Weather will continue to impact the Horns until a warming trend asserts itself on Sunday.
The same cold front that forced the cancelation of Tuesday’s game at UFCU Disch-Falk Field between the No. 16 Texas Longhorn and the Houston Cougars also forced the Horns to change the Friday and Saturday start times to the weekend home series against the Dartmouth Big Green.
First pitch on Friday is now at 1 p.m. Central with a forecast high of 35 degrees in Austin and the Saturday start time is noon Central with a chance of showers and a temperature of 38 degrees before the regularly-scheduled start time of noon Central on Sunday as the sun returns during the afternoon and the temperature reaches back into the 60s.
All three games will be televised on SEC Network+.
The cold on Friday and Saturday combined with the Tuesday cancelation could impact how Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle manages his pitching staff with a more conservative approach to how long the Friday and Saturday starters throw after extended outings from senior left-hander Jared Spencer and redshirt junior left-hander Luke Harrison last weekend in Arlington for the Shriners Children’s College Showdown.
Schlossnagle had wanted to see outings from sophomore right-hander Hudson Hamilton, freshman right-hander Jason Flores, junior right-hander Connor McCreery, and freshman left-hander Bryce Navarre during the midweek game against Houston and will likely ensure that those pitchers see the mound against Dartmouth.
Sophomore Easton Winfield was set to return to the lineup as well after Schlossnagle wanted to get some at bats for freshman Cole Chamberlain on Sunday. Schlossnagle also wanted to get some playing time for junior second baseman Jayden Duplantier and potentially some other players, a group that could include sophomore corner infielders Casey Borba and Jaquae Stewart.
Friday’s game is the season opener for Dartmouth coming off a 13-26 season. The Big Green were picked to finish fifth in the eight-team Ivy League in the conference’s preseason poll, so the first matchup between the Horns and an Ivy League program since 2014 should provide plenty of opportunities for Schlossnagle to accomplish his goals without much risk of dropping a game in the series.
The home opener for Schlossnagle comes as he tries to integrate 12 freshmen and 11 transfers into his new roster with a buzz around the Forty Acres coming off of 16 consecutive years with the most attendance in the Big 12, including an average of 7,476 fans last season, fifth-most in the country.
