The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma State
No. 19 Baseball preview: Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship
05.24.2022 | Baseball
The Longhorns head into the Big 12 Championship as the No. 5 seed and will face No. 4 seed Oklahoma State.
TEXAS (39-17, 14-10) at the PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
May 25-29, 2022
Where: Globe Life Field
Time: Wednesday at 9 a.m.; Thursday at TBD
TV: ESPNU/ESPN+
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: Big12.Statbroadcast.com
Big 12 Championship Titles (Last): 5 (2015)
Big 12 Championship Record: 43-33
THE MATCHUPS—Texas heads into the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship as the No. 5 seed and will face No. 4 seed Oklahoma State. The Longhorns were swept by Oklahoma State earlier this season. 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—The Longhorns are riding a five-game winning streak into the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. Texas leads the Big 12 with a .322 team batting average and a program record 110 homers, while the pitching staff is first in the league with a 4.15 ERA. The Longhorns are also the league's top fielding team with a .986 fielding percentage.
BOMB SQUAD—Texas has broken the program record for most home runs in a season, smashing 110 bombs in 56 games this season. The home run total leads the Big 12 and ranks fourth nationally. Last season Texas hit 68 homers in 67 games, the fourth-most by a Longhorn team. The previous program record was 81, set in 2010. Texas has 30 multiple-homer games, including 11 three-homer games, six four-homer games and four five-homer games.
BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR—Ivan Melendez is the fourth Longhorn to be named the Big 12 Player of the Year and the first since Kody Clemens in 2018. Melendez, also a unanimous First Team All-Big 12 selection, leads the league with a .421 batting average, 28 home runs and 85 RBI. In league play, Melendez batted .432 with 14 homers and 32 RBI. His 28 home runs this season tie the program record, set by Kyle Russell in 2007. Melendez now has 41 career home runs, which is the third-most in a career at Texas.
ALL-BIG 12 HONORS—Ivan Melendez led a total of nine players named to All-Big 12 teams this season. Catcher Silas Ardoin, outfielder Murphy Stehly and starting pitcher Pete Hansen join Melendez on the first team. Infielders Trey Faltine and Skyler Messinger and starting pitcher Lucas Gordon landed on the second team. Outfielder Douglas Hodo III and designated hitter Austin Todd were named Honorable Mention.
MURPH DOG—Murphy Stehly has had an outstanding season at the plate, batting .383, ranking eighth in the nation with 87 total hits and 11th with 157 total bases. Stehly also has 20 doubles, one triple and 16 homers. He has a hit in 48 of his 55 games played and has 26 games with multiple hits, including just the sixth three-homer game in Texas Baseball history. He had a 20-game hitting streak earlier this season, which is tied for the fourth-longest in program history. His versatility has also been on display, playing first base, second base, third base and right field throughout the season.
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 played but over his last 38 games he has raised his batting average up to .364. Messinger has hit 10 home runs this season, after having just six in his four years at Kansas. He has also been great defensively at third base with only two errors in 138 defensive chances this season.
BACK-TO-BACK JACKS—Texas has hit back-to-back home runs on 10 different occasions this season. The power-hitting duo of Ivan Melendez and Murphy Stehly have gone back-to-back four times. The Longhorns have also hit three-straight homers in a game this season, on May 1 against Oklahoma State.
HOME SWEET HOME—Texas has gone 24-7 this season at the friendly confines of UFCU Disch-Falk Field. During the regular season, Texas played a total of 31 games at home and 25 games away from UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The Longhorns closed out the regular season with 14 of the final 18 games at home and produced a 13-5 record to end the regular season. In home games, Texas has a team batting average of .338 and a .989 fielding percentage. The Longhorns have also averaged 6,796 fans in attendance at home this season, the fifth-highest average attendance in the country.
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 145-40 (.784) record at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, including a 24-7 mark this season. Since the stadium opened in 1975, Texas has gone 1577-400-3 at home for a .797 winning percentage. The fan base has also done a great job of making the Disch a difficult place to play. In 31 home games this season Texas averaged 6,796 fans in attendance, which is 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.
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 .986 fielding percentage. This season, Faltine and Daly share the Big 12 lead with 162 assists each. Last season Faltine led the Big 12 with 203 assists, while Daly was second with 178.
INFIELD HIT MACHINE—Throughout his career on the Forty Acres, Eric Kennedy has used his speed as a means to get on base. With five infield singles (three bunt) this season, Kennedy now has 56 career infield singles (31 bunts). Last season he had 27 infield singles, including 16 bunt hits.
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.
