Weather forecast pushes back start of Texas-TCU baseball series and Tanner Witt's return

The Texas baseball team announced on Thursday that the start of this weekend's series at TCU has been pushed back a day.

The Longhorns and Horned Frogs will now play on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The schedule was altered because of Friday's weather forecast in Fort Worth.

The adjusted schedule at Fort Worth's Lupton Stadium is as follows:

• Saturday, April 29 at 6 p.m. (ESPNU)

• Sunday, April 30 at 3 p.m. (TV TBA)

• Monday, May 1 at 1 p.m. (ESPN+)

This play plan pushes back the much-anticipated return of Texas pitcher Tanner Witt to the mound. Texas coach David Pierce said that Witt, who hasn't pitched since last February because of Tommy John surgery, will start Monday's game. He will only pitch for one inning.

"I hope he goes out, he's nice and healthy and attacks the strike zone," Pierce said. "Then after that, I hope for his recovery to be right to move to the next stage."

This Texas-TCU tussle could be a critical series for both teams. With No. 18 West Virginia (30-11, 8-4) ahead in first place, fourth-place Texas (28-15, 8-7) and sixth-place TCU (23-18, 7-8) are trying to keep pace in the Big 12 race. Texas and TCU were each swept last weekend. D1Baseball currently projects UT as a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament while TCU is listed among the last five teams to earn an at-large berth.

Last season, Texas went 3-1 against the Horned Frogs. One of those wins was recorded in the Big 12 tournament.

Texas outfielder Porter Brown played at TCU from 2019-22. This season, Brown ranks second among the Longhorns with his .340 batting average and 38 RBIs. His eight home runs are tied for the team lead.

"He had a great experience at TCU. For him to come to Texas and now be a Longhorn and a part of this program, I think has meant a lot to him," Pierce said. "But he's meant so much to our team from just his work ethic and his uniqueness and his character and his abilities."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas, TCU baseball teams to open conference series on Saturday