Baseball Travels to Stillwater

by 40AS on Apr 3, 2009 7:19 PM CDT in Texas Longhorns Baseball

[Update 7:18 PM]: Horns take game one 7-2 behind 3 HRs and terrific fielding and pitching.

This weekend in Stillwater is the halfway point in the season. Like every other conference series, and especially road series, taking two of three games is the goal. Looking through the national statistics in a little more detail and a few things pop out.

Texas is bad offensively, but it doesn't need to be great to win. Think back to 2004, that team went to the CWS championship game only to lose to CSF. That team was an elite pitching squad (#10 in the rankings) and a mediocre-to-bad offensive squad (#154).
Give us the elite pitching over the hitting any day of the week. '06, '07 and '08 could all hit but only '07 could pitch, and that team ran into a red hot and poorly seeded UCI team. This isn't to say the offense doesn't need to improve, it clearly does, but maybe just marginal improvements will see big dividends.
It's probably pretty natural for Texas to have deflated hitting numbers until it reaches Omaha. UCFCUDFF is a vacuum, Rosenblatt is not. That's why we saw offensive explosions from Texas in '04 and '05.
The signs of offensive improvement are there: Torres and Moldenhauer are regulars in the lineup, Lusson's hitting well, Tucker's healthy...but are these signs of improvement or signs of weak competition?
The second closest team in terms of team ERA nationally is Arizona State, .34 points higher (2.46). The good news is that at this point in the season, we probably know what's going to end it. But if the offense improves, even slightly, the sky's the limit.

Preview

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

Friday, April 3, 2009 – 6:30 p.m. Central
Texas: RHP Chance Ruffin (4-2, 2.68 ERA)
OSU: LHP Andrew Oliver (4-2, 5.59 ERA)

Saturday, April 4, 2009 - 2 p.m. Central
Texas: RHP Brandon Workman (3-2, 2.15 ERA)
OSU: LHP Tyler Lyons (4-2, 3.60 ERA)

Sunday, April 5, 2009 - 1 p.m. Central
Texas: RHP Cole Green (2-0, 2.31 ERA)
OSU: RHP Tyler Blandford (5-0, 3.83 ERA)

Weather:

0 recs | 88 comments

Comments

Lineup info

Brandon Belt’s eye apparently isn’t ready to go yet because he didn’t even make the trip to Stillwater (per Craig and Keith), so Preston Clark will start at first with David Hernandez DHing.

Connor Rowe is getting the start in center. Both Rowe and Kyle Lusson are solid fielders, and Rowe probably has a slight edge in speed. Neither has hit the ball very well, but Lusson hasn’t bunted well of late either, so maybe that’s why Rowe is getting the nod. I’m not partial to one or the other, though. Offensively, all I would really ask of either of them is to get on base now and then, bunt well, and run the bases well. Since the defensive differences are basically negligible, I (as usual) will defer to Augie’s decision.

Sweed4Heisman - April 3, 2009 reply

Is there a video feed?

Texas Wahoo - April 3, 2009 reply

There's a link in the preview

for video, but it takes you to the OSU athletics’ site, which says you have to be a member.

hornbone - April 3, 2009 reply

I don't think so

I think OSU has one but you have to subscribe to something.

Horns went 1-2-3 in the top of the first.

Sweed4Heisman - April 3, 2009 reply

I hope Belt gets back soon

We can’t afford to have him out for too long with our hitting woes.

Texas Wahoo - April 3, 2009 reply

No question

He’s the most consistent hitter in the lineup by far.

Sweed4Heisman - April 3, 2009 reply

Ruffin strikes out two, gets the Pokes out 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first.

Scoreless after one.

Sweed4Heisman - April 3, 2009 reply

Kevin Keyes with a two out double in the top of the second

Sweed4Heisman - April 3, 2009 reply

Keyes doubles for first hit of the game (2 out)

Texas Wahoo - April 3, 2009 reply

BTW - OSU's livestats thing is terrible

The batting team is red and black and the fielding team is blue?
No pitch count?

Texas Wahoo - April 3, 2009 reply

Hernandez walks

OSU has a lefty-lefty matchup with Michael Torres against Cowboy ace Andrew Oliver

Sweed4Heisman - April 3, 2009 reply

3 run homer!!!!

Atta boy Miguel!! He got it up into the wind current blowing out to left. Great start…

Sweed4Heisman - April 3, 2009 reply

Love getting our bats into the game early - we needed that

Texas Wahoo - April 3, 2009 reply

Definitely

Even more encouraging that the whole rally came with two outs.

Sweed4Heisman - April 3, 2009 reply

Torres homers - 3 runs!!!

Texas Wahoo - April 3, 2009 reply

Connor Rowe homers to left!!!!

4-0 Texas!

Sweed4Heisman - April 3, 2009 reply

Holy crap!

Is that a smaller ballpark? Or are we just awesome today?

hornbone - April 3, 2009 reply

I think it's probably some of both

From what I remember from years’ past, OSU plays in a bandbox

Texas Wahoo - April 3, 2009 reply

Craig and Keith said the conditions were very hitter friendly

Small ballpark and the wind out to left, and a right-handed-heavy Texas lineup. Of course Torres is a lefty, but you get the point…

Burnt Orange Nation