Luke Harrison required 11 pitches to issue a Texas baseball course correction.
The crafty lefthander began his outing against Florida on Saturday afternoon by allowing a single. Then he mowed down the next three Gators, whiffing Brendan Lawson and Luke Heyman before sneaking an offspeed pitch over the plate to catch Ty Evans looking.
Normalcy, finally, was restored.
Before Harrison stymied the Gators on Saturday, allowing two runs ‒ on earned ‒ in a five-inning effort cut short by a lengthy rain delay, a dominant Longhorns’ starting rotation had been trending toward mediocrity.
In Texas’ previous four SEC games, its starting pitchers allowed 23 runs. The first 21 games of the Longhorns’ conference slate had seen their starters give up 42 runs total. Flush out the math, and over 35% of the production against Texas’ starting pitchers had come in a winless trip to Arkansas and a loss to the Gators on Friday.
“It can go South” Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “If you don’t find a way to be positive and win a ballgame, then it can really snowball on you. And I think starting pitching is what gives you the best chance. (Harrison) gave us a chance.”
Harrison cooked up his solid outing by following his typical recipe: A well-located fastball mixed with a diving curveball and a determination to pound the strike zone.
In his five innings of work, he allowed five hits and struck out eight Gators without issuing a walk. The only free pass he permitted came in the fifth inning on a hit-by-pitch and was immediately erased on a double play.
What made him so effective?
“I think just his ability to mix it up, show different things,” catcher Rylan Galvan said. “He’s even dropped his arm angle at times to show different slots. Just keeping hitters off balance makes the fastball play up probably a little harder than what it is.”
With the effort, Harrison rebounded from his only truly poor start of the season in which he surrendered four runs in four innings in a loss to Arkansas on May 2. His control betrayed him that day, with two walks and two hit batsmen fueling a powerful Razorback offense.
Against the Gators Saturday, he lived around the plate ‒and looked like a model for everything the Texas staff coaches its pitchers to be as he lowered his ERA to 3.13.
He didn’t overpower anyone with his fastball. He did not nibble stubbornly at the corners in an attempt to hide from a lineup full of talented hitters.
Instead, he attacked the strike zone. And it resulted in a 5-2 Texas win after Thomas Burns and Dylan Volantis combined for four scoreless innings in relief, moving the Longhorns to 11-2 in games started by Harrison this season.
It won’t be the only cause for celebration for the Harrison family. He skipped his graduation ceremony on Saturday morning to prepare for his start. He’s now the proud holder of a Texas sports management degree.
“(My mom) was understanding,” Harrison said postgame. “They definitely wanted me to go walk, but kind of understood that I had some business to take care of here. Been battling a little bit of sickness earlier this week, so definitely just needed the rest.”
Reach Texas Insider David Eckert via email at deckert@gannett.com. Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Access all of our best content with this tremendous offer.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas baseball: How Luke Harrison brought Longhorns back to winning formula vs Florida
Reporting by David Eckert, Austin American-Statesman / Austin American-Statesman
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
