He bet on himself and he’s got a key role on this team heading into the postseason. ”There is was no point in trying to leave this place,” he said.

“It’s definitely flown by super fast,” Gumbo said of his time at Texas.

Duplantier was named to the SEC Baseball Community Service Team today.

Jayden Duplantier said the Longhorns weren’t shaken up by the Tennessee series, but he said the Longhorns learned a lot about themselves. ”It was a good kick in the tail,” he said.