The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
College of Charleston
No. 2 Baseball preview: College of Charleston & The Citadel
03.14.2022 | Baseball
The Longhorns continue their road swing, playing a pair of midweek games in Charleston, S.C.
#2 TEXAS (13-4) at COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (9-7)
Where: College of Charleston Baseball Stadium
Time: Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT
TV: FloBaseball.com
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: CofCStats.com
All-time series with CofC: First meeting
#2 TEXAS (13-4) at THE CITADEL (10-5)
Where: Joseph P. Riley, Jr. ParkTime: Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: https://citadelsports.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
All-time series with The Citadel: First meeting
THE MATCHUPS—Texas continues its South Carolina swing, playing College of Charleston on Tuesday and The Citadel on Wednesday. This will be the first meeting between the Longhorns and either opponent. CofC is 9-7 on the season after winning a series over UMass Lowell, while The Citadel is 10-5 coming off of a series win over Siena.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—The Longhorns are in the midst of playing seven games in nine days with six of the seven on the road. Texas split a pair of midweek games with Texas State to start this stretch before dropping the series to South Carolina in Columbia. Offensively the Longhorns are led by Murphy Stehly, batting .426 with 26 hits, eight RBI and 10 runs scored. Ivan Melendez is the leading run producer with seven doubles, one triple, seven homers, 26 RBI and 18 runs scored. Douglas Hodo III and Eric Kennedy have done well at the top of the batting order. Hodo is batting .319 with six doubles, one triple, one homer and 17 runs scored, while Kennedy is batting .352 with three doubles, one triple, two homers and 17 runs scored.
TWO-OUT HITTING—Texas has had a knack for scoring runs with two outs this season, driving in 47% of its RBI with two outs. The Longhorns have 48 total two-out RBI of their 102 runs driven in. Trey Faltine leads the Longhorns with 10 two-out RBI, while Ivan Melendez and Douglas Hodo III has eight apiece. Conversely, the Texas pitching staff has been extremely tough with two outs and allowed just eight two-out RBI this season and held opponents to a .195 batting average with two outs.
TITANIC—Ivan Melendez launched four home runs last week to bring his season total to seven and his career total at Texas to 20. He now has five homers in the Longhorns last six games. His first titanic blast of the season was a "Monster Shot," making him the first player to clear the batter's eye in center field three times. Last season Melendez burst onto the scene with 13 homers, a .319 batting average and .603 slugging percentage. He also had a stretch in the month of April in which he homered in six-consecutive games.
MARCH MADNESS—Texas Baseball starts the month of March with a tough stretch of 11 games in the first 16 days of the month. Making it even tougher, the majority of those games are away from UFCU Disch-Falk Field, with 10 of 11 on the road. The road has been grueling and the Longhorns are 5-4 so far in the month of March. After dropping the series to South Carolina, Texas traveled to Charleston to face College of Charleston and The Citadel. The back end of the March schedule will be tough as well, starting Big 12 Conference play at Texas Tech, March 25-27, before hosting Texas A&M for a midweek game on March 29.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS—It's an old adage that played out well in Texas' journey to a record 37th College World Series appearance in 2021. The Longhorns 2.93 ERA led the NCAA by nearly a quarter of a run and the Big 12 Conference by more than a run. Texas' .980 fielding percentage also led the Big 12 and was the 10th-best percentage in the nation. Through 17 games this season, the Longhorns have a 2.48 ERA and are fielding .986 with nine errors.
INFIELD HIT MACHINE—Throughout his career on the Forty Acres, Eric Kennedy has used his speed as a means to get on base. With a bunt single during Opening Weekend, Kennedy now has 52 career infield singles (29 bunts). Last season he had 27 infield singles, including 16 bunt hits.
FLASHING THE LEATHER—Trey Faltine has been a human highlight reel throughout his career, making the difficult look routine. Last season, the Longhorns shortstop led the Big 12 with 203 assists and ranked second with 40 double plays while sporting a .968 fielding percentage in 308 chances. This season, Faltine currently leads the Big 12 with 49 assists.
COMMANDING THE ZONE—Tristan Stevens' command has been outstanding start to the season, winning his first three starts and not allowing just two earned runs in 23.2 innings pitched. He's struck out 17 batters and issued just three walks, while holding hitters to a .218 batting average. Last season, Stevens led the Big 12 with 11 wins and he only walked 23 batters in 111.1 innings pitched.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT—Texas struck gold last season with the addition of graduate transfer Mike Antico from St. John's. The outfielder became the first Longhorn and first player in Big 12 history to hit 10 homers and steal 40 bases in a season. This season the Longhorns will hope for a big contribution from grad transfer Skyler Messinger from Kansas. Last season he led Kansas in batting average (.324), games played (56), games started (56), at bats (213), runs (43), hits (69), doubles (19), RBI (39) and slugging percentage (.460).
THE SCHEDULE—The Longhorns play a challenging schedule in 2022 with 31 home games at UFCU Disch-Falk Field and 18 total games against teams that played in last season's NCAA Tournament. The month of March features a pair of marquee road weekends, as Texas played Tennessee, LSU and UCLA at the 2022 Shriners Children's College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston, March 4-6. The Longhorns will also play at South Carolina, March 11-13, in Columbia.
PRESEASON PICKS—In a vote of the league's head coaches, Texas was selected to finish first in the Preseason Big 12 Baseball Coaches' Poll. The Longhorns landed in the top spot in the poll for the ninth time overall and for the first time since 2010. LHP Pete Hansen was named the Big 12 Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year, leading seven total Longhorns on the Preseason All-Big 12 team. Tristan Stevens and Ivan Melendez were unanimous selections, while Silas Ardoin, Mitchell Daly, Trey Faltine and Aaron Nixon also landed on the team.
MORE NATIONAL ACCOLADES—Pete Hansen and Tanner Witt were named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List to lead a group of seven Longhorns earning national preseason recognition. Hansen and Ivan Melendez were both named first team Preseason All-American by NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball and second team by D1Baseball and Perfect Game. Aaron Nixon earned first team preseason honors from D1Baseball and NCBWA. Witt and Nixon, along with Trey Faltine and Tristan Stevens landed on the Collegiate Baseball preseason second team, joined by Mitchell Daly on the third team. Nixon was also named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List.
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. This season fans will also hear analysis from Longhorn greats Keith Moreland, Ty Harrington and Nathan Thornhill throughout the season.
WATCH 'EM—Nearly 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 for 29 of the 31 games. Games 2 and 3 of the TCU series at UFCU Disch-Falk Field will both be televised on ESPNU.
