The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
UIW
No. 3 Baseball preview: UIW
04.26.2021 | Baseball
The Longhorns return to UFCU Disch-Falk Field for a five-game homestand.
TEXAS (33-9) vs. UIW (14-22)
April 27, 2021
Where: UFCU Disch-Falk Field
Time: Tuesday–6:30 p.m.
TV: Longhorn Network
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: https://texassports.com/sidearmstats/baseball
All-time series with UIW: Texas leads, 4-1
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
TUESDAY–Texas RHP Justin Eckhardt (0-0, 6.0) vs. UIW LHP Carson Rollins (1-4, 7.77)
THE MATCHUP—Texas returns home after winning two of three games against No. 24 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Incarnate Word will be playing the fifth game of a 10-game road trip after losing the final three games of a four-game series at Abilene Christian last weekend. The Longhorns and Cardinals squared off at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on March 23, with Texas winning 10-1.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Last weekend at No. 24 Oklahoma State, Texas won its 10th series of the season, sweeping both games of a Saturday doubleheader before falling in the series finale on Sunday. The loss snapped a 16-game winning streak for the Longhorns, tied for the 16th-longest streak in program history and the longest streak since Texas won 21 consecutive games in 2010. Ivan Melendez leads Texas offensively, batting .368, with nine home runs and 39 RBI. Mitchell Daly is batting .347 and getting on base at a .410 clip. Zach Zubia drew two walks on Sunday against Oklahoma State to increase his season total to 35 base on balls, tops in the Big 12 Conference and sixth in the NCAA. Texas is 33-6 over its last 39 games and tied for first in the Big 12 Conference at 12-3.
MOUND PRESENCE—The Texas pitching staff has been among the most dominant groups in the nation. Three Texas starters rank in the top-seven in the Big 12 Conference in earned run average, with Ty Madden holding down the second spot with a 1.68 ERA. Pete Hansen sits fourth with a 2.19 ERA, while Tristan Stevens' 2.74 ERA ranks seventh. As a staff, the Longhorns have the sixth-best ERA in the nation at 2.89, a mark that leads the conference by 0.66.
DALY GETTING IT DONE—Mitchell Daly has been on a tear at the plate, getting hits in 27 of the 34 games he has started this season with 10 multi-hit games, including two three-hit games and a four-hit game, while reaching base safely in 31 of 34 starts. Daly's .347 battings average ranks 11th in the Big 12 Conference. The freshman currently ranks second on the squad in batting average and third in on-base percentage (.410), while sitting third in hits (41), fourth in OPS (.876) and slugging percentage (.466) and fifth in doubles (8).
MAKING A BIG IMPRESSION—Ivan Melendez is on a tear that has never seen on the Forty Acres. The redshirt sophomore recently established 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 .467 with eight doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 27 RBI and 16 runs scored. In that span, he has a .573 on-base percentage and 1.033 slugging percentage for an OPS of 1.606. For the season, Melendez ranks fifth in the Big 12 conference in batting average (.368), while he is tied for sixth in home runs (9) and seventh in RBI (39). His .709 slugging percentage is fourth in the conference and .464 on-base percentage ranks fifth. 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.
MR. CONSISTENT—With his two-walk game against Oklahoma State on Sunday, Zach Zubia extended his streak of reaching base safely to 18 games. During the streak, Zubia has hit .393 with four doubles, one triple, three home runs and 17 RBI, while walking an incredible 22 times for a .570 on-base percentage. Zubia has seven multi-hit games and six multi-walk games during the run, including a three-walk and four-walk game. On the season, the redshirt junior has walked a Big 12 Conference-leading 35 times, sixth-most in the NCAA.
QUICKER THAN QUICK—Mike Antico leads the Big 12 Conference and is 6th nationally with 22 stolen bases. Eric Kennedy is right behind him with 16 steals to rank second in the conference and 27th in the nation. As a team, the Longhorns have swiped 60 bases, which is second in the conference and ranks 15th 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).
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 132 assists and ranks seventh with 20 double plays while sporting a .974 fielding percentage in 190 chances.
COMMANDING THE ZONE—Tristan Stevens' command has been on point this season, yielding only 11 walks in 62 1/3 innings pitched. In his last four starts, the right-hander is 4-0, throwing 28 innings and allowing 25 hits and four runs, while striking out 19 and surrendering three walks. Prior to issuing a walk to open the sixth inning at Oklahoma State on Saturday, Stevens had gone 113 batters (28 1/3 innings) without relinquished a free pass. Stevens' seven wins on the year lead the Big 12 Conference and is tied for third in the NCAA.
THE ACE—Ty Madden has been brilliant this season, twice earning Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week honors, including following his 14-strikeout, complete game shutout outing on March 5 against Houston. On Saturday at Oklahoma State, Madden struck out 12 batters in six innings of work. That performance also garnered nods as the NCBWA and Perfect Game National Pitcher of the Week, one of Collegiate Baseball's National Players of The Week and one of four nominees for the Golden Spikes Award Performance of the Week. Madden ended each inning with a strikeout, extending his streak to 11 consecutive innings. Seven of the eleven batters have gone down swinging. Madden's 1.68 ERA ranks 16th in the nation and second in the Big 12 Conference. The right-hander leads the conference in hits allowed per nine innings (5.74) and is tied for the lead in games started (10). He ranks second in the Big 12 in strike outs (77), innings pitched (64.1), opponent batting average (.183), and WHIP (0.98), while his six wins are tied for second in the conference and 20th nationally.
DOUBLE UP—Cam Williams' 13 doubles are rank fourth in the Big 12, while Ivan Melendez's 11 place him 10th in the conference. As a squad, the Longhorns' 84 doubles are fifth in the NCAA and second-most in the conference.
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.
WATCH 'EM—All of Texas' home games will be broadcast on Longhorn Network this season. The team of Keith Moreland and Greg Swindell will return to the booth to call the action.
