The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Notre Dame
No. 9 Baseball preview: NCAA College World Series
06.16.2022 | Baseball
The Longhorns make their NCAA-record 38th appearance at the College World Series.
TEXAS (47-20) at the NCAA COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
June 17-27, 2021
Where: Charles Schwab Field
Time: Friday at 6 p.m.; Sunday at TBD
TV: ESPN/ESPN2
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: NCAA.StatBroadcast.com
NCAA College World Series Appearances (last): 38th (2021)
All-Time CWS Record: 88-63
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
FRIDAY–Texas LHP Pete Hansen (11-2, 3.40) vs. LHP John Michael Bertrand (9-3, 2.67)
THE MATCHUPS—Texas heads to the College World Series for an NCAA record 38th time and for the second-consecutive season. The Longhorns entered the postseason as the No. 9 national seed and are matched up in the CWS bracket with Notre Dame, No. 5 Texas A&M and Oklahoma. Texas and Notre Dame have only met six times and the series is tied 3-3. The teams last met in 1995 and have one previous CWS match-up in 1957. The Longhorns hold a 244-129-5 advantage all time over the Aggies, but have only played four times in the postseason and have never met at the College World Series. Texas leads the series with Oklahoma 156-65-2 and holds a 6-0 advantage over the Sooners in Omaha.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas played in its first road Super Regional since the 2005 season and took the series in three games over No. 8 East Carolina. The Longhorns were facing elimination after dropping Game 1 of the Super Regional and trailing 7-2 in the seventh inning of Game 2. Texas rallied to win 9-8 in Game 2 and rolled to an 11-1 win in Game 3 to punch its ticket to the College World Series for the 38th time. In the six postseason games, Texas is batting .350 with 14 doubles and 14 home runs. The Longhorns head into the College World Series having won 16 of their last 20 games. Texas ranks fifth nationally with a .318 team batting average and third in the country with a program record 128 homers, while the pitching staff ranks 23rd with a 4.18 ERA. The Longhorns are also the nation's top fielding team with a .986 fielding percentage.
BOMB SQUAD—Texas has shattered the program record for most home runs in a season, smashing 128 bombs in 67 games this season. The home run total leads the Big 12 and ranks third 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 35 multiple-homer games, including 14 three-homer games, seven four-homer games and four five-homer games. Seven different Longhorn players have hit 10-plus homers for the first time in program history.
EL REY—Ivan Melendez became Texas Baseball's home run king with 32 blasts this season, surpassing Kyle Russell's 28 homers in 2007 for the program record. The 32 home runs are the most in the BBCOR era, surpassing Kris Bryant's 31 homers in 2013. With his incredible season so far Melendez was named the Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year, the fourth Longhorn to win the award following Brooks Kieschnick (1993), Scott Bryant (1989) and Greg Swindell (1986). Melendez leads the country with 32 homers, 94 RBI, an .888 slugging percentage and 213 total bases. He ranks fourth nationally with a .516 on-base percentage and 16th with a .396 batting average. He became 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, has surpassed Brooks Kieschnick and ranks third in program history with 45 career home runs.
ALL-AMERICANS—Ivan Melendez was named to the Collegiate Baseball All-America First Team, while Pete Hansen and Murphy Stehly were named to the second team. Hansen was also named as one of five finalists for the College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year award. Hansen is 11-2 this season with a 3.40 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 103 1/3 innings pitched. He has only walked 19 batters and held opponents to a .223 batting average against. Stehly is batting .375 with 23 doubles, 19 homers and 61 RBI. His 101 hits this season rank third nationally and make him the first Longhorn with 100 hits since Seth Johnston's 115 in 2005.
MURPH DOG—Murphy Stehly has had an outstanding season at the plate, batting .375, ranking third in the nation with 101 total hits. Stehly also has 23 doubles, one triple and 19 homers. He has a hit in 57 of his 66 games played and has 30 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 49 games he has raised his batting average up to .372. Messinger has hit 11 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 four errors this season.
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 joined 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.
KEEP GOIN'—The Longhorns have produced some epic come-from-behind wins this season, including in the NCAA Greenville Super Regional to keep the season alive and ultimately send Texas to the College World Series. The first big comeback came on April 3 against Oklahoma. Texas trailed 7-1 before tying the game with a six-run 7th inning and later scoring five in the 9th to win. In the regular season finale against Kansas on May 21, the Longhorns were down 5-0 before scoring two in the 5th, five in the 7th and four in the 8th to complete the win.
BACK-TO-BACK JACKS—Texas has hit back-to-back home runs on 11 different occasions this season. The power-hitting duo of Ivan Melendez and Murphy Stehly have gone back-to-back five times. The Longhorns have also hit three-straight homers in a game this season, on May 1 against Oklahoma State.
HOME SWEET HOME—Texas went 27-7 this season at the friendly confines of UFCU Disch-Falk Field. During the regular season, Texas played a total of 34 games at home and 30 games away from UFCU Disch-Falk Field. In home games, Texas had a team batting average of .340 and a .990 fielding percentage. The Longhorns have also averaged 6,918 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 148-40 (.787) record at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, including a 27-7 mark this season. Since the stadium opened in 1975, Texas has gone 1580-400-3 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. In 34 home games this season Texas averaged 6,918 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 nation with a .986 fielding percentage. This season, Daly leads the Big 12 lead with 187 assists, while Faltine is second with 180. 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 seven infield singles (three bunt) this season, Kennedy now has 58 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.
