The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Rice
No. 8/9 Baseball Preview: at No. 12/18 Rice [April 1, 2014]
03.31.2014 | Baseball
Texas defeated Rice, 2-0, on Feb. 28 in the Houston College Classic
No. 8/9 Texas (22-7) at No. 12/18 Rice (21-9) · Tuesday, April 1
Where: Houston, Texas • Reckling Park (5,368)
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Video: Live stream on RiceOwls.com
Radio: AM-1300 The Zone, online at www.TexasSports.com/showcase - Talent: Craig Way (PbP), Keith Moreland (Analyst)
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
All-Time Series: Texas leads, 221-53-2, 94-32-1 at Rice
Probable Starting Pitchers
Fr. RHP Jon Duplantier (0-1, 3.32) vs. Jr. RHP Lukas Schiraldi (4-1, 2.45)
QUICK HITS
· Texas has won seven of its last eight games, including a series victory at Texas Tech last weekend.
· The Longhorns led the Big 12 in hitting last week with a .338 average. Freshman Tres Barrera, who was 8-of-19 (.421) with seven RBI in four games, was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.
· The Texas pitching staff leads the Big 12 and is tied for fourth nationally with a 1.98 ERA. That's nearly a full run better than TCU, which is second in the league at 2.91. As a staff, Texas is holding opponents to a .218 batting average, also best in the league.
· Starting pitcher Lukas Schiraldi has allowed one run or fewer in five of his six starts. In his past two starts, the junior has allowed just one run in a total of 15 innings.
· Texas' 44 hits vs. Texas Tech last weekend are the most in a three-game series since March 16-18, 2012, when the Longhorns had 45 at Oklahoma.
· Over the last eight games, Texas is averaging 6.75 runs per game and hitting .336 as a team. Texas has a .458 slugging percentage and .432 on-base percentage. The Horns have recorded double-digit hits seven out of the last eight games.
· Barrera (17-36, .472), Zane Gurwitz (12-30, .400), Ben Johnson (12-32, .375), Brooks Marlow (12-32, .375), Mark Payton (11-30, .367) and C.J Hinojosa (9-30, .300) have been the offensive leaders over the last eight games.
· Since March 11, Barrera is 23-of-50 (.460) at the plate, including five doubles, a triple and a home run. He has raised his batting average 171 points (128 to 299) in that span.
· Texas is ranked in the top 15 by all five major polls, including 8th by Baseball America and 9th by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
· Texas has 29 double plays this season (including five last week), which leads the Big 12. The Longhorns rank second in the league in fielding percentage (.980) behind Texas Tech (.981).
· Mark Payton leads the Big 12 in on-base percentage (.516) and triples (5), is tied for first in batting average (.402) and tied for second in walks (24). Payton has reached base safely in 68 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).
· Head coach Augie Garrido surpassed Gordon Gillespie for the most wins (1,894) by any college baseball coach at any level with the 5-1 win over Texas State on March 25.
· The Longhorns are 11-1 when scoring in the first inning this season. The lone loss came on March 29 at Texas Tech.
· The Longhorns are tied with TCU for a Big 12 best five shutouts.
· Texas is No. 2 in the country in Iterative Strength Rating, according to college baseball site BoydsWorld.com (see more - page 3). The Longhorns have played the 14th most difficult schedule.
· 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 2.00 ERA, while the starters have a 1.97 ERA.
· Texas is 22-3 when scoring two runs or more.
· Texas has stolen 26 bases on 33 attempts this season, with Collin Shaw (7-10), Ben Johnson (5-5) and Mark Payton (5-6) leading the way. The Longhorns have been excellent against the run, with opponents stealing just 11 bases on 17 attempts. That's the second lowest number in the Big 12, with West Virginia ranking first (10-16).
· Texas leads the Big 12 with 45 sacrifice bunts.
