The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
UT-Arlington
No. 6/4 Baseball Preview: vs. UT Arlington [April 15, 2014]
04.14.2014 | Baseball
Texas and UT Arlington meet at 6 p.m.
No. 6/4 Texas (29-8) vs. UT Arlington (16-20) • Tuesday, April 15, 6 p.m.
Where: Austin, Texas • UFCU Disch-Falk Field (7,237)
Time: 6 p.m.
TV: 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 (Analyst)
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/texas/baseball
All-Time Series: Texas leads, 55-17, 54-17 at home
Probable Starting Pitchers
Jr. LHP Zach Hobbs (3-0, 2.55) vs. Fr. RHP Blake Goins (1-0, 2.79)
QUICK HITS
· Texas is 14-2 in its last 16 games after a three-game sweep at Oklahoma last weekend. The Longhorns recorded back-to-back conference sweeps for the first time since 2010, when they swept five straight.
· The Longhorns swept Oklahoma with great offensive balance. Eight of nine starters had at least one hit Friday, while all nine had at least one on Saturday and Sunday. Texas scored 25 runs and hit .310 as a team in the series. Every Longhorn starter scored at least two runs and six had three or more RBI.
· The Texas pitching staff leads the Big 12 and ranks fifth nationally with a 2.11 ERA. As a staff, Texas is holding opponents to a .222 batting average, also best in the league.
· The starting rotation of Parker French (2.21 ERA), Dillon Peters (2.70) and Nathan Thornhill (0.78) has a cumulative ERA of 1.89. That ranks fourth nationally among weekend rotations (see page 3).
· Texas has allowed just 101 runs (2.7 runs/game) this year. That's the lowest number of runs allowed through 37 games in head coach Augie Garrido's 18-year tenure at Texas. The Longhorns allowed 104 runs in the first 37 games in both 2009 and 2010.
· The Longhorns rank second in the league and 13th nationally in fielding percentage (.979). Texas leads the Big 12 and ranks eighth nationally in double plays (38).
· Over the last 16 games, Texas is averaging 6.3 runs per game and hitting .303 as a team with a .413 slugging percentage and .406 on-base percentage. The Horns have recorded double-digit hits in 12 of those 16 games. The Longhorns are 13-0 when scoring six or more runs this year.
· Tres Barrera (25-65 .385), Zane Gurwitz (22-59, .373), Madison Carter (11-32, .344), Ben Johnson (20-63, .317) and Brooks Marlow (20-67, .299) have been the offensive leaders over the last 16 games.
· Since March 11, Barrera is 31-of-79 (.392) at the plate, including 18 RBI, 14 runs, eight doubles, a triple and a home run (.557 slugging %). He has raised his batting average 166 points (128 to 294) in that span. Gurwitz (.354) and Johnson (.333) have also been hot during that stretch.
· Texas is ranked in the top 10 by all five major polls, including sixth by Baseball America, fourth by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, sixth by Perfect Game, seventh by the NCBWA and eighth by USA Today.
· Texas ranks fifth in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). The Longhorns have a 6-2 record against teams in the RPI top 30, including 5-1 in road and neutral games.
· Mark Payton leads the Big 12 in on-base percentage (.467) and is tied for the lead in triples (5), ranks fifth in batting average (.350) and third in walks (29). Payton has reached base safely in 76 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. He now has 1,903.
· Texas' 44 hits in the Texas Tech series were the most in a three-game series since March 16-18, 2012, when the Longhorns had 45 at Oklahoma.
· The Longhorns are 16-1 when scoring in the first inning this season. The lone loss came on March 29 at Texas Tech. Texas has scored in the first inning in 10 of the last 14 games.
· The Longhorns are tied with TCU for a Big 12 best six shutouts. That also ranks t-10th nationally.
· Texas is No. 1 in the country in Iterative Strength Rating, according to college baseball site BoydsWorld.com (see more - page 3). The Longhorns have played the 12th 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 1.71 ERA, while the starters have a 2.33 ERA.
· Texas is 29-4 when scoring two runs or more.
· Texas has stolen 34 bases on 42 attempts this season, with Collin Shaw (9-13), Ben Johnson (9-9) and Mark Payton (6-7) leading the way. The Longhorns have been excellent against the run, with opponents stealing just 14 bases on 23 attempts. That's the lowest number in the Big 12, with West Virginia ranking second (19-26).
· Texas leads nation with 58 sacrifice bunts.
