Lucas Gordon, Lebarron Johnson Jr. have Texas humming into the Stanford super regional

Not too long ago, it seemed like Oklahoma had possibly broken Texas.

The Sooners, however, may have inadvertently fixed their rival.

Back in April, Oklahoma swept Texas in three straight wins at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The Sooners hadn't swept Texas since 1998 and they never had done it in Austin. Plus, Oklahoma entered that weekend series as the last-place team in the Big 12 while Texas was leading the conference.

So yes, that was a low point.

But during that Sunday loss, Texas received a solid showing Lebarron Johnson Jr., out of the bullpen. The next weekend at TCU, Johnson pitched 6⅓ innings of three-hit relief.

Texas then moved Johnson to the starting rotation, and he has since recorded five strong starts.

On Wednesday, head coach David Pierce was asked if Johnson’s late-season surge would have happened without those losses to Oklahoma. He couldn’t rule out the premise.

"I think he ends up being pretty darn good; I don't know if he's that confident and sitting as a Saturday starter without that great outing," Pierce said. "The kid, he just has gotten so much more comfortable being on that mound and competing, confident. You can just see it in his mannerisms, his body language."

'That was a really good pitcher'

Since entering that 6-4 loss to OU on April 22, Johnson has allowed 36 hits, 10 walks and nine earned runs over 43⅔ innings. That equates to a 1.85 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. He’s also struck out 50 batters over those seven appearances.

During Texas' second game at the Coral Gables regional last Saturday, Johnson went the distance in a 4-1 win over Miami. He worked around three walks and seven Hurricanes hits during what was the first complete game for a Longhorn in the NCAA Tournament since 2014.

"At the end of that day, that was a really good pitcher," Miami coach Gino DiMare said after the game. "He seemed to be on his game and he got the better of us tonight. That's the bottom line."

Texas will battle Stanford this weekend for a spot in the College World Series. It's a super regional pitting strength against strength. Texas is No. 10 nationally in ERA and No. 17 in fielding percentage. Stanford boasts a top-15 batting average and scoring offense.

Texas pitching is strong at the top

Johnson's emergence has given Texas a formidable 1-2 punch in its pitching rotation. For the season, Johnson is 8-3 with a 2.62 ERA and 94 strikeouts. Left-handed ace Lucas Gordon heads to his home state of California with a 7-1 record, 2.45 ERA and 98 strikeouts.

Gordon was named the Big 12's pitcher of the year this season. Among the starting pitchers in the conference, he and Johnson claim the two-lowest ERAs.

"It's incredible, you know what you're getting from those guys every time they take the mound," shortstop Mitchell Daly said.

A strong season from Gordon, who's a junior, was expected. An all-conference honoree last year, he was named the team’s Friday starter in February and was on the Big 12’s preseason team.

Johnson, though, was a wild card. A third-year right-hander who redshirted in 2021 and made 18 relief appearances in 2022, he was viewed by Pierce at the beginning of the season as a pitcher who could help bridge the gap between UT's weekend starters and the back end of the bullpen.

But when the season got underway, Johnson excelled as a midweek starter. Most notably he shut out then-No. 1 LSU for five innings on Feb. 28. He eventually earned a few weekend starts, but was sent back to the bullpen after a midseason swoon that was attributed to his mechanics. He was starting again by May.

"When you talk about a developmental story, that may be the best ever," Pierce said. "From where he was when he got here to where he is right now."

Gordon and Johnson have had a pact this season. The pitchers both agreed to use Jay-Z songs as their introductory music at home games. Gordon mixed things up in the Oklahoma series and instead warmed up to Dolly Parton's "Jolene," but he switched back to Jay-Z's "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" the following week. A deal is a deal, he later explained.

Johnson's Jay-Z song of choice has been "Show Me What You Got." Fittingly, both he and Gordon are doing just that.

Stanford super regional

Texas (41-20) at No. 8 Stanford (42-17), Saturday-Monday

Game 1 — 5 p.m. Saturday, ESPN2, 104.9; Game 2 — Sunday, TBA; Game 3 — Monday if needed, TBA

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Lebarron Johnson Jr., Lucas Gordon are leading Texas baseball pitching