The Longhorns stayed alive in the conference tournament with a 6-1 win over 8-seed Missouri this morning, setting the stage for a 4:00 PM rematch. The winner will advance to the tournament championship game tomorrow at 1:00 PM, and the loser will go home.
As TXStampede noted earlier, Brandon Loy has been killing the ball throughout the tourney--to the tune of 10-17 (.588) including three doubles and four RBI. Loy is a big part of the reason the Texas offense has found some spark over the last few days, scoring at least four runs in each game so far in OKC.Stampede also duly pointed out that Kendal Carrilo was huge this morning, spelling Sam Stafford for 3.2 strong innings.
Texas has the least to play for of any team still in the hunt. Now standing at 43-14 overall, we'd be shocked if the Longhorns didn't land a top-eight national seed no matter what happens from here. Missouri has a losing record, so winning Sunday is literally their only prayer of extending their season. Texas A&M is in a similar situation to Texas, except that with a conference tournament win there's an outside chance the Ags could end up in the top eight as well; they have an RPI of 10 (actually two slots higher that Texas) and could make a decent case. Kansas State also must win the tournament to play in the Dance in all likelihood; even with a solid 36-22 overall mark, their RPI is down at 41.
Because of that situation, it will be interesting to see how Texas does. We always feel like Texas fans should cheer for Texas to win, but obviously a loss would not be the end of the world. Resting the arms and making sure everyone stays healthy is simply more important than winning the conference tournament. As such, this should remain a low-stress day for Longhorn fans; win or lose, they did what they needed to do in Oklahoma City to set themselves up for an Omaha run.
UPDATE: Aggies make a terrific comeback to beat K-State and advance to the championship. Video for Texas-Mizzou is here.