The Longhorns play Texas-Pan Am tonight in a game where one thing, and one thing only matters: what will Austin Dicharry look like? The guess is that he'll have a very low pitch count max--probably somewhere in the 50-65 range. But however long he stays out there, what would have been a somewhat hum-drum affair against the 16-12 Broncs from beautiful Edinburg, TX has become a game of major interest to Longhorn fans. With Corey Knebel firmly settled into the closer role and the rest of the bullpen hitting its collective stride, it's hard to see Dicharry as anything other than a potential fifth (or third, or fourth) starter once the postseason rolls around.
Generally, you need one ace and three very good pitchers behind him to be "built" for a great run to Omaha. If Dicharry can work his way back to top form by the time of the Big Dance, hold onto your hats. You'll have a bona fide ace in Jungmann, followed by Green, Stafford, Milner, and Dicharry; any of those guys can hop into a ballgame in the second inning if another gets in trouble and pitch like a starter. Having five legit starting pitchers is what you call insurance. Let's hope tonight is Step One toward that ultimate end.
First pitch is at 6 PM CDT. Video is here.