The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Kansas State
No. 14 Baseball preview: Kansas State
04.11.2019 | Baseball
Longhorns host Big 12 foe at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
No. 14 TEXAS (22-13, 4-4) vs. KANSAS STATE (14-20, 1-5)
April 12-14, 2019
Where: UFCU Disch-Falk Field
Time: Friday at 6:30 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. CT
TV: Longhorn Network
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: https://texassports.com/sidearmstats/baseball
All-time series: Texas leads, 56-18-1
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
FRIDAY—Texas So. RHP Bryce Elder (2-1, 2.40) vs. Kansas State Fr. RHP Griffin Hassall (0-1, 2.77)
SATURDAY—Texas Jr. RHP Blair Henley (5-1, 3.86) vs. Kansas State Jr. RHP Kasey Ford (0-2, 11.74)
SUNDAY—Texas Fr. RHP Coy Cobb (0-2, 3.16) vs. Kansas State Fr. LHP Jordan Wicks (4-1, 2.53)
GAME NOTES
THE MATCHUP—Texas continues its five-game home stand with a weekend series against Kansas State. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 56-18-1, despite losing the series in Manhattan last season. The last time the teams met in Austin in 2017, Texas swept the series and shut out the Wildcats twice. K-State is led by first-year head coach Pete Hughes who returns to the Big 12 after serving as head coach at Oklahoma from 2014-17.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—The Longhorns picked up a midweek win over Rice on Tuesday, using a strong pitching effort from the bullpen. Matteo Bocchi pitched three hitless innings and picked up the win, while Donny Diaz tossed the final 1 1/3 innings to record the save. With last Sunday's rain out, Texas and Baylor split two games in Waco over the weekend. The Longhorns rallied from down 5-0 to win Game 2, 8-6. The Big 12 standings are tightly packed, with the top seven teams separated by just two games.
300—With the April 9 win over Rice, Texas head coach David Pierce recorded is 300th career win. Pierce served nine seasons as an assistant coach at Rice from 2003-11, helping lead the Owls to the 2003 National Championship and four College World Series appearances. The milestone win is the 300th for Pierce and his entire staff – Sean Allen, Philip Miller and Phil Haig – who have been together for eight seasons.
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE—Through eight weeks of the season, the Longhorns have not produced big numbers at the plate. But what they have done is show incredible patience, with the 13th-most walks in the NCAA this season (186). Duke Ellis has been one of the nation's best at taking a free pass, ranking seventh in the country with 34 walks in 35 games played.
YOUNG GUNS—Head Coach David Pierce's 2019 pitching staff is likely the youngest he has ever head, featuring seven freshmen (one redshirt) and five sophomores (one redshirt). All 12 of the underclassmen pitchers have been called upon several times this season and seven of Texas' nine pitchers to have started a game are underclassmen. The true freshmen have accounted for 92 2/3 innings pitched and 15 starts, while the underclassmen as a whole have logged 221 innings out of the team's 307 1/3 total innings pitched.
EFFECTIVELY WILD—The Longhorns' young pitching staff has been known to be wild this season, with 147 walks and 46 wild pitches. However, opponents are only batting .234 against Texas pitching this season. The Longhorns have had two games in which they struck out 14 batters. On the other side, Texas pitching walked 10 against UTSA and there have been three games that saw Longhorn pitchers throw four wild pitches.
WILDLY EFFECTIVE—The Longhorns' weekend rotation is anchored by two pitchers who have arguably been the most consistent arms on the staff. Bryce Elder has been outstanding, with a 2.40 ERA and a team-high 49 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings pitched. Blair Henley started slow but with his last six starts, has lowered his ERA to 3.86. He is second on the team with 35 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings pitched. Freshman Coy Cobb was lights out against Xavier on March 31, pitching seven innings and allowing just one earned run with eight strikeouts.
NEXT UP—Texas will close its five-game home stand at UFCU Disch-Falk Field with a midweek contest against Lamar Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
PACKING THE HOUSE—This season Texas has set and re-set attendance records at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Longhorn fans showed up in droves to see Texas host Texas A&M on April 2, establishing a new regular season record crowd of 7,952. The April 2 crowd topped the previous regular season record of 7,879, set earlier in the season against Texas Tech (3/16). The total attendances for the three-game series against LSU (22,434) and Texas Tech (22,729) are also program records. Texas ranks sixth in the country, and first in the Big 12, in total attendance (127,008) and average attendance (6,048) this season.
RANKED—Texas remains in the national rankings heading into the ninth week of the season. The Longhorns' rankings are: D1Baseball (#14), Baseball America (#9), NCBWA (#18), USA Today Coaches Poll (#17) and Collegiate Baseball (#26).
WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS—Five Texas players have received weekly awards from the Big 12 Conference this season, including a pair of multiple-time honorees – Bryce Elder (Pitcher, Feb. 18), Coy Cobb (Newcomer, Feb. 25), Austin Todd (Player, March 4), Eric Kennedy (Newcomer, March 4), Masen Hibbeler (Player, March 18), Bryce Elder (Pitcher, March 25) and Eric Kennedy (Player, March 25).
MARCH MADNESS—During the month of March the Longhorns tested themselves against some of the best teams in the country, playing 15 games against nationally ranked teams. The Longhorns swept LSU, won the series over Texas Tech, dropped series on the road at Stanford and TCU and split a pair of midweek games against Arkansas. Texas finished the month of March with a 13-8 record that included eight wins over ranked teams.
PIERCE TO THE POSTSEASON—Head Coach David Pierce has reached the NCAA postseason in each of his seven seasons as a head coach at Texas, Tulane, and Sam Houston State. Last season marked the skipper's first trip to the College World Series as a head coach. Pierce advanced to the College World Series four times as an assistant coach at Rice, including winning the 2003 National Championship.
PRO PARKS—Texas plays a pair of regular season games in professional ballparks this season. The Longhorns played Incarnate Word at Nelson Wolff Stadium, home of the Triple-A San Antonio Missions, on March 26. Texas plays at Whataburger Field, home of the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on April 30. Also for the 19th time, the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship will be played in Oklahoma City. The Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, home of the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, plays host to the event.
DRAFTED—Texas saw five players selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft: INF Kody Clemens (Tigers, 3rd round, No. 79), RHP Nolan Kingham (Braves, 12th round, No. 354), RHP Chase Shugart (Red Sox, 12th round, No. 370), LHP Josh Sawyer (Cubs, 16th round, No. 488) and INF Andy McGuire (Blue Jays, 28th round, No. 836).
WATCH 'EM—All but one Texas home game will be broadcast on Longhorn Network this season. The team of Lowell Galindo, Keith Moreland, and Greg Swindell will return to the booth to call the action.
HEAR 'EM—In partnership with IMG-College, Texas games will be broadcast on the Austin Radio Network, primarily on 104.9 The Horn and AM 1260. Craig Way handles primary play-by-play duties alongside Roger Wallace and Quan Cosby.
