Texas loses to UT-Arlington in 10 innings

[joeywa]

joey, if that quote was from Augie, it was funny.

btw, will you let us know what walk-up music your son chooses?

Both of those were.  He obviously wasn't happy, but I will tell you this; just about any coaching staff in the country wants to have things to work on and to keep their teams grounded.  Tough opponents, and, (gasp,) losses give them exactly that.  Trouncing crappy teams throught the preseason, and having teams not be challenged is not usually a good thing long-term.  I said we would probably lose one of our midweek non-conference games.  Let's hope this one was it.  I would venture a guess and say that the team is extremely focused on Friday. 

And of course, I'll let you know.  Ha!

 

[Matt Cotcher]

Both of those were.  He obviously wasn't happy, but I will tell you this; just about any coaching staff in the country wants to have things to work on and to keep their teams grounded.  Tough opponents, and, (gasp,) losses give them exactly that.  Trouncing crappy teams throught the preseason, and having teams not be challenged is not usually a good thing long-term.  I said we would probably lose one of our midweek non-conference games.  Let's hope this one was it.  I would venture a guess and say that the team is extremely focused on Friday. 

Building off this (^^^) answer, it's worth re-visiting that Augie & Skip use these midweek games as incubators. Letting Kyle Johnston try to work out of a pressure-filled situation in the ninth inning has value. Not only does Johnston grow from the experience, but the coaches get a "real life" simulation of how he reacts in that type of situation.

Garrido is building this team to win in the postseason. He'll drop a midweek game or two along the way if it helps him accomplish that goal.

At this point, Texas is playing for 1st place in the conference and to be as battle-tested as possible for the start of Regionals. Losing to UT-A doesn't negatively impact either goal. In fact, it's more likely in Garrido's mind that the team moved closer to those goals tonight.