The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas State
No. 3 Baseball preview: at Texas State
04.19.2021 | Baseball
The Longhorns head back on the road riding a 13-game winning streak.
TEXAS (30-7) at TEXAS STATE (15-22)
April 20, 2021
Where: Bobcat Ballpark
Time: Tuesday–6 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: TexasState.Statbroadcast.com
All-time series with TXST: Texas leads, 51-12
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
TUESDAY–Texas LHP Pete Hansen (3-1, 2.31) vs. Texas State RHP Tony Robie (0-0, 4.61)
THE MATCHUP—Texas heads to San Marcos for a midweek contest at Texas State. The Longhorns and Bobcats met in San Marcos early this season, with Texas winning, 10-3. Texas State is coming off an 0-4 week, falling at home to Texas A&M before dropping three games in Seattle against Washington.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas swept a 10-game homestand and has won 13 consecutive games. During the homestand, the Longhorns scored in double-digits five times and averaged 10 runs per game. Ivan Melendez leads Texas offensively, batting .385, with eight home runs and 37 RBI. Mitchell Daly is batting .359 and getting on base at a .422 clip. Zach Zubia walked 16 times in the homestand, increasing his season total to 30 walks, tops in the Big 12 Conference and eighth-most in the NCAA. Texas is 30-5 over its last 35 games and tied for first in the Big 12 Conference at 10-2.
QUICKER THAN QUICK—Mike Antico leads the Big 12 Conference and is 8th nationally with 19 stolen bases. Eric Kennedy is right behind him with 16 steals to rank second in the conference and 17th in the nation. As a team, the Longhorns have swiped 56 bases, which is second in the conference and ranks 11th in the nation. Additionally, Kennedy uses his speed regularly to get on base with 21 infield singles, including 11 bunt hits this season. In his career he has 45 infield hits (23 bunts).
ANTICO ON A ROLL—Antico has been huge over the last eight games, proving a spark for the Longhorns offense in series sweeps over Kansas State, Nevada and Abilene Christian. During the 8-game stretch, Antico hit .394 with three doubles, two triples, three home runs, 12 runs scored and 12 RBI, while also stealing five bases. He has four multiple-hit games, include a 3-hit and 4-hit game.
MAKING A BIG IMPRESSION—Ivan Melendez is on a tear that has never seen on the Forty Acres. The redshirt sophomore is currently riding a 13-game hitting streak, which included a program-record six-game home run streak that culminated with a pair of bombs against Kansas State on April 11. In the month of April, he is hitting .532 with eight doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 25 RBI and 15 runs scored. In that span, he has a .621 on-base percentage and 1.191 slugging percentage for an OPS of 1.812. For the season, Melendez ranks fifth in the Big 12 conference in batting average (.385), while he is tied for sixth in home runs (8) and tied for fifth in RBI (37). His .740 slugging percentage is second in the conference and .472 on-base percentage ranks sixth. During April, Melendez's distinctions have included Big 12 Player of the Week, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Hitter of the Week, and Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week.
FLASHING THE LEATHER—Trey Faltine has been a human highlight reel this season, making the difficult look routine. The Longhorns shortstop leads the Big 12 with 114 assists and ranks eighth with 16 double plays while sporting a .970 fielding percentage in 164 chances.
HAMMER KEEPS HAMMERING—Cam Williams has crushed a co-team-leading eight home runs this season, including a pair from each side of the plate against Oklahoma on March 27. Williams currently leads the team in doubles (13) and ranks second in total bases (71), slugging percentage (.568) and is third in OPS (.944) and RBI (31). Williams' eight home runs are tied for sixth in the Big 12 Conference and rank 55th nationally. His 11 doubles are tied for third in the Big 12 and his 71 total bases are 14th.
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.
