The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
West Virginia
No. 2 Baseball preview: Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship
05.25.2021 | Baseball
The Longhorns open the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed against the winner of the West Virginia and Kansas match-up.
#2 TEXAS (40-13, 17-7) at the PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
May 25-30, 2021
Where: Bricktown Ballpark
Time: Wednesday at 4 p.m.; Thursday at TBD
TV: ESPN+/ESPNU
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: Big12.Statbroadcast.com
Big 12 Championship Titles (Last): 5 (2015)
Big 12 Championship Record: 41-31
THE MATCHUP—Texas heads into the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship as the No. 1 seed for the eighth time and will face the winner of Tuesday's match-up between No. 8 West Virginia and No. 9 Kansas. The Longhorns finished the regular season with a series win over WVU and previously swept Kansas back in April. Texas has won the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship five times, with the last win coming in 2015 in Tulsa, Okla.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas won its ninth Big 12 Championship on Saturday, clinching a share of the regular season championship with a 12-2 run-rule win over West Virginia. The Longhorns also eclipsed the 40-win mark heading into the postseason for the first time since 2011. The Texas pitching staff has compiled a 2.93 ERA, which ranks No. 2 nationally and first in the Big 12 by over half a run. The starting pitching trio of, Pete Hansen (1.80), Ty Madden (2.55), and Tristan Stevens (3.13) all rank in the top seven in ERA in the Big 12, while Stevens' eight wins lead the conference.
BIG 12 PITCHER OF THE YEAR—Ty Madden was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year leading into the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. Madden compiled a 2.55 ERA and a 6-3 record in 13 starts this season. He struck out 98 batters in 81.1 innings pitched and had the second-best opponents' batting average in the league at .201. Madden is the Longhorns' first Big 12 Pitcher of the Year since Taylor Jungmann in 2011 and the seventh Longhorn overall.
ALL-BIG 12 HONORS—Ty Madden led a total of 13 Longhorns named to All-Big 12 teams this season. Right-handed pitcher Tristan Stevens, second baseman Mitchell Daly and designated hitter Ivan Melendez join Madden on the first team. Third baseman Cam Williams and outfielder Mike Antico both landed on the second team. Seven other Longhorns picked up Honorable Mention recognition: Silas Ardoin, Trey Faltine, Pete Hansen, Douglas Hodo III, Aaron Nixon, Tanner Witt, Zach Zubia. First-year Longhorns Daly, Nixon and Witt all landed on the Big 12 All-Freshman team. The 13 total players recognized leads the Big 12 and are the most for Texas since 2005.
BIG 12 COACH OF THE YEAR—For the second time in his five seasons at Texas, head coach David Pierce led the Longhorns to the Big 12 regular season title and was named the league's coach of the year. The award is his fourth overall as a head coach after receiving the honor twice in the Southland Conference while leading Sam Houston.
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 Pete Hansen leading the conference with a 1.80 ERA. Ty Madden sits in fifth with a 2.55 ERA, Tristan Stevens' 3.13 ERA ranks seventh. As a staff, the Longhorns have the second-best ERA in the nation at 2.93, a mark that leads the conference by more than half a run.
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 161 assists and ranks fourth with 28 double plays while sporting a .974 fielding percentage in 235 chances.
MAKING A BIG IMPRESSION—After a relatively quiet start to the season, Ivan Melendez caught fire in the month of April. Last month, Melendez hit .412 with eight doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 27 RBI and 16 runs scored. In that span, he compiled a .529 on-base percentage and .912 slugging percentage for an OPS of 1.441. He raised his batting average from .263 to .344 during the 19 games. From April 3-11, he established a program-record six-game home run streak that culminated with a pair of bombs against Kansas State on April 11. For his efforts in April, he was named Big 12 Player of the Week, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Hitter of the Week, and Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week. For the season, Melendez ranks 10th in the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.346) and home runs (11). The redshirt sophomore's .667 slugging percentage is fifth in the league and his .453 on-base percentage is fourth in the conference.
MR. CONSISTENT—With a walk in the series finale against West Virginia, Zach Zubia extended his streak of reaching base safely to 29 games. During the streak, Zubia has hit .327 with five doubles, two triples, six home runs and 26 RBI, while walking an incredible 29 times for a .477 on-base percentage. Zubia has 10 multi-hit games and seven multi-walk games during the run, including three three-hit games, one three-walk and one four-walk game. On the season, the redshirt junior's 42 walks are third in the Big 12 Conference and rank 25th in the NCAA
DALY GETTING IT DONE—Mitchell Daly has been on a tear at the plate, hitting safely in 37 of the 45 games he has started this season with 15 multi-hit games, including three three-hit games and a four-hit game, while reaching base safely in 42 of those starts. Daly's .354 batting average ranks 8th in the Big 12 Conference. The freshman currently leads the Longhorns in batting average and hits (52), while sitting third in doubles (13) and on-base percentage (.419), and fifth in OPS (.889) and slugging percentage (.470).
QUICKER THAN QUICK—Mike Antico leads the Big 12 Conference and is 15th nationally with 25 stolen bases. Eric Kennedy is right behind him with 17 steals to rank third in the conference. Additionally, Kennedy uses his speed regularly to get on base with 24 infield singles, including 14 bunt hits this season. In his career he has 48 infield hits (26 bunts).
COMMANDING THE ZONE—Tristan Stevens' command has been on point this season, yielding only 10 walks over his last 73 innings pitched. Prior to issuing a walk to open the sixth inning at Oklahoma State on April 24, Stevens had gone 113 batters (28 1/3 innings) without relinquishing a free pass. Stevens' eight wins on the year lead the Big 12 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.
