The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
#17 Oklahoma State
No. 21 Baseball preview: at No. 17 Oklahoma State
03.30.2023 | Baseball
The Longhorns will play their first road Big 12 series of the season against the Cowboys.
#21 TEXAS at #17 OKLAHOMA STATE
March 31-April 2, 2023
Where: O'Brate Stadium
Time: Friday at 6 p.m.; Saturday at 6 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m.
TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: OKState.StatBroadcast.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY–Texas LHP Lucas Gordon (2-0, 1.65) vs. Oklahoma State RHP Ben Abram (4-0, 5.00)
SATURDAY–Texas RHP Travis Sthele (2-2, 4.55) vs. Oklahoma State RHP Juaron Watts-Brown (3-1, 2.97)
SUNDAY–Texas TBA vs. Oklahoma State RHP Brian Hendry (1-0, 5.59)
THE MATCHUP—The Longhorns will play their first road Big 12 series of the season, taking on Oklahoma State to close out the month of March. Texas and Oklahoma State played six times last season, with the Cowboys winning four of those match-ups. The Cowboys swept the regular season series in Austin before Texas won two of three meetings in the Big 12 Tournament.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas is riding the nation's longest active winning streak at 15 games, outscoring opponents 136-58 over the 15 games. During the streak, Texas is hitting .329 as a team with 32 doubles and 25 homers. Over the first 11 games of the season, the Longhorns went just 4-7 and batted .235 as a team with only 10 homers. The Texas pitching staff, which has been the team's strength through the first 26 games, has a 3.35 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .227 batting average with 257 strikeouts this season.
DOWNTOWN PORTER BROWN—Porter Brown picked up the Big 12 Player of the Week award after helping the Longhorns sweep Texas Tech. For the week, Brown batted .615 and provided the game-winning runs in two of the three games. On Friday night, he provided a go-ahead two-run homer and on Saturday he led off the ninth with a double and scored on a wild pitch to end the game. The redshirt junior leads the Longhorns with 28 RBI and is second on the team with six home runs.
POW!—Peyton Powell has had a great month of March, starting all 18 games and picking up at least one hit in 15-of-18, with multiple hits in 11 of them. For the season, Powell leads the Longhorns with a .416 batting average and has six doubles, five homers, 19 RBI and 22 runs scored. His versatility has also been beneficial, as he has played first base, third base and catcher this season.
EK—Eric Kennedy is currently riding an 11-game hitting streak and leads the team with 12 multiple-hit games and is second with six multiple-RBI games. This season Kennedy leads Texas with 10 doubles, seven homers and is second with 21 RBI and 25 runs scored. In addition to his power display, he also leads the team with 12 infield hits and five bunt singles this season.
INFIELD HIT MACHINE—Throughout his career on the Forty Acres, Eric Kennedy has used his speed as a means to get on base. With 12 infield singles (five bunt) this season, Kennedy now has 70 career infield singles (36 bunts). In 2021, Kennedy had a career-best 27 infield singles (16 bunts).
THE HOMESTAND—Texas took full advantage of its longest homestand in more than 20 years, going 14-0 and outscoring opponents 131-56. The full homestand spanned a three-week stretch starting on March 7 and concluding with the opening Big 12 series against Texas Tech March 24-26. This was the longest Texas homestand in more than 20 years and the longest since the Longhorns hosted 13-straight games at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in 2011. The last time Texas had a longer homestand was in 2001, when Texas played 21-straight home games from February 6 to March 13. This was the program's eighth homestand of at least 10 games since 2001.
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 166-42 (.798) record at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, including a 17-2 mark this season. Since the stadium opened in 1975, Texas has gone 1597-402-3 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. With the exception of the 2021 season because of limited capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas has led the Big 12 in attendance for 15-consecutive seasons.
HOME SWEET HOME—Texas holds a 17-2 record this season at the friendly confines of UFCU Disch-Falk Field. In the 19 home games, the Longhorns are hitting .309 and fielding .980, while the pitching staff has a 3.21 ERA. Texas hitters have also walked more times than they have struck out in home games, with 99 walks to 98 strikeouts. In the seven games played away from UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Texas holds a 2-5 record and is batting .243 with a .955 fielding percentage. The Longhorns are also averaging 6,619 fans per game, the fifth-highest average attendance in the country.
PRESEASON HONORS—Two Longhorn pitchers Lucas Gordon and Tanner Witt were named to the All-Big 12 Preseason team. Last season Gordon went 7-2 with a 3.05 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 85.2 innings after moving into the weekend rotation. Witt made two starts on the mound in the 2022 season before undergoing season ending surgery. He finished with a 2-0 record, a 1.64 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched.
THE TRANSFERS—The Longhorns' seven Division I transfers have all played a role through the first part of the season, especially outfielder Porter Brown (TCU), catcher Garrett Guillemette (USC), RHP Charlie Hurley (USC) and LHP David Shaw (Rice). Infielder Tanner Carlson (Long Beach State), RHP Cody Howard (Baylor) and RHP Heston Tole (Arkansas) have also all featured at some point. Additionally RHP DJ Burke and LHP Chris Stuart transferred from San Jacinto College and have been involved out of the bullpen.
ROOKIES—Several freshmen will play big roles this season, including infielders Jayden Duplantier (Humble), Jalin Flores (San Antonio), Jared Thomas (Waxahachie) and catcher Rylan Galvan (Sinton) who all have started multiple games. Additionally, infielder Cade O'Hara, outfielder Max Belyeu, and pitchers Kobe Minchey, Max Grubbs and Pierce George could still make an impact this season.
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—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 all 36 home games.
THE SCHEDULE—The 2023 schedule features 36 home games at UFCU Disch-Falk Field after opening the season at the College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington. In Big 12 play, the Longhorns host Texas Tech, Kansas State, Oklahoma and West Virginia and will travel to Oklahoma State, Baylor, TCU and Kansas. Texas also had two marquee midweek match ups, welcoming LSU to UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Feb. 28 and traveling to Texas A&M on March 28.
