The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Cal State Fullerton
Baseball preview: Cal State Fullerton
03.05.2020 | Baseball
The Longhorns continue their nine-game homestand, welcoming the Titans to UFCU Disch-Falk Field for a three-game series.
TEXAS (10-3, 0-0) vs. CAL STATE FULLERTON (4-9, 0-0)
March 6-8, 2020
Where: UFCU Disch-Falk Field
Time: Friday at 6:30 p.m.; Saturday at 12 p.m.; Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
TV: Longhorn Network
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: https://texassports.com/sidearmstats/baseball
All-time series: Tied, 17-17
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY–Texas Jr. RHP Bryce Elder (2-1, 2.33) vs. CSF Jr. RHP Tanner Bibee (1-2, 1.93)
SATURDAY–Texas So. RHP Ty Madden (3-0, 1.71) vs. CSF So. RHP Tanner Luckham (2-0, 1.80)
SUNDAY–Texas So. RHP Coy Cobb (0-0, 2.51) vs. CSF So. RHP Joe Magrisi (0-2, 3.63)
THE MATCHUP—Texas continues its nine-game homestand, welcoming Cal State Fullerton to UFCU Disch-Falk Field for a three-game series. The two programs meet for the first since the Titans defeated the Longhorns in the 2004 College World Series Finals. Texas and Cal State Fullerton are among the top-10 winningest programs in college baseball history and are two of the seven programs with four or more national titles.
COMMON THREAD—This weekend will be a remembrance of the great Augie Garrido, who led both Texas and Cal State Fullerton to national championships. Garrido won national titles in 1979, 1984 and 1995 while at Fullerton and in 2002 and 2005 with Texas. In 21 seasons under Garrido's guidance, the Titans won a total of 929 games. Garrido then led the Longhorns to 824 wins in 20 seasons to bring his career wins total to 1,975, the second-most all-time.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas sits at 10-3 after opening the season with 13 games in 19 days. Starting pitching remains a strength for the Horns, led by Bryce Elder and Ty Madden. The starting pitchers have combined for a 2.01 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 67 innings pitched. Opponents are batting just .198 against the Texas starters. The top third of the lineup, featuring Austin Todd, Duke Ellis and Zach Zubia, has produced at a high level so far. Todd and Ellis are the team's leading hitters and each share the team lead with 10 runs scored, while Zubia leads the squad with 19 RBI.
NEXT UP—The Longhorns continue their season-long nine-game homestand at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, hosting Abilene Christian for a midweek contest on Wednesday, March 11. Texas will then have New Mexico in town for a weekend series, March 13-15.
THE FRESHMEN—Ten Longhorn freshmen have made their debuts through the first 13 games of the season, including three who have played nearly every game. Shortstop Trey Faltine has a hit in 10-of-13 games and has seven runs scored and five RBI. Outfielder Douglas Hodo III has started 11 games and leads the team with 13 walks. Pitchers Andre Duplantier II and Pete Hansen have also played a big role to this point. In addition to the freshmen, the Longhorns' three junior college transfers made their debut – INF Murphy Stehly, INF Cam Williams and RHP Dawson Merryman.
VETERAN OUTFIELD—Austin Todd, Duke Ellis and Eric Kennedy were Texas' most consistent performers a season ago, starting nearly every game together in the outfield and accounting for a large portion of the offensive production. The trio entered the season as the Longhorn's top three returning hitters and so far this season they are producing at an even higher level. Todd leads the team with a .351 batting average with 10 RBI and 10 runs scored. Ellis is batting .325 with 10 runs scored and a team-high six stolen bases. Kennedy is batting .273 with nine RBI and seven runs scored.
ZU-BI-AAAAA—After serving mostly as the DH in his first two seasons on the Forty Acres, Zach Zubia earned the starting spot at first base in 2020. The redshirt junior's defense has been stellar. On Feb. 23 against Boise State, Zubia accounted for 18 putouts, the most by a Texas player since 2015 when Tres Barrera had 20 against Oklahoma State. Zubia is also delivering at the plate, leading Texas with 19 RBI and at least one RBI in 10 of the 13 games. The 19 runs driven in are tied for the eighth-most in the NCAA at this point in the season. Zubia has been successful driving in a runner from third with less than two outs and leads the nation with four sacrifice flies.
TULO—Longhorns' Head Coach David Pierce made a splash during the offseason, with the hiring of 13-year Major League Baseball shortstop and five-time All-Star Troy Tulowitzki as an assistant coach. Tulowitzki, who was also a two-time All-American at Long Beach State, will coach the infielders and work with the hitters, alongside Philip Miller. With the hire of Tulowitzki, assistant coach Sean Allen assumes the role of pitching coach, a role he last held as an assistant at Florida International University from 2008-11. Texas also added Longhorn Legend and two-time MLB All-Star Huston Street to the staff as a student assistant.
DRAFTED—Texas saw three players selected in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft: RHP Blair Henley (Astros, 7th round, No. 226), INF David Hamilton (Brewers, 8th round, No. 253) and INF Ryan Reynolds (Cubs, 14th round, No. 432).
HONORING A LEGEND—Longhorn Legend Huston Street will have his jersey number retired during the 2020 season. A three-time All-American and the 2002 College World Series Most Outstanding Player, Street becomes the seventh former Texas Baseball star to have his jersey retired. One of the greatest closers in college baseball history, Street holds the Texas record with 41 career saves and ranks 13th in NCAA Division I history in career saves. His 1.31 career ERA ranks second all-time at Texas and his .172 opponents' batting average is the third-best in Longhorn history In his three-year career at Texas, Street made 105 appearances and pitched 178.1 innings. He struck out 177 batters and posted an 18-3 record to go along with his 41 saves.
PACKING THE HOUSE—Last season Texas 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, 2019, 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 (3/16/19). The total attendances for the three-game series against LSU (22,434) and Texas Tech (22,729) were also program records. Texas ranked sixth in the country, and first in the Big 12, in total attendance (175,768) and average attendance (5,493) last season. The Longhorns have led the Big 12 in attendance for 14-consecutive seasons.
HEAR 'EM—In partnership with Learfield 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.
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.
