The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
West Virginia
No. 19/22 Baseball Preview: at West Virginia [May 2-4, 2014]
05.01.2014 | Baseball
Texas and West Virginia open the series Friday at 5 p.m.
No. 19/22 Texas (33-13, 10-8) at West Virginia (24-16, 7-7) • May 2-4
Where: Morgantown, W.V. • Hawley Field (2,500)
Times: 5 p.m./3 p.m./Noon
Video: Streaming online at WVUSports.com
Radio: AM-1300 The Zone, online at www.TexasSports.com/showcase - Talent: Craig Way (PbP), Bill Little (Analyst)
Live Stats: WVUSports.com
All-Time Series: Texas trails, 1-2
Probable Starting Pitchers
r-Jr. LHP Harrison Musgrave (4-3, 1.95)vs. Jr. RHP Parker French (5-3, 2.08)
So. LHP Ross Vance (3-0, 2.57) vs. Jr. LHP Dillon Peters (5-3, 2.50)
Jr. LHP John Means (5-1, 2.10) vs. Sr. RHP Nathan Thornhill (6-2, 1.85)
QUICK HITS
· Texas makes its first-ever trip to Morgantown to take on West Virginia this weekend in its penultimate Big 12 series of the 2014 regular season. Following the three-game set with the Mountaineers, Texas takes a week long break for finals before playing its home finale vs. Texas State on May 13.
· The Longhorns and Mountaineers met for the first time last season, with West Virginia taking two of three in Austin.
· Texas bounced back with a 6-3 win over Prairie View A&M on Tuesday after dropping two of three to Oklahoma State last weekend. Lukas Schiraldi struck out a career-high eight in the victory.
· A pair of Longhorns earned national acclaim this week for their success on and off the field. Senior Mark Payton was named one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, while redshirt sophomore John Curtiss was named to the Academic All-District 7 team.
· The Texas pitching staff leads the Big 12 and ranks sixth nationally with a 2.22 ERA. As a staff, Texas is holding opponents to a .222 batting average which is tied for best in the league with TCU.
· Texas has allowed three runs or fewer in 36 games this year (30-6 record).
· The Longhorns rank second in the league and 15th nationally in fielding percentage (.978). Texas ranks second in the Big 12 and t-22nd nationally in double plays (44).
· In dropping five of its last six Big 12 games, Texas averaged just 1.3 runs per game. That comes after a 17-game stretch that saw the Longhorns average 6.5 runs per game and hit .302 as a team with a .417 slugging percentage and .409 on-base percentage. The Longhorns are 15-0 when scoring six or more runs this year.
· Texas ranks 14th nationally in the official NCAA RPI and has played the 16th most difficult schedule in the nation according to BoydsWorld.com. The Longhorns have a 8-6 record against teams in the RPI top 35, including 5-1 in road and neutral games. Against the RPI top 100, Texas is 21-12.
· Texas is ranked in the top 25 by all five major polls, including 19th by Baseball America, 22nd by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, 18th by Perfect Game, 12th by the NCBWA and 11th by USA Today.
· Mark Payton leads the Big 12 in on-base percentage (.474) and walks (40), is third in triples (5) and ranks eighth in batting average (.335). Payton has reached base safely in 85 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).
· Payton was named to the 50-man midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, which is presented annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country.
· The Longhorns are 9-2 in one-run games this season.
· In addition to Payton leading the league in walks, Brooks Marlow ranks second with 35 and Kacy Clemens is tied for third with 33.
· Zane Gurwitz (30-91, .330), Tres Barrera (32-98 .327) and Ben Johnson (30-95, .316) have been the offensive leaders over the last 25 games.
· 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 1,907 victories.
· 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.
· Texas 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 Longhorns are 17-2 when scoring in the first inning this season. The two losses came on March 29 at Texas Tech and April 19 vs. TCU.
· The Longhorns are second in the Big 12 with seven shutouts, trailing only TCU which has 12. Texas also ranks t-9th nationally.
· Texas is No. 7 in the country in Iterative Strength Rating, according to college baseball site BoydsWorld.com (see more - page 3). The Longhorns have played the 16th most difficult schedule accoring to BoydsWorld.
· 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 1.58 ERA, while the starters have a 2.47 ERA.
· Texas is 36-5 when scoring two runs or more.
· Texas has stolen 51 bases on 59 attempts this season, with Ben Johnson (16-16), Mark Payton (12-13) and Collin Shaw (9-13) leading the way. The Longhorns have been excellent against the run, with opponents stealing just 20 bases on 30 attempts. That's the lowest number in the Big 12, with TCU ranking second (27-39).
· Texas leads the nation with 71 sacrifice bunts.
