The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Sam Houston State
Baseball preview: vs. Sam Houston State [April 4]
04.03.2017 | Baseball
The Longhorns look to snap their two-game slide against the Bearkats.
TEXAS (19-12) vs. SAM HOUSTON STATE (20-8)
April 4, 2017
Where: Austin, Texas (UFCU Disch-Falk Field)
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
TV: Longhorn Network
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM—Craig Way (Play-by-Play), Bill Little (Analyst)
Live stats: SidearmStats.com/Texas/Baseball
All-time series: Texas leads, 74-19
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
TUESDAY—Sam Houston State RHP Dakota Mills (3-1, 4.00) vs. Texas RHP Kyle Johnston (1-1, 4.05)
GAME NOTES
THE MATCHUP—Texas and Sam Houston State face off for the second time this season, and first time in Austin…the Longhorns took the first game, 7-2, on the road in Huntsville, the first trip the Longhorns have ever taken to Huntsville.
A LOOK AT THE BEARKATS—Sam Houston State moved to 9-0 in conference over the weekend with a three-game sweep of Abilene Christian.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas is coming off a 2-2 week that saw the Longhorns drop two straight at Kansas to end it…Texas run-ruled TAMU-CC last Tuesday night at Whataburger Field before taking game one against Kansas on Friday at Hoglund Ballpark…the Longhorns won game one 5-3 before falling in back-to-back one-run games…Texas appeared to tie the ballgame in the ninth on Saturday, but pinch-runner Tyler Rand was called out at the plate.
NEXT UP—Texas will face host #16 Oklahoma in a three-game Big 12 Conference series.
DEEEEFENSE—The Longhorns' defense has been sturdy so far this season…Texas is fielding at a .985 clip, good for second-best in the nation…the Horns have also turned 35 double plays, also good for second-most in the country…most of the DPs have been compliments of David Hamilton, Bret Boswell and Kacy Clemens.
MCCANNIMAL—Catcher Michael McCann has gone 21-for-57 in 19 games (16 starts) this season…he has added 3 XBH and 8 RBI while going a perfect 3-for-3 on the base paths.
TATER TAKETH—Since March 26, Tate Shaw has both provided and taken away a homer…on March 28, Shaw hit a grand slam to give the Longhorns a 4-2 lead…it was the first grand slam for Texas since Mark Payton hit one on May 21, 2012…he finished with 5 RBI in the game…in the 4th inning on March 26 vs. K-State, Tate Shaw robbed a would-be two-run homer off the bat of the Wildcats DH…the play earned him No. 2 on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 plays.
INJURIES IN THE OUTFIELD—Junior Patrick Mathis pinch-hit on March 26 after he and senior Zane Gurwitz had been sidelined since March 14 night vs. Texas A&M…Gurwitz has tweaked his hamstring and made a pinch-hitting appearance on Saturday, April 1.
#MOREOFTHOSE—Through 31 games, nine different Longhorns have gone deep giving Texas 25 total homers…Ryan Reynolds hit two over the weekend, while Kacy Clemens added his fifth of the year…Tate Shaw hit a grand slam and Michael Cantu homered on March 28…Kody Clemens hit a game-winning homer on March 26 in the sixth inning…Shaw hit his first career homer on March 17…Kacy Clemens hit a pair of homers on Feb 24 vs. UConn…the Horns also hit two bombs in the Feb 22 game at Sam Houston State…Cantu hit the first, giving him his first home run since March 24, 2015 at Texas State after not hitting a home run in 2016.
H.A.M.ILTON—Last week, freshman SS David Hamilton finished with a .400/.600/.600 slash line in 4 games…he went 4-for-10 with 2 doubles, 4 runs scored, 5 walks and went 2-for-2 in stolen bases…he did not commit an error.
SENIOR LEADER—Senior 1B Kacy Clemens has been a stalwart at first base for the Longhorns so far this season…he has reached base safely in 18 straight games and leads the team in BA (.306), OBP (.429) and SLG (.537) among qualifiers…he hit his fifth homer of the season on Friday, matching his season total from last year…he is tops on the team with 20 RBI and has a team-high 22 BB so far.
FENCES FORWARD—UFCU Disch-Falk Field saw some renovations this winter as a new FieldTurf was installed and the outfield dimensions have been changed…the left-field line remains 340', center field remains '400 and the park remains 325' down the right-field line, however, the left-center field gap moves from 384' to 370' and the right-center field gap moves from 384' to 365'.
HOME SWEET HOME—Overall, Texas plays just 20 of its 54 games away from UFCU Disch-Falk Field…among those 20 games was a March 28 game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi held at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi and will include an April 25 game against Louisiana at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.
