The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Columbia
No. 15/19 Baseball Preview: vs. Columbia [March 21-23, 2014]
03.20.2014 | Baseball
Texas and Columbia open series Friday at 6 p.m.
No. 15/19 Texas (16-6) vs. Columbia (5-9) · March 21-23
Where: Austin, Texas • UFCU Disch-Falk Field (7,237)
Times: 6 p.m. (Fri.), 2 p.m. (Sat.), Noon (Sun.)
Television: Longhorn Network - Talent: Kevin Dunn (PbP), Greg Swindell (Analyst)
Radio: AM 1300 The Zone, online at www.TexasSports.com/showcase - Talent: Craig Way (PbP), Keith Moreland (PbP/Analyst), Bill Little (Analyst)
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/texas/baseball/
All-Time Series: First meeting
Probable Starting Pitchers
Sr. LHP David Speer (1-1, 2.35) vs. Jr. LHP Dillon Peters (2-1, 1.84)
Sr. RHP Joey Donino (1-1, 3.86) vs. Jr. RHP Parker French (2-2, 1.71)
So. RHP Kevin Roy (1-1, 4.96) vs. Sr. RHP Nathan Thornhill (3-0, 1.30)
QUICK HITS
· Texas has won 10 of its last 11 non-conference games as it heads into the final regular season non-league weekend series of the year.
· The Longhorns improved to 7-0 when scoring in the first inning with Tuesday's 5-0 shutout win over Dallas Baptist.
· The Horns' pitching staff currently boasts a 2.09 ERA which leads the Big 12. TCU is second with a 2.41 ERA. As a staff, Texas is holding opponents to a .219 batting average, also best in the league.
· The weekend starting rotation has a collective 1.63 ERA. Dillon Peters has surrendered just seven earned runs, Parker French just six, and Nathan Thornhill just four.
· The Texas bullpen had a streak of 30 consecutive scoreless innings snapped when it surrendered five runs in the ninth inning against Kansas on March 16. On the year, the bullpen has a 2.20 ERA, while the starters have a 2.02 ERA.
· The Longhorns are 7-2 in one-run games this season and 8-5 when the opponent scores first.
· Texas is No. 6 in the country in Iterative Strength Rating, according to college baseball site BoydsWorld.com (see more - page 3). The Longhorns have played the ninth most difficult schedule.
· Texas is also ranked in the top 25 by all five major polls, including 15th by Baseball America and 19th by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
· Texas has 20 double plays this season (including three against Dallas Baptist on Tuesday), which is tied for second in the Big 12. The Longhorns are also tied for second in fielding percentage (.978). Texas is fielding at a .989 clip at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
· Senior center fielder Mark Payton leads the Big 12 in on-base percentage (.543) and triples (5), is tied for the lead in walks (19) and is second in average (.427) and hits (32). Payton has reached base safely in 61 consecutive games dating back to last season, which is the longest streak nationally and the second longest in Big 12 history (93 - Nick Martini, K-State, 2009-11).
· The Longhorns recorded double-digit hits in the win over Dallas Baptist for the fourth time this season. Mark Payton, C.J Hinojosa, Tres Barrera and Zane Gurwitz all turned in two-hit games.
· Texas has stolen 17 bases on 23 attempts this season, with Payton (4-5), Ben Johnson (5-5) and Collin Shaw (4-6) leading the way. The Longhorns have been excellent against the run, with opponents stealing just four bases on 10 attempts. That's the lowest number in the Big 12, with West Virginia being the only other school to allow single-digit stolen bases (8-14).
· Texas entered the week ranked second nationally in sacrifice bunts with 31. Jackson State ranked first with 35.
· With 1,990 career victories, head coach Augie Garrido needs just three wins to tie Gordon Gillespie for the most wins (1,893) by any college baseball coach at any level. He is already the winningest coach in Division I history.
· Tres Barrera has raised his average 87 points in the past five games (from .128 to .215), going 8-for-18 in that stretch.
