The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Air Force
No. 21 Baseball preview: Air Force
04.03.2023 | Baseball
The Longhorns return to UFCU Disch-Falk Field to host the Air Force Falcons.
#21 TEXAS vs. AIR FORCE
April 4, 2023
Where: UFCU Disch-Falk Field
Time: Tuesday at 4 p.m.
TV: Longhorn Network
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: https://texassports.com/sidearmstats/baseball
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
TUESDAY–Texas LHP Ace Whitehead (2-0, 6.23) vs. Air Force RHP Duke Benge (2-2, 6.07)
THE MATCHUP—The Longhorns return home to UFCU Disch-Falk Field to host Air Force for a midweek game on Tuesday afternoon. Texas and Air Force played four times last season, with the Falcons winning the first ever meeting between the teams. The Longhorns defeated Air Force twice during last season's NCAA Austin Regional, including winning 10-1 in the regional final.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas had its 16-game winning streak snapped over the weekend and dropped the series to Oklahoma State on a Sunday walk-off. The Longhorns finished the month of March with a 17-2 record and won the final 16 games. During the month of March, Texas hit .318 with 32 home runs and outscored opponents 154-74. The Texas pitching staff, which has been the team's strength through the first 29 games, has a 3.40 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .231 batting average with 279 strikeouts this season.
DOWNTOWN PORTER BROWN—Porter Brown picked up the March 27 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 had a great month of March, starting all 19 games and picking up at least one hit in 16-of-19, with multiple hits in 11 of them. For the season, Powell leads the Longhorns with a .371 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.
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 10 games played away from UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Texas holds a 3-7 record and is batting .230 with a .965 fielding percentage. The Longhorns are also averaging 6,619 fans per game, the fifth-highest average attendance in the country.
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.
G-WAGON—Garret Guillemette has batted in the cleanup spot for Texas most of the season and has been productive, batting .305 with 22 RBI and 21 runs scored. He's also caught the majority of the games with 19 starts behind the plate. Through the first 21 games of the year Guillemette still had not hit a homer but now has five over the last eight games, including the walk-off blast to complete the sweep against Texas Tech.
EK—Eric Kennedy holds the team lead with 18 extra-base hits, including team-highs with 10 doubles and seven home runs. The fifth-year outfielder is batting .345 with 22 RBI and 27 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).
GOIN' STREAKIN'—Texas put together a 16-game winning streak from March 7 to March 31, tied for the 16th-longest winning streak in program history. During the winning streak, Texas outscored opponents 141 to 61 and batted .326 with 34 doubles and 27 home runs. The pitching staff had a 3.31 ERA and held opponents to a .226 batting average. The last 16-game winning streak came in 2021 and was also ended by Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
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.
