Kirk BohlsAustin American-Statesman
The transfer portal may continue to turn the college athletics world upside down, but the rules still do not allow an in-season switch from one school to another.
That said, the Texas baseball team seemed to unveil a newcomer of sorts on the mound for the finale of its three-game series with Kansas.
Big, strapping guy who wears No. 57.
And who wore out the visiting Jayhawks to complete the Longhorns’ first sweep of a Big 12 opponent all season with an intense 9-7 victory on a charbroiled Saturday with temperatures in the 90s.
He sure looks familiar.
Let me look him up.
Yeah, goes by the name of Lebarron Johnson Jr.
We know he’s not exactly new to the Texas roster, but no one’s seen much of this version of the right-hander power pitcher in what has been for him a personally troublesome but still potential-filled season. He’s not the X-factor for the Longhorns in late May and June. He’s fully X, Y and Z. And any other letters you want to throw in there.
He can be that good, that dominant. We’ve all seen it.
Certainly, he will be that crucial to the Longhorns’ postseason chances, which honestly have improved by the minute.
For six innings at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, the redshirt junior right-hander who was projected to be Texas’ clear ace was all that and more.
Sure, he didn’t go nine innings and throw a two-hitter, but this was major progress for him, striking out seven and allowing only a single run in six strong innings. It marked only his third win of the year and just his second since beating Cal Poly on Feb. 23.
Head coach David Pierce will take it.
“I told you he’s coming,” Pierce said. “He was dialed in pretty good today. We’re still building that bridge to get to (closer Gage) Boehm and still cleaning some things up. It got a little ugly late, but we’ve figured out how to win.”
I’ll say. The Longhorns have won six straight series and nine of 10 overall to buff their credentials at the best possible time. Heck, after raising its RPI to 42 nationally and winning four in a row and 13 of their last 16, maybe they could capture this week’s Big 12 Tournament and perhaps even steal a host berth from somebody.
Hey, it’s Texas we’re talking about here.
Not likely, but nobody’s going to want to face this potent offensive lineup that has strong hitters up and down the lineup and has a wealth of power.
Pitching, of course, will be the key, ultimately. Ace Whitehead has some soreness he’s dealing with and didn’t start in this series, and No. 1 starter Max Grubbs didn’t have his best stuff before getting pulled early in his start against Kansas after just 65 pitches. Reclamation project Tanner Witt has had bone chips removed recently, putting his entire future up in the air, so Johnson’s bounce-back could be a huge bright spot.
It’s been a steep decline for the 6-foot-4, 210-pound native of Jacksonville, Fla., who many thought might even have left early last summer in the major-league draft. He stayed to the delight of all in burnt orange, and expectations were through the roof for the next big Texas pitching superstar.
More: Mac Morgan was darn near perfect in Texas' NCAA regional softball win | Bohls
It just hasn’t materialized after he had overpowered batters last season with an 8-4 season and 2.91 ERA. He had his moments early this year, blanking Cal Poly on two hits over eight innings and striking out 10 in a six-inning start against Washington.
But thereafter his command suffered, his pitches weren’t sharp. He fell behind, walked too many, had some odd pitch selection and was more of a thrower than a refined pitcher.
Eventually he was relegated to the Sunday role as the third starter for the last six series, but Johnson still struggled badly, posting a 1-3 record in Big 12 play with a hideous 8.58 ERA.
On Saturday, however, Johnson pitched like the No. 1 pitcher that Pierce hoped for. And still needs. He set the tone early, retiring the first nine in order, five on strikeouts, before turning it over to an erratic bullpen that barely survived the last three innings.
“Maybe he hadn’t had the season that he’d like to have,” said catcher/designated hitter Kimble Schuessler, who homered and was one of four Longhorns with two RBIs. “But he’s really coming on here late when we really need him the most. It was just a matter of time with him.”
And the time is now with the most important games of the year. It’s a feather in Texas’ cap to sweep a Kansas team that won five Big 12 series and is the only conference team in the top 40 nationally in team batting average and ERA.
More: LISTEN: Texas softball coach Mike White on NCAA title expectations, Oklahoma Sooners, LHN
Chances are it won’t get any invitation because the 29-21 Jayhawks weren’t able to steal so much as a single win at the Disch. Lord knows they tried.
And they very nearly did before losing a pair of games in walk-off fashion to the hometown Horns and then pushing the Texas bullpen to the breaking point before Boehm retired the side with three fly balls in the ninth to secure the sweep and earn his eighth save.
While Kansas likely saw its season winding down, Texas (35-20) further enhanced its own credentials and enters Tuesday’s Big 12 tourney with the third seed and feeling very good about itself.
“We’re clicking on all cylinders,” Schuessler said. “We’re getting hot at the right time.”
Couple that momentum with a serious upturn in Johnson’s progress, and Longhorn Nation can now dream about making some legitimate noise in the NCAAs.
More: No. 25 Texas preps for the Big 12 baseball tournament by completing a sweep of Kansas
“It was very important not just for me but for the team,” Johnson said.
With arguably the most impressive performance of his season, the imposing right-hander came even closer to re-establishing himself after a rough patch of command issues and control problems all year.
In his 13 previous starts, he’d thrown five innings or more just four times. And he’d given up four earned runs or more six times in those starts.
But on what may be Texas’ final home game of the season, he showed his true stuff and real self.
More: No. 1 Texas softball powers past Northwestern, improves to 2-0 in NCAA Tournament
And how high is his confidence now?
“It’s high,” he said. “Tonight really boosted my confidence. I know what I’m capable of.”
He could say the same about his teammates, who loved what they witnessed on the mound.
His potential impact?
“Gosh, you saw it,” team leader Peyton Powell said. “It is what it is when he’s on. Having him out there is just comforting. We all have the utmost confidence in everything we do.”
And now he’s got more in himself.
