The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Stephen F. Austin
No. 7 Baseball preview: Stephen F. Austin
04.11.2022 | Baseball
The Longhorns close out a five-game homestand on Tuesday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
#7 TEXAS (24-10) vs. SFA (10-21)
April 12, 2022
Where: UFCU Disch-Falk Field
Time: Tuesday at 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 SFA: Texas leads 9-0
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
TUESDAY–Texas RHP Andre Duplantier II (2-1, 6.87) vs. SFA TBA
THE MATCHUPS—The Longhorns close a five-game homestand against Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday night. Texas leads the all-time series against Stephen F. Austin 9-0, with all nine games taking place in Austin. In last season's match-up the Longhorns hit three homers, including one by Ivan Melendez. Pete Hansen started and pitched six shutout innings.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas has started the month of April with a 5-2 record after going just 11-8 in March. The Longhorns offense leads the Big 12 with a .316 batting average and 54 home runs, while the pitching staff leads the league with a 3.55 ERA and six shutouts. Defensively the Longhorns also lead the league with a .984 fielding percentage, which ranks fourth nationally.
BOMB SQUAD—Through the first 34 games this season Texas has launched 54 home runs, the most in the Big 12 and the 11th most nationally. Last season Texas hit 68 homers in 67 games, the third most by a Longhorn team ever. Texas has 15 multiple-homer games, including seven three-homer games and three four-homer games. Ivan Melendez is tied for fourth nationally with 14 homers, which surpasses his total from last season. Trey Faltine and Murphy Stehly are tied for 40th in the country with 10 bombs apiece.
HOME SWEET HOME—Texas is closing out a five-game homestand at the friendly confines of UFCU Disch-Falk Field, where the Longhorns have a 13-3 record this season. Through the first 30 games of the season, Texas played a total of 18 games away from home and only 12 games at home. Of the final 25 regular season games, the Longhorns play 18 of them at home and just seven on the road. According to the NCAA's Strength of Schedule rating, Texas has the 10th toughest schedule to this point.
TITANIC—Ivan Melendez has surpassed his home run total from last season with 14 bombs, upping his career total at Texas to 27. The 14 homers are currently tied for the fourth-most nationally. Melendez also ranks in the top-10 nationally in total bases (5th), base on balls (7th), slugging percentage (9th) and RBI (8th). Melendez's 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.
MURPH DOG—Murphy Stehly has been unstoppable this season, batting .438 and leading the nation with 60 total hits and raking third with 106 total bases. Stehly also has 14 doubles, one triple and 10 homers. He has a hit in all but two games and has 19 games with multiple hits, including just the sixth three-homer game in Texas Baseball history. He is currently riding an 18-game hitting streak, tied for the seventh-longest in program history. His versatility has also been on display, playing first base, second base, third base and right field throughout the season.
SWEET PETE—Pete Hansen is the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for the second consecutive week after throwing his first career complete game shutout. Against TCU he allowed just two hits and one walk in his nine innings on the mound. He's struck out 12 batters in back-to-back starts, one shy of his career high. For the season, Hansen leads the Big 12 with six wins and a total of 52 innings pitched. He ranks third in the league with a 2.08 ERA and 64 strikeouts, while his opponents batting average of .178 ranks second. His career earned run average of 1.74 ranks third among active players.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT—Texas struck gold last season with the addition of graduate transfer Mike Antico from St. John's. The outfielder became the first player in Big 12 history to hit 10 homers and steal 40 bases in a season. This season the Longhorns added grad transfer Skyler Messinger from Kansas and he has produced. The similarities have been striking, as both players had a slow start to their Texas careers. Through Antico's first 26 games last season, he was batting just .202 before going on to bat .273 and landing on the All-Big 12 second team. For Messinger, he was batting just .192 after his first 16 games but over his last 16 games he has raised his batting average up to .364. He has also been great defensively at third base with only one error in 81 defensive chances this season.
TWO-OUT HITTING—Texas has had a knack for scoring runs with two outs this season, driving in 40% of its RBI with two outs. The Longhorns have 100 total two-out RBI of their 250 runs driven in. Ivan Melendez not only leads the team with 45 RBI, but leads the team lead with 19 two-out RBI. Douglas Hodo III has 17, while Murphy Stehly has 12, Trey Faltine has 11 and Eric Kennedy and Mitchell Daly have 10. Conversely, the Texas pitching staff has been tough with two outs and held opponents to a .225 batting average with two outs.
MARCH MADNESS—Texas Baseball started 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 were away from UFCU Disch-Falk Field, with 10 of 11 on the road. The road was grueling and the Longhorns started the month with a 6-5 record. The back end of the March schedule was tough as well, starting Big 12 Conference play by dropping the series at Texas Tech before falling to Texas A&M for a midweek game. In all, Texas went 11-8 in the month of March 13 games away from home.
OWN THE DISCH—A large part of the Longhorns success under head coach David Pierce has come down to dominating at home. Since 2017 Texas has produced a 135-36 (.789) record at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, including a 13-3 mark this season. Since the stadium opened in 1975, Texas has gone 1566-396-3 at home for a .798 winning percentage. The fan base has also done a great job of making the Disch a difficult place to play. Through the first 16 home games this season Texas is averaging 6,962 fans in attendance, which would be a program record. With the exception of last season's limited capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas has led the Big 12 in attendance for 15-consecutive seasons.
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. This season, the Longhorns rank 17th nationally with a 3.55 ERA and are fourth fielding .984.
INFIELD HIT MACHINE—Throughout his career on the Forty Acres, Eric Kennedy has used his speed as a means to get on base. With four infield singles (three bunt) this season, Kennedy now has 55 career infield singles (31 bunts). Last season he had 27 infield singles, including 16 bunt hits.
FLASHING THE LEATHER—Trey Faltine and Mitchell Daly have formed an incredible middle infield duo, anchoring the top defense in the Big 12 with a .984 fielding percentage. This season, Faltine leads the league with 103 assists and Daly is second with 102. Last season Faltine led the Big 12 with 203 assists, while Daly was second with 178.
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 return to the booth to call the action for all 31 games.
