The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
East Carolina
No. 9 Baseball preview: NCAA Greenville Super Regional
06.09.2022 | Baseball
The Longhorns head to East Carolina for a best-of-three series against the Pirates.
TEXAS (45-19) at EAST CAROLINA (45-19)
June 10-12, 2022
Where: Clark-LeClair Stadium
Time: Friday at 11 a.m. CT; Saturday at 11 a.m. CT; Sunday TBA (if necessary)
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: NCAA.StatBroadcast.com
NCAA Super Regional Appearances (last): 12th (2021)
All-Time Super Regional Record: 21-7
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY–Texas LHP Pete Hansen (11-1, 3.08) vs. East Carolina LHP C.J. Mayhue (5-1, 2.82)
SATURDAY–Texas LHP Lucas Gordon (7-1, 2.36) vs. East Carolina TBA
SUNDAY (if necessary)–Texas TBA vs. East Carolina TBA
THE MATCHUPS—Texas heads on the road for the NCAA Greenville Super Regional to face No. 8 national seed East Carolina at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Longhorns will play just their third road Super Regional and the first since the 2005 season. The 2005 Texas team defeated Ole Miss in three games before going on to win the program's sixth national championship. The Longhorns swept Florida State in the 2003 Tallahassee Super Regional in their only other road super. East Carolina is making its third-consecutive Super Regional and seventh overall. Friday's game will be the first meeting between Texas and East Carolina.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas swept its way to the NCAA Austin Regional Championship with wins over Air Force and Louisiana Tech, while outscoring the teams 26-6. Skyler Messinger earned Regional Tournament MVP honors in his first career postseason games. Messinger batted .778 with a double, four RBI and five runs scored. In the regional, Texas fielded 1.000 and compiled a staff ERA of 2.00. The Longhorns head into the Greenville Super Regional having won 14 of the last 17 games. Texas leads the Big 12 with a .317 team batting average and a program record 118 homers, while the pitching staff is first in the league with a 4.05 ERA. The Longhorns are also the nation's top fielding team with a .987 fielding percentage.
BOMB SQUAD—Texas has shattered the program record for most home runs in a season, smashing 118 bombs in 64 games this season. The home run total leads the Big 12 and ranks fifth 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 32 multiple-homer games, including 12 three-homer games, six four-homer games and four five-homer games. Five 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 30 blasts this season, surpassing Kyle Russell's 28 homers in 2007 for the program record. 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 30 homers, 90 RBI, an .895 slugging percentage and 204 total bases. He ranks fourth nationally with a .522 on-base percentage and 10 with a .404 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, is tied with Brooks Kieschnick with 43 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 11-1 this season with a 3.08 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings pitched. He has only walked 18 batters and held opponents to a .214 batting average against. Stehly is batting .372 with 22 doubles, 17 homers and 55 RBI. His 96 hits this season rank sixth nationally, while his 171 total bases are the 16th most in the country.
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.
MURPH DOG—Murphy Stehly has had an outstanding season at the plate, batting .372, ranking sixth in the nation with 96 total hits and 16th with 171 total bases. Stehly also has 22 doubles, one triple and 17 homers. He has a hit in 54 of his 63 games played and has 28 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 46 games he has raised his batting average up to .370. 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 three errors in 156 defensive chances this season.
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.
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.
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 .987 fielding percentage. This season, Daly leads the Big 12 lead with 182 assists, while Faltine is second with 173. 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.
