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Saturday - April 12, 2008

Game 34: Texas at Missouri

It was cold (Craig said they'd seen a few snowflakes) and windy again as Game 2 of the series started up. The wind was blowing more from the south than it was last night. As usual for out-of-town games, this report is based on the radio broadcast.

Texas line-up: 2b Michael Torres, cf Jordan Danks, 1b Brandon Belt, dh Russell Moldenhauer, rf Kyle Russell, c Cameron Rupp, lf Kevin Keyes, ss David Hernandez, and 3b Travis Tucker. Brandon Workman got the nod on the mound.

Missouri line-up: 2b Greg Folgia, rf Ryan Lollis, lf Aaron Senne, dh Jacob Priday, c Trevor Coleman, 1b Steve Gray, cf Kurt Calvert, ss Andrew Thigpen, and 3b Kyle Mach. Starting pitcher: Kyle Gibson.

• 1st inning - Texas
• Gibson on the mound for Missouri.
• Michael Torres struck out swinging.
• Jordan Danks grounded out to 1b (3-1).
• Brandon Belt struck out looking.
• 3-up/3-down. 11 pitches. Game tied 0-0.
• 1st inning - Missouri
• Brandon Workman on the mound for Texas.
• Folgia drew a full-count walk.
• Lollis struck out swinging.
• Senne popped out to 3b in foul territory.
• Priday walked, moving Folgia to 2b.
• Coleman flew out to rf.
• 21 pitches. Game tied 0-0.
• 2nd inning - Texas
• Russell Moldenhauer popped out to 3b (foul).
• Kyle Russell struck out swinging; the catcher dropped the ball so threw down to 1b to complete the out.
• Cameron Rupp flew out to rf.
• 3-up/3-down. 8 pitches. Game tied 0-0.
• 2nd inning - Missouri
• Gray struck out.
• Calvert struck out.
• Thigpen singled to cf. Jordan Danks (cf) slipped and fell as he fielded the ball. If Thigpen had kept running, he would've been safe at 2b.
• Mach flew out to lf.
• 17 pitches. Game tied 0-0.
• 3rd inning - Texas
• Kevin Keyes struck out.
• David Hernandez fell behind 0-2, worked the count full, and then struck out.
• Travis Tucker grounded out to 3b.
• 3-up/3-down. 12 pitches. Game tied 0-0.
• 3rd inning - Missouri
• Folgia was hit by a pitch (1-2 count).
• Lollis doubled to rf, moving Folgia to 3b.
• Skip Johnson made a quick trip to the mound after the 2nd ball was thrown to Senne.
• Senne popped out to 1b. A bit of a scary play as the ball popped up near the mound and it wasn't clear who was going to make the play. Brandon Belt (1b) took charge. Whew.
• Priday popped out to shallow lf...no chance for the runner from 3b to advance. Whew. Again.
• Coleman singled through the right side, driving in 2 runs.
• Gray singled up the middle, moving Coleman to 2b. The ball bounced off the mound and then off the edge of David Hernandez's glove. Keith was rather incredulous that it was not ruled an error.
• Calvert popped out to 3b (foul).
• 18 pitches. Texas down 0-2.
• 4th inning - Texas
• Craig Way tried to jinx the starter by pointing out that he had a perfect game going into the 4th.
• Michael Torres grounded out to 3b.
• Jordan Danks walked (8 pitches). The jinx worked.
• Brandon Belt singled through the lf, moving Jordan to 2b.
• Russell Moldenhauer watched the 3-0 and 3-1 pitches go by and be called strikes. Craig and Keith thought both pitches were balls. He then singled through the right side, scoring Jordan and moving Brandon to 2b.
• Kyle Russell grounded out to 1b (unassisted), moving the runners to 2b and 3b.
• Cameron Rupp flew out to cf.
• 29 pitches. Texas down 1-2.
• 4th inning - Missouri
• Thigpen singled to rf.
• Mach singled up the middle. Thigpen was off with the pitch (hit-and-run) and was easily making his way to 3b. Jordan Danks made his first error of the season as the ball got away from him. Thigpen scored but Mach had to hold up at 1b.
• Folgia lined into rf, moving Mach to 2b. The single turned the earlier run scored by Thigpen into an earned run.
• Lollis was hit by an 0-1 pitch to load the bases. No outs.
• Craig commented that snow was starting to fall pretty regularly.
• Pitching change: Riley Boening to the mound.
• Senne hit a sac fly to cf. Mach scored. The other runners remained at 1b and 2b.
• Priday doubled to the lf/cf gap. Folgia scored and Lollis was waved around 3b. The relay throw (from Torres) hit Lollis and went into the Texas dugout. Priday was already running to 3b on the throw so was awarded home on the ball that went into the dugout. Wow.
• 14 pitches by Workman. 10 pitches by Boening. Texas down 1-7.
• 5th inning - Texas
• Kevin Keyes struck out swinging (2-2 pitch).
• David Hernandez walked (full count).
• Travis Tucker fouled off a 1-2 pitch and then was called out on strikes.
• Michael Torres singled through the left side, moving David to 2b.
• Jordan Danks struck out looking (2-2 pitch).
• 8th strikeout of the game for Gibson. Struck out the side. Damn.
• 24 pitches. Texas down 1-7.
• 5th inning - Missouri
• Calvert singled up the middle.
• Thigpen got his 3rd single in as many plate appearances, moving Calvert to 2b.
• Mach hit a sac bunt down the 3b line. Nice play by pitcher Riley Boening to get the batter out. Runners in scoring position with 1 out.
• Folgia hit a sac fly to lf, scoring Calvert. Thigpen stayed at 2b.
• Lollis walked on 4 pitches.
• Skip Johnson made a visit to the mound after the 1st pitch to Senne; no pitching change.
• Senne singled past the ss, scoring Thigpen and moving Lollis to 2b.
• Priday was hit by an 0-1 pitch to load the bases.
• Coleman grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning.
• 17 pitches. Texas down 1-9.
• 6th inning - Texas
• Keith commented that the snow was getting heavier but still not sticking or accumulating.
• Brandon Belt grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Russell Moldenhauer struck out swinging.
• Kyle Russell grounded out to 1b (3-1).
• 3-up/3-down. 13 pitches. Texas down 1-9.
• 6th inning - Missouri
• Gray struck out swinging (3rd time in the game for him).
• Calvert doubled down the 1b line (1st pitch).
• Texas sent Stayton Thomas to the mound.
• Thigpen singled (4th hit in as many chances for him) up the middle, moving Calvert to 3b.
• Mach hit a sac fly to rf, scoring Calvert.
• Folgia grounded out to the pitcher.
• 4 pitches by Boening. 10 pitches by Thomas. Texas down 1-10.
• 7th inning - Texas
• Cameron Rupp grounded out to ss.
• Kevin Keyes reached on an error by ss. Keith and Craig thought it should've been ruled an infield single.
• David Hernandez reached on a 5-4 fielder's choice (Kevin out on the play).
• Travis Tucker singled through the left side, moving David to 2b.
• Michael Torres singled to lf. David rounded 3b and beat the throw to the plate. Travis moved to 2b. Missouri appealed at 3b, saying David did not step on the bag. The ump ruled in Missouri's favor. Run does not count. So, David ended up making the 3rd out of the top half of the inning.
• 12 pitches. Gibson now up to 105 pitches...by my radio count. Texas down 1-10.
• 7th inning - Missouri
• Lollis walked on 4 pitches.
• Cameron Rupp was hit by the bat on Senne's backswing on the 0-1 pitch (going to 0-2) and went down. After taking a couple of test pitches, Cameron stayed in the game. At this point, the radio guys mentioned that Preston Clark is still suffering from a sore arm but has a bit of a pulled hamstring as well...thus explaining why he hasn't been in the line-up at all.
• Senne singled through the right side, moving Lollis to 2b.
• Priday singled to cf, loading the bases. No outs.
• Coleman flew out to shallow lf. Bases still loaded.
• The first pitch to Gray was wild, scoring Lollis and moving the other runners to 2b and 3b.
• Gray struck out looking (4th strikeout of the game for him).
• Calvert singled to shallow cf. Jordan Danks ran hard and dove for the ball but could not make the catch. 2 runs scored.
• Thigpen struck out.
• 24 pitches. Texas down 1-13.
• 8th inning - Texas
• Missouri sent Scooter Hicks to the mound.
• Jordan Danks flew out (1st pitch) to cf (right at the wall).
• Brandon Belt struck out looking (full count).
• Tant Shepherd (pinch-hitting for Russell Moldenhauer) popped out to 1b (foul).
• 3-up/3-down. 8 pitches. Texas down 1-13.
• 8th inning - Missouri
• Texas sent Kyle Walker to the mound and Kawika Emsley-Pai in for Cameron Rupp behind the plate.
• Mach flew out to lf.
• Folgia popped out to shallow cf.
• Lollis lined a ball off Kyle Walker's glove into cf.
• Lollis moved to 2b on a passed ball with Meyr at the plate.
• Meyr (pinch-hitting for Senne) drew an 8-pitch walk.
• Priday struck out looking. Finally!
• 24 pitches. Texas down 1-13.
• 9th inning - Texas
• Kyle Russell walked.
• Kawika Emsley-Pai was hit by a pitch, moving Kyle to 2b.
• Kevin Keyes struck out swinging (3rd strikeout on the day for Kevin).
• David Hernandez struck out looking.
• Travis Tucker singled to (Craig didn't say...I'm guessing lf), scoring Kyle and moving Kawika to 2b.
• Michael Torres worked the count full and fouled off a couple of pitches before flying out to lf to end the game.
• 28 pitches. Texas loses 2-13

Yes, folks. Another ugly one. It wasn't as ugly as yesterday but...what could be? Missouri has now scored 44 runs on 43 hits in two games against Texas. That's just not right. Gibson ended up going 7 innings, faced 28 batters, and gave up one earned run on 4 hits (all singles) while walking 2 and striking out 9. Wow.

Post-game interview: Coach Garrido gave full credit to the Missouri starter and talked about the fact that Gibson dominated the game and controlled the tempo. He said the batters got better as the game went on but they were not recognizing the pitches early on and ended up swinging at pitches they couldn't hit. When Craig asked about tomorrow's pitching, Coach Garrido said Chance Ruffin is talented and tough and he hopes Chance comes out aggressively tomorrow.

I guess we'll see. I'm going to the Express game tomorrow so will miss most (if not all) of the Texas game and will be posting late. I really do hope the Horns win tomorrow. Go Horns! Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 5:33 PM