The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Louisiana
Baseball preview: NCAA Coral Gables Regional
06.01.2023 | Baseball
The Longhorns open NCAA postseason play against Louisiana on Friday at 1 p.m. CT.
TEXAS at the NCAA CORAL GABLES REGIONAL
June 2-5, 2023
Where: UFCU Disch-Falk Field
Time: Friday at 1 p.m. CT
TV: Longhorn Network
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn/1260 AM
Live stats: ncaa.statbroadcast.com
NCAA Tournament Appearances (last): 62nd (2022)
All-Time NCAA Regional Record: 151-57-1
THE MATCHUPS—The Longhorns head into the NCAA Coral Gables Regional and will open against Louisiana on Friday. Texas holds a 33-8 record against the Ragin' Cajuns all-time and the teams last met in a series in Lafayette in 2019. Texas and Miami have not played since 2003 and the Longhorns hold a 21-19 advantage. The Longhorns and Hurricanes share quite a bit of postseason history, playing 10 NCAA Tournament games with Texas holding a 6-4 lead in those games. Texas and Maine last met in 1996 and the Longhorns lead the series 7-0.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas won its 10th Big 12 Championship, clinching a share of the regular season title with a sweep of West Virginia. The Longhorns earned the top seed in last week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship but went 0-2 in the tournament. Texas is batting .297 as a team with 85 homers, the second-most in program history. The pitching staff leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th nationally with a 4.13 ERA, while the defense ranks first in the Big 12 and 15th nationally.
DC MAKES HISTORY—Dylan Campbell is riding the longest hitting streak in Texas Baseball history at 35 games. He shattered the previous Texas record of a 25-game hitting streak by Michael Torres in 2008 and has tied the Big 12 mark set by Ty Wright of Oklahoma State in 2007. Campbell's hitting streak started on March 25 against Texas Tech but he's been scorching hot for even longer, with a hit in 44 of the last 47 games. He has also reached base safely in 41-striaght games. During the historic streak, Campbell is hitting .409 with 13 doubles, three triples, seven homers, 31 RBI and 39 runs scored.
BIG 12 PITCHER OF THE YEAR—Lucas Gordon was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, posting a 2.55 ERA and a 6-1 record in 16 appearances (15 starts) this season. Gordon has struck out 90 batters in 88.1 innings pitched, while also holding hitters to a .219 batting average against. Gordon is the Longhorns' eighth Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and second in the last three seasons after Ty Madden won the award in 2021.
ALL-BIG 12 HONORS—LHP Lucas Gordon led a group of eight Longhorn players named to the All-Big 12 teams. C Garret Guillemette, OF Porter Brown, OF Dylan Campbell, and RHP Lebarron Johnson Jr. joined Gordon on the first team. The five first team selections were the most for any team in the league. INF Peyton Powell landed on the second team, while OF Eric Kennedy and INF Jared Thomas received honorable mention honors. Thomas was also recognized on the All-Freshman team.
DOWNTOWN PORTER BROWN—Porter Brown has had a productive season after transferring from TCU and is batting .332, with 12 doubles and 12 home runs. Brown etched himself into the Texas Baseball record book by becoming the seventh Longhorn to hit three home runs in a game, against West Virginia on May 18. He also picked up the March 27 Big 12 Player of the Week award after helping the Longhorns sweep Texas Tech. In parts of four seasons at TCU, Brown batted .286 with 20 doubles, nine home runs, 63 RBI and 83 runs scored. He also stole 25 bases during his time at TCU.
POW!—Peyton Powell has had a breakout season for the Longhorns and is the team's leading hitter with a .358 batting average, 15 doubles, 10 homers and 43 RBI. Powell burst onto the scene during the 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. His versatility has also been beneficial, as he has played first base, third base and catcher this season.
SNAKE FARM—Jared Thomas is having an outstanding freshman campaign, batting .333 with 13 doubles, three triples, four homers, 26 RBI and 48 runs scored. He has batted in the leadoff spot over the last 15 games and Texas has gone 10-5 during that stretch. Thomas' season started to turn the corner in early April and over the last 24 games he is batting .444 with seven doubles, three triples, three homers and 32 runs scored.
BACK IN THE POSTSEASON—The Longhorns are back in the NCAA postseason for the third-straight season with a roster featuring several new faces and all new assistant coaches. Texas returned just 27% of its at-bats from a year ago and only 37% of the innings pitched from last year's staff. The 2022 Longhorns also set the program record with 128 home runs but only 23 of those were hit by players that returned in 2023. Seven Longhorns hit double-digit home runs last season and only Dylan Campbell (10) is back this season. On the pitching staff, Lucas Gordon is the most experienced returner with 16 starts last season and a 7-1 record with a 3.05 ERA in 85.2 innings pitched.
ROAD REGIONAL—Texas is set to play in its seventh road regional since 2000 and the first since 2017. The Longhorns advanced to the final of the Long Beach State Regional in 2017 but lost to the Dirtbags in the 'if necessary' game. In 2014, Texas won the Houston Regional at Reckling Park before hosting the Super Regional and advancing to the College World Series. In 2000, the Longhorns took down Arizona State in the Tempe Regional and went on to the College World Series.
HOME SWEET HOME—Texas holds a 28-8 record this season at the friendly confines of UFCU Disch-Falk Field. In the 36 home games, the Longhorns are hitting .323 and fielding .983, while the pitching staff has a 3.57 ERA. In the 22 games played away from UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Texas holds an 10-12 record and is batting .259 with a .974 fielding percentage. Of the Longhorns' 43 errors as a team this season, 21 of them have come in the 22 games away from home.
NARROW MARGINS—The Longhorns have played several close games this season with 31 games decided by three runs or less. In those games decided by three runs or less, Texas has a 16-15 record and the Longhorns hold a 6-8 record in one-run ballgames. Texas has a pair of walk-off wins this season at UFCU Disch-Falk Field but have also been on the wrong end of a walk-off four times. Fifteen of the Longhorns' 20 losses have been by three runs or less and eight of the defeats have been by one run.
G-WAGON—Catcher Garret Guillemette has batted in the cleanup spot for Texas most of the season and has been productive, batting .310 with a team-high 58 RBI and 42 runs scored. He's also caught the majority of the games with 39 starts behind the plate. Through the first 21 games of the year Guillemette still had not hit a homer but now has 11 over the last 37 games, including the walk-off blast to complete the sweep against Texas Tech.
EK—Eric Kennedy holds the team lead with 31 extra-base hits, including 13 doubles and a team-high 16 home runs. The fifth-year outfielder is batting .302 with 45 RBI and 53 runs scored. In addition to his power display, he also leads the team with 22 infield hits and 11 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 22 infield singles (11 bunt) this season, Kennedy now has 80 career infield singles (42 bunts). In 2021, Kennedy had a career-best 27 infield singles (16 bunts).
MIDWEEK WINS—In seven seasons under head coach David Pierce, the Longhorns have had success in midweek games. Since 2017, Texas has gone 72-19 (.791) in midweek games including a 12-2 record 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 177-48 (.787) record at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, including a 28-8 mark this season. Since the stadium opened in 1975, Texas has gone 1608-408-3 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. 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. This season the Longhorns are averaging 6,729 fans per game, the sixth-highest average attendance in the country.
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.
