Rain could force late start to top-10 baseball matchup between Horns, Mississippi St.

“Our players are our players at this point. I hope we can keep them all healthy,” he said. “With (shortstop Adrian Rodriguez) A-Rod being back, we’re certainly a better team than we were two weeks ago.”

AUSTIN, TX – APRIL 19: Infielder Adrian Rodriguez #24 of the Texas Longhorns tosses his bat after drawing a walk during the SEC baseball game between Texas Longhorns and Alabama Crimson Tide on April 19, 2026, at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, TX. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

‘That’s certainly an Omaha team’

Before the Longhorns can worry about June, however, they have to get by one of the top slugging teams in the country. The Bulldogs are No. 14 in Division I with a .537 slugging percentage, and they are No. 18 with 1.69 home runs per game. Texas slugs .515 and clubs 1.67 homers per game, so there’s not a lot between the teams in that regard.

Mississippi State also pitches slightly better — at least from a statistical standpoint. Its staff ERA is 3.61, No. 7 in the country, while Texas is No. 10 at 3.69, and the Bulldogs strike out 11.9 batters per nine innings. Texas strikes out 11.7, making both teams top-five in the country in that category.

The Longhorns have a slight advantage in WHIP — walks and hits per innings pitched — at 1.19 to 1.22. Needless to say, they’re very similar, and Schlossnagle knows his team has its hands full this weekend.

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“That’s certainly an Omaha team,” he said about the Bulldogs. “This will be the most complete team that we’ve played all season. … There will be some super high-end, the highest level of Division I baseball, played here this weekend. If we pitch the way we are capable of and get some timely hits, then we’ll be fine.”

But what if it rains?

Texas and Texas A&M had to scrub the third game of the Lone Star Showdown series in College Station due to some rowdy and relentless storms three weeks ago. Having to cancel conference games isn’t an ideal scenario, and it’s not something Texas wants to do again.

With rain in the forecast for most of Friday, Schlossnagle’s amateur meteorologist career gets overtime. He’s checking different weather apps to give himself an idea if a day will be playable, specifically a 3-4 hour window of time when it’ll be dry enough.

A rainy day at UFCU Disch-Falk Field (KXAN photo)

The artificial surface at the Disch helps get games in, and it’s the first time in Schlossnagle’s career that he’s coached at a place with fake grass. While he’s constantly checking the radar and asking around about when rain will hit, he knows that, in the end, it’s not his choice to play or not.

FIRST WARNING WEATHER: Flood Watch through Friday with waves of heavy rain

“We have such a great game operations staff; they ultimately make the decision,” Schlossnagle said. “The SEC has the final word on whether we move a game or something like that, so I’ve just learned to kind of let it go.”

According to the KXAN First Warning Weather team, there’s a 50% chance of rain by 6 p.m. for the Austin area. The chances dwindle as the sun sets, but with the game scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m., it could end up being a later first pitch. Don’t worry about the weekend weather, though. It looks lovely.

Schlossnagle said he tries his best to convince decision-makers to get the games in.

“I try to take into account everybody, you know, the people who have to open the stadium and stand out in the rain, ticket takers, ushers, all of that stuff,” Schlossnagle said, “I hate for people to be here when we might not even play.”

A later start Friday would certainly be better than playing a doubleheader on Saturday, Scholssnagle said.

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