The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Wednesday, April 1
Houston, Texas
6 p.m.
University of Texas
at
Houston
No. 25 Softball preview: at Houston [April 1, 2015]
03.31.2015 | Softball
Texas looks to run its road winning streak to seven games
Complete Texas Game Notes - at Houston
No. 25/RV Texas (23-9) at Houston (17-17) | April 1 | Cougar Softball Field, Houston, Texas
Schedule:
Wed., April 1 – #25 Texas at Houston – 6 p.m. CT
Location: Houston, Texas (Cougar Softball Field)
Ticket Information: LINK
Live Stats: Available at the following link: LINK
Television: A live web stream of the game is expected to be accessible via paid subscription at this LINK. Crawford Jones (play-by-play) and Katy Beth Jones (analyst) will be on the call.
Radio: Scheduled for broadcast with Terry Lewis on the call via the following link (also accessible on smartphones): LINK
Base Knocks:
- The Longhorns enter Wednesday's match-up at Houston riding a five-game winning streak. That ties for UT's longest such skein this season after knocking off five straight opponents from February 14-19.
- Following the three-game sweep of then-No. 22 Kansas, UT has moved back into the rankings as the Longhorns entered the March 31st edition of the USA Today/NFCA poll at No. 25. The occurrence marks Texas' first ranking since being listed at No. 25 in the NFCA's Feb. 24th release.
- Texas and Houston possess a long series history with the Longhorns holding a 19-5 edge over the Cougars in 24 all-time match-ups. UT owns a 5-2 road mark in the series and has won the last three meetings in Houston, Texas. UH was victorious in the most recent meeting on March 19, 2014, at McCombs Field, 5-4.
- UT hasn't shied away from playing some of the best teams in the nation in 2015 and has registered a lot of success in those contests. Texas now owns a 6-3 mark against ranked squads this year with victories over No. 16 Arizona State, No. 8/7 Georgia, No. 12 UCLA and No. 22 Kansas (three wins). That tough schedule has helped lead to a No. 27 ranking in the most recent release of the NCAA's Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), a tool used to select and seed teams for the NCAA Tournament Field of 64. Texas can boast of six wins over top 26-rated RPI squads, Arizona State (10), UCLA (11), Kansas (13-three wins) and Georgia (26), and seven over the top 50 (Northwestern-31).
- The Longhorns seem comfortable playing away from the friendly confines of McCombs Field, boasting a 7-1 mark in true away games in 2015. Included in that mark are a victory at No. 16 Arizona State and three-game road sweeps of Arkansas and No. 22 Kansas. The only true road match-up that UT has dropped this season was an 8-3 decision at North Carolina (March 6). Texas has out-hit the opposition as a team during road contests, .352 to .233, and has won six in a row, tying for the fifth-longest road winning streak in program history.
- Junior Lindsey Stephens has been especially impressive at the plate during Texas' eight road tilts in 2015, owning a .471 road average, 10 runs scored, seven extra-base hits (including four HR's) and 14 RBIs. Juniors Holly Kern (.522 road average, two HR's, nine RBIs) and Stephanie Ceo (.500 road mark) and sophomores Stephanie Wong (.407, three doubles) and Kelli Hanzel (.393, three doubles, six RBIs) also boast impressive road numbers through UT's first eight away match-ups of the season.
- Some say the hardest thing to do in softball is be a pinch hitter. Well if that's the case, sophomore Mickenzi Krpec is quickly proving her impressive skill in that position this season. The Fulshear, Texas, product is 3-for-8 in such situations (.375) and has reached successfully in each of her last two pinch-hit plate appearances. Included are a key three-run pinch-hit HR that helped beat Arkansas (8-6, 8 inn., March 16) and a walk-off two-RBI single that finished off UTSA in the second game of a doubleheader, 3-2 (March 24). Junior Holly Kern (3-for-4) and senior Gabby Smith (3-for-6) each join Krpec with a team-best three pinch-hits this season.
- After dealing with some error issues defensively during the early portion of the 2015 campaign as a result of an unsettled infield line-up, things have improved significantly for the Longhorns since suffering through its last multi-miscue game against Lamar on Feb. 28 (three errors). Over the last 14 contests, Texas has committed just six total errors for a stellar .983 fielding percentage while going mistake-free in eight of those match-ups. That's certainly had an influence on UT's solid 12-2 record over those last 14 games.
- Sophomore left fielder Stephanie Wong has proven an incredibly tough out at the plate over Texas' last 11 games, hitting a blistering .486 over that stretch with a recent career-long seven-game hitting streak, a .538 on-base percentage, four walks and five RBIs. She's also currently reached base safely in a career-best 15 straight games.
- After hitting just .184 over UT's first 18 contests, junior second baseman Stephanie Ceo wasn't penciled into the line-up on March 1st against Dartmouth, marking her only missed game of the season. She has responded since then by hitting an impressive .448 (13-for-29) with seven runs scored, a triple, three walks, three RBIs and a .529 on-base percentage while making just one error at second base.
- If there are two outs and runners in scoring position, Texas really enjoys seeing Holly Kern, Erin Shireman and Lindsey Stephens step to the plate. Shireman leads the way for the Longhorns in such instances in 2015 with 14 two-outs RBIs and an overall two-out batting average of .407 (11-for-27). Kern has 13 two-out RBIs and a .351 mark (13-for-37), while Stephens owns 12 two-out RBIs and a .300 average (9-for-30). Freshman third baseman Randel Leahy is also proving to be rather adept with two retired, batting .429 (9-for-21) with six two-out RBIs. This season, 65 of Texas' 180 total RBIs (36.1 percent) have been registered with two outs.
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
1B/OF
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
C/UTIL
/ Softball
C/3B
/ Softball
P/UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball