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Tuesday - March 31, 2009

Game 25: Oral Roberts at Texas

Oh. My. Goodness. Should I feel bad for the folks that left the game after Texas scored 4 in the 7th? Or should I envy them the extra years of life they get for not being in the stands for the 9th? Hmmmm...tough call.

The first thing I noticed as they were announcing starting line-ups: no Brandon Belt. Preston Clark was announced as the first baseman. What? 'Turns out, Brandon was hit in the eye by a foul ball during batting practice. A foul ball that he hit. A foul ball that bounced (off the plate, I guess) and hit him in the eye. It was a bunted foul ball. He was practicing bunting. Ouch. Coach Garrido reported in the post-game interview that all things were looking good. That the swelling had gone down and that Belt's vision seemed fine. He said they'd have Belt's eye examined again tomorrow morning but that he expected things to be okay. Whew.

And, so...the starting line-ups:

Oral Roberts	Texas
1 Tyler Garewal, cf 2 Juan Martinez, ss 3 Seth Furmanek, c 4 Michael Notaro, 1b 5 PJ Sequeira, rf 6 Johnny Roberts, dh 7 Robert Barbosa, lf 8 Colby Price, 2b 9 Danny Duffy, 3b - Mark Serrano, p	1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Brandon Loy, ss 3 Michael Torres, 3b 4 Russell Moldenhauer, dh 5 Cameron Rupp, c 6 Tant Shepherd, lf 7 Preston Clark, 1b 8 Kevin Keyes, rf 9 Kyle Lusson, cf - Taylor Jungmann, p

The starter for the Golden Eagles (did I mention that the Horns played the Golden Eagles from Oral Roberts, yet?...I don't think so) had a good day. Texas pitched by committee today. And, the committee also pitched well. For the most part. The Horns struggled to get hits for much of the day. All except for Travis Tucker. He did just fine. So...here's how it all played out:

• 1st inning, ORU
• Texas started with Taylor Jungmann on the mound.
• Garewal, Martinez, and Furmanek all struck out swinging. Wow.
• 1st inning, Texas
• ORU went with Mark Serrano on the mound. He was (and still is) 4-0 on the season. ORU had 8 wins going into today's game. Which means Serrano was responsible for 1/2 of their wins.
• Tucker hit the first pitch of the day from Serrano into cf. Yes!
• Loy struck out.
• Torres did his best to wear Serrano out. He saw 12 pitches. Sadly, he popped the 12th up to 2b.
• Moldenhauer hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice.
• 2nd inning, ORU
• Notaro walked (full count).
• Sequiera singled to cf, moving Notaro to 2b.
• Skip Johnson made a quick trip to the mound.
• With Roberts at the plate, Notaro moved to 3b and Sequiera to 2b on a passed ball. Sigh.
• Roberts went on to walk, loading the bases. No outs.
• Barbosa struck out looking (3 pitches).
• Price flew out to shallow lf. Too short for anyone to tag and move up, happily.
• Duffy stuck out looking. Threat over. Amazing.
• 2 innings, 9 batters, 5 strikeouts for Mr. Jungmann.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Rupp struck out swinging.
• Shepherd reached on an error by 3b. The third baseman fielded and then threw high to 1b.
• Clark flew out to cf.
• Keyes flew out to rf (foul). Nice play by the right fielder.
• 3rd inning, ORU
• Texas sent Andrew McKirahan to the mound.
• Garewal struck out looking.
• Martinez grounded out to ss. On the play, Loy dropped the ball but recovered just in time to nick Martinez at 1b. Close.
• Furmanek walked on four pitches.
• Notaro struck out.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Lusson struck out looking.
• Tucker hit another one into cf. Second plate appearance, second single to cf. Nice.
• Loy walked on 5 pitches, moving Tucker to 2b.
• Torres lined out to rf.
• Moldenhauer struck out swinging.
• 4th inning, ORU
• Sequiera struck out swinging. Rupp couldn't hang onto the ball so had to throw down to 1b to complete the out.
• Roberts grounded out to 2b.
• Barbosa singled to rf. Hmmmm. A 2-out single. 'Sounds scarily familiar.
• Price fouled off a couple of pitches, watched a ball, fouled off 3 more, and then singled to lf, moving Barbosa to 2b.
• Duffy grounded out to 1b (unassisted). Whew.
• 2 innings, 9 batters, 3 strikeouts for Mr. McKirahan.
• 4th inning, Texas
• 3-up/3-down, sadly: Rupp lined out to rf, Shepherd popped out to rf, and Clark struck out looking (ball, ball, ball, called strike, called strike, foul, called strike).
• 5th inning, ORU
• Texas sent Stayton Thomas (!) to the mound.
• Garewal struck out looking.
• Martinez singled up the middle and then advanced to 2b on a wild pitch. I thought it was another passed ball.
• Furmanek grounded out to 3b.
• The first pitch to Notaro was wild, moving Martinez to 3b.
• Which prompted a pitching change. Shucks. I was so happy to see Stayton in a game. Ah well. He only went .2 but did add to the team strikeout total (now at 9 through 4.2 innings).
• Texas sent Keith Shinaberry to the mound.
• Notaro grounded out to ss.
• 5th inning, Texas
• Sadly, another 3-up/3-down inning: Keyes grounded out to ss, Lusson struck out swinging, and Tucker flew out to lf. 5 pitches. Ouch.
• 6th inning, ORU
• Texas sent Kendall Carillo to the mound. Who? Yep. His first outing as a Longhorn. Cool.
• Sequiera tried to bunt the first pitch thrown by Carillo down the 3b line. Carillo made a great play to field and throw Sequiera out. We like Carillo!
• Roberts struck out swinging.
• Barbosa reached on an infield single to ss. Loy made a great play to field the ball. He whirled and threw in mid-air. Alas, the throw was late and off-line so Barbosa was safe.
• With Price at the plate, Barbosa moved to 2b on a wild pitch.
• Price struck out swinging. Rupp could not hold onto the ball so had to throw to 1b to complete the out.
• 6th inning, Texas
• ORU mysteriously sent Spencer Roberts to the mound, replacing Serrano.
• Loy grounded out to 2b.
• Torres grounded out to ss.
• Moldenhauer doubled off the base of the wall in front of the scoreboard. Nice hit.
• Rupp grounded out to ss. Nice play by the ss to cut the ball off behind 2b and rob Rupp of a hit.
• 7th inning, ORU
• Duffy struck out looking (3 pitches).
• Garewal singled up the middle and then stole 2b with Martinez at the plate.
• Martinez grounded out to 2b, moving Garewal to 3b.
• Furmanek grounded out to 3b.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Shepherd hit a bloop single over the second baseman into rf.
• Clark went to the plate. Coach Garrido took a quick offensive time out to talk things over with Clark.
• Clark hit a nice sac bunt down the 1b line, moving Shepherd to 2b.
• Texas sent Tim Maitland to pinch-run for Shepherd.
• Keyes walked on 4 pitches.
• Lusson walked on 5 pitches to load the bases. Texas sent Rowe in to pinch-run for Keyes.
• Tucker singled through the left side (3rd hit of the day for him), scoring Maitland. Bases still loaded. One out.
• ORU sent T.J. Kelly to the mound.
• Loy was hit high on the back (shoulder/neck area) by a 2-2 pitch to drive in the second run of the game (scored by Rowe). Bases still loaded. One out.
• Torres hit a sac fly to cf, scoring Lusson.
• Mickan drew an 8-pitch walk to re-load the bases.
• All runners advanced (Torres scored) on a wild pitch (the second pitch) with Rupp at the plate.
• Rupp struck out looking.
• Texas up 4-0. Carillo in line for a win in his first appearance at Texas.
• 8th inning, ORU
• Texas sent Austin Wood to the mound. The Horns moved Lusson to rf, and kept Maitland and Rowe in the game...in lf and cf, respectively.
• Notaro grounded out to the catcher. On the play, Notaro hit a little nubber that rolled about 10 feet off the plate. Rupp fielded and threw him out.
• Sequiera popped out to 1b. Clark made a nice play to catch the ball at the Texas dugout fence.
• Roberts grounded out to 3b.
• 2nd 3-up/3-down inning of the day for the Horns.
• 8th inning, Texas
• ORU sent Jameson Dunn to the mound.
• Another 3-up/3-down inning: Maitland struck out swinging, Clark lined out to the pitcher, and Rowe struck out looking. Grrrr.
• 9th inning, ORU
• Barbosa walked on 5 pitches.
• Price singled over the first baseman into rf, moving Barbosa to 2b.
• Duffy singled off Wood's glove. Bases loaded. No outs. What???
• Garewal hit a sac fly to lf, scoring Barbosa.
• Martinez doubled to lf, scoring Price and moving Duffy to 3b. Ouch.
• Skip Johnson made a visit to the mound. Austin Dicharry was warming up in the bullpen, by the way.
• Frumanek hit a sac fly to the warning track right of the green monster. That was close. Duffy scored. Martinez still at 2b, 2 out.
• Notaro singled to lf, scoring Martinez. And, tying the game. There goes Carillo's shot at a win.
• Sequiera flew out to lf.
• Game tied 4-4.
• 9th inning, Texas
• You will not believe how the game ended.
• Lusson grounded out to 3b.
• Tucker flew out to lf.
• Loy walked (called strike, ball, ball, ball, called strike, ball). Loy tossed his bat and took off for 1b on the 2nd called strike and I thought he was dead. But, the next pitch was very high. Whew.
• Torres fouled off a pitch. On the second pitch, Loy stole 2b.
• ORU decided to intentionally walk Torres. The 3rd pitch was a ball. As expected. The 4th pitch was thrown wide of the catcher! Loy moved to 3b on the wild pitch! ORU couldn't get their signals straight. Go ahead and finnish the intentional walk? Or, pitch? With 2b open, the force play isn't as much in play. But, due up? Mickan. He had no official plate appearances on the year. Okay, they decided to walk Torres and get to Mickan. They finished the intentional walk.
• Runners at the corners. 2 out.
• Texas sent David Hernandez to pinch-hit for Mickan.
• As the pitcher readied to pitch to Hernandez, Torres faked a steal of 2b. The pitcher whirled to throw to 1b. But, the first baseman wasn't holding Torres at 1b and wasn't there to take the throw. So, the pitcher did not throw to 1b. BALK!! Both runners advance. Loy scores the winning run. On a BALK!! Oh. My. Goodness.
• Texas wins 5-4.

Wow. That's about all I have to say at this point. Wow.

Austin Wood got the win (his 4th of the year) and Dunn took the loss. Wow.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

Next up? Texas travels to Oklahoma State this weekend. Go, Horns!

Posted by Joanna at 10:42 PM | Permalink

Sunday - March 29, 2009

Game 24: Texas Tech at Texas

Texas beat Tech 8-1 today to take the series win. The offense managed only two more hits than yesterday but 6 more runs! And, they didn't rely on Tech errors for any of 'em like they did on Friday night. 'Course the Raiders did walk 8 of our guys. That helped. The weather was gorgeous. It was sunny all day. The temperature at the start of the game was 68 °F and it got up to 75 or so. We had an occasional easy breeze blowing from the southeast to the northwest (opposite yesterday's wind) from time to time. Often, the flags over cf were hanging quite still.

And, so...the starting line-ups:

Texas Tech	Texas
1 Willie Rueda, 2b 2 Joey Kenworthy, ss 3 Michael Reed, cf 4 Chris Richburg, 1b 5 Scott LeJeune, dh 6 Taylor Ashby, rf 7 Justin Berry, 3b 8 Garrett Totten, lf 9 Jeremy Mayo, c - Nathan Karns, p	1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Michael Torres, 3b 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Cameron Rupp, c 5 Russell Moldenhauer, dh 6 Kevin Keyes, rf 7 Tant Shepherd, lf 8 Kyle Lusson, cf 9 Brandon Loy, ss - Cole Green, p

Cole Green started and did a pretty good job. When he gave up back-to-back 2-out singles in the 5th, he was lifted, though. His final numbers: 4.2 innings pitched, 1 run (earned) given up, 7 hits (6 singles, 1 homerun), 2 strikeouts, 1 walk, on 63 pitches by my count. With 2 on and a lefty due up, Texas sent Keith Shinaberry to the mound. He gave up a tough-luck single, though. On the play, Travis Tucker very nearly fielded a ball headed to cf. He did keep the ball in the infield, and kept the the runners from advancing extra bases. But, all runners ended up being safe. With the bases loaded, the Horns sent Austin Dicharry to the mound for Shinaberry. Dicharry got Richburg (who hit the 3-run dinger in yesterday's game) to fly out to lf. Dicharry went on to pick up the win. His numbers: 2.2 innings pitched, 0 runs, 2 hits (singles), no strikeouts or walks, on 41 pitches by my count. When he gave up a 1-out bloop single in the 8th, Austin Wood went to the mound (actually after Dicharry threw a ball to the next batter). Wood shut the Red Raiders down. He got the final 5 Tech batters out on two strikeouts, 2 fly outs, and 1 ground out...on 25 pitches. Nice job.

High socks update/report. Most of the team sported high socks today. Cole Green and Cameron Rupp stuck with the long pants. Connor Rowe entered the game in cf in the top of the 7th (defensive substitution) and was sporting long pants. I commented on the situation and then we were amused to see him being chastised by his teammates as they re-took the field in the 8th. So, he switched to high socks. Funny. The relief pitchers, by the way, all sported long pants.

So, how did Texas score their runs? Like so:

• 1st inning...2 runs:
• Nathan Karns on the mound.
• Tucker struck out looking. Not a particularly happy way to start a game. But, six-shooter Bob Homolka was behind the plate. His strike zone tends to be...shall we say...flexible. Today's was the first game I'd seen him calling this year. I hope it's the last. But, I know that won't be the case. Anyway...
• Torres singled up the middle and stole 2b with Belt at the plate.
• Belt singled to rf, scoring Torres.
• Rupp walked.
• Moldenhauer singled to lf, scoring Belt and moving Rupp to 2b.
• Keyes struck out swinging. On the play, the ball got away from the catcher momentarily. Rupp broke for 3b and was thrown out. Double play.
• 2nd inning...2 runs:
• Shepherd reached on a full-count walk.
• Lusson reached on a fielder's choice. On the play, Shepherd took off with the pitch. The hit went to the pitcher who tried to throw out the lead runner. He rushed his throw and Shepherd arrived at the bag with the ball. The shortstop was unable to keep his foot on the bag as he fielded. Both runners safe.
• Loy hit a beautiful sac bunt down the 3b line, moving the runners to 2b and 3b.
• Tucker singled to cf (scoring Shepherd) and then stole 2b with Torres at the plate.
• Torres flew out to cf (sac), scoring Lusson.
• Which prompted the first pitching change of the day for Tech. Robert Kilcrease went to the mound.
• Belt worked the count full, fought off an additional 4 pitches and finally flew out to cf.
• 3rd inning...2 runs:
• Rupp drew a 5-pitch walk.
• Moldenhauer drew a 7-pitch walk, moving Rupp to 2b.
• Keyes reached on a 6-5 fielder's choice. On the play, the shortstop had to charge hard to his right to field the ball. His only play was to 3b and he threw a bullet to beat Rupp. Nice play.
• Shepherd hit a double to the cf/rf gap, scoring the runners. It was a cool play. Moldenhauer held up to see if the outfielders would make the catch and took off as soon as it was clear they wouldn't. Keyes was almost on top of him at that point and had to hold up a bit as Moldenhauer took off. They ran hard and Tommy Harmon waved 'em both around. They both beat the throw in but...wow. Close play. See photos below!
• Shepherd was caught stealing 3b with Lusson at the plate.
• Lusson reached on a full-count walk.
• Loy hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice to end the inning.
• 4th inning...1 run:
• Tech sent lefty Ben Flora to the mound.
• Tucker singled to rf.
• Torres flew out to cf.
• Belt went down swinging. On the play, Tucker stole 2b.
• Tech intentionally walked Rupp. Rupp's third walk in as many plate appearances. I think Tech was trying to get to lefty dh Moldenhauer, going for the lefty-lefty match-up. I think.
• Happily, Moldenhauer drew a 4-pitch walk to load the bases.
• Which prompted another pitching change. Colton Farrar went to the mound.
• Keyes then walked on 5 pitches to plate another run.
• Shepherd hit into a 4-6 fielder's choice to end the inning.
• 5th inning...1 run:
• Lusson grounded out to ss.
• Loy singled to rf.
• Tucker hit a sky-high single, moving Loy to 2b. "That's gonna be trouble," said Bob as we watched the center fielder, right fielder, and 2nd baseman head toward a spot just about equidistant from all of them. Bob was right.
• Torres singled to lf, scoring Loy and moving Tucker to 2b.
• Which prompted the final pitching change of the day for Tech. They sent Cory Large to the mound.
• And, that was all they wrote. Large sat down the final 11 Texas batters of the game. Ouch. Nice job on his part. But, too late. Which was just fine by me!

I took my camera and shot lots of photos. As usual. I generally try to post a photo of each player that enters the game when I take photos. But I failed to take into account how bright the sun was today. Result? For the most part, the whites are way blown out and the photos aren't all that great. So, I'm just gonna share a few of the more interesting ones today. Okay? Okay.

I just love this series. I wish I'd been closer and had exposed things better. But, what's a person to do? Anyway, here's the series where Moldenhauer and Keyes scored on that double by Shepherd. In the first two photos, you can see how close Keyes was to Moldenhauer. You can also just see Coach Harmon waving them around third.

Then, Moldenhauer beats the throw:

And, Keyes beats the tag:

Very cool.

Here's Loy scoring the last run of the game:

And, that's about it.

Here's the line (my photo of the scoreboard at the end of the game):

I also took some photos of the kids running the bases. Here's my favorite set. I noticed the older brother taking care of his sister (I'm guessing it's a brother/sister pair...could be cousins...or just friends) as they rounded 1b. I decided to take their pictures as they were headed to 3b. And, then this happened:

How cute is that? Yep, darned cute.

Anyway...the Horns have improved to 4-5 in conference play. If they continue to win series as conference play goes on, I think they'll be okay. But, they pretty much have to win the rest of their series to have a shot at the regular season Big 12 Championship. They don't need to win it, of course, to make it into post-season and then on to the CWS. But, if they're to have any hope of advancing when Regionals roll around, they have to keep winning more games the way they did today. Their next two conference series will be at Oklahoma State and at Nebraska. OSU is 2-2 and Nebraska is 4-4 in conference play. Both schools have one more conference game to play tomorrow (making up for bad-weather delays on Friday and Saturday) in their respective series. OSU is hosting Missouri (OSU won the first two games) and Nebraska is at OU (they split the first two). The Horns host Oral Roberts at Disch-Falk on Tuesday. I don't know if Dicharry's 2.2 innings today will mean a different starter on Tuesday. Hmmmm...

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 11:27 PM | Permalink

Saturday - March 28, 2009

Game 23: Texas Tech at Texas

Bah. Texas lost 2-4 to Tech this afternoon. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed to note that the high-socks fashion statement was not in evidence when the team took the field. The usual suspects had high socks but most of the team did not. In the bottom of the 9th, that changed as the batters went to the plate sporting high socks. A case of too little, too late? I guess we'll never know.

Things started off well, though...with the retirement ceremony for Brooks Kieschnick's jersey number (#23). Here he is speaking before the start of the game about what it means to him to have his number retired:

That's Deloss Dodds along with Kieschnick's wife and kids standing behind Brooks. He got a bit choked up and I have to admit that I shed a tear or two. I know I've mentioned it before but he's my favorite former Longhorn player.

He threw out the ceremonial first pitch:

Not much of a high kick, eh? He was clearly happy to be there, though. And, no...sadly...the pitch did not cross the plate without a bit of a bounce. Which gave everyone a chuckle. Too bad we didn't get to see him bat. He was interviewed by Craig Way on the radio mid-way through the game and admitted that it was always more satisfying to hit a homerun than it was to strikeout a batter.

Prevailing conditions at the start of the game:

Yep...lots of wind again today. It was pretty nippy in the shade. It was 60 °F at the start of the game and got up 64 by the end. I think.

Starting line-ups:

Texas Tech	Texas
1 Willie Rueda, 2b 2 Joey Kenworthy, ss 3 Michael Reed, cf 4 Chris Richburg, 1b 5 Scott LeJeune, dh 6 Taylor Ashby, rf 7 Justin Berry, 3b 8 Garrett Totten, lf 9 Jeremy Mayo, c - A.J. Ramos, p	1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Michael Torres, 3b 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Cameron Rupp, dh 5 Kevin Keyes, rf 6 Preston Clark, c 7 Tant Shepherd, lf 8 Kyle Lusson, cf 9 Brandon Loy, ss - Brandon Workman, p

Brandon Workman started on the mound for the Horns:

And a great start it was. He struck out the first two batters and got the third to line out to rf. Very very nice. In the bottom of the inning, it looked like things were picking up nicely from yesterday's win. Tucker led things off with a walk. Here, he watches the pitcher from 1b:

Torres struck out looking. Belt doubled into rf, moving Tucker to 3b. Here's Belt, hitting that double:

Rupp then singled through the left side, scoring Tucker and Belt. A shot of Rupp at 1b, watching the pitcher shortly after hitting that single:

Rupp moved to 2b when Keyes grounded out to the pitcher and was stranded there when Clark struck out (after watching 3 pitches and then fouling off 4 more). Texas up 2-0. Sadly, that lead did not hold up. Tech got batters to 1b and 2b with two out in the second but stranded them there. In the bottom of the second, Lusson reached on a 1-out single but Loy and Tucker flew out to strand him at 1b. Here's Lusson, rounding 1b after hitting that single:

Top of the third. Yep, the third inning. Sigh. Mayo struck out and Rueda flew out to lf. Nice. Kenworthy singled into cf. Reed was hit by the first pitch to him. And, sadly, Richburg hit a homerun over the rf fence. The ball may have been aided a bit by the wind but...it cleared the fence by quite a bit. LeJeune then grounded out to 2b. Texas down 2-3. I didn't really feel too bad about things at this point. I mean, the Horns looked really good in the first. Right? Right.

Bottom of the third. Torres grounded out to 2b. Belt singled on a high bouncer into cf but was caught stealing with Rupp at the plate. Rupp went on to walk (yes, on the next pitch). That's always painful. But not as painful as what happened next. Keyes hit a double to the wall in the rf/cf gap:

The right fielder got the ball in quickly. But, Harmon (going back in time to the Jeff Ontiveros era?) sent Rupp around 3b. And, sadly, here's how things played out:

Very sad. In the top of the 4th (again with 2 out), Totten doubled to the lf/cf gap. He was driven home for the 4th and final run of the game by Mayo who hit a single two pitches later. Mayo was stranded at 1b.

In the bottom of the 4th, Shepherd hit a 1-out double, moved to 3b when Lusson flew out to deep rf, and was stranded at 3b when Loy lined out to rf.

The Horns went down in order in the 5th, 6th (the pitcher struck out the side...ouch), and 8th. In the 7th, the lead batter did get on but was thrown out on a fielder's choice. The inning ended with a 6-4-3 double play. In the 9th, the high socks brigade made its appearance. Sadly, Rupp grounded out to 2b. Keyes reached on a 5-pitch walk and was lifted for a pinch runner (Tim Maitland). Russell Moldenhauer (pinch-hitting for Clark) lined out to rf. The game ended when Shepherd hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice.

Texas surprised me a bit by taking Brandon Workman out of the game after the 4th. He'd thrown 76 pitches by my count. He ended up taking the loss and giving up all 4 runs on 6 hits. He struck out 4, walked none, and hit 1 batter. Keith Shinaberry pitched the 5th. It was a rather interesting inning. He walked Kenworthy (on 7 pitches). Reed moved Kenworthy to 2b with a sac bunt to the pitcher. Richburg (who hit the 3-run homer in the 3rd) was intentionally walked. LeJeune then hit into a 6-4-3 double play. Here's a shot of Shinaberry on the mound:

Taylor Jungmann pitched the final 4 innings of the game for Texas. Here he is on the mound:

Jungmann gave up a lead-off single and then mowed down the next 6 in a row (including 3 strikeouts). He looked good. The lead-off batter in the 8th got on via a strikeout/wild-pitch combo. That's twice in two days that the Horns struck a player out and then let him aboard on a wild pitch. You don't see that play often. Weird for it to happen in back-to-back games. Anyway, he was erased on a fielder's choice. The batter who reached moved to 2b on a ground-out to the pitcher but was stranded at 2b.

Jungmann struggled a bit in the 9th. It was kind of a weird inning. He hit the first batter and struck out the 2nd. The third flew out to cf and the 4th walked. With runners at 1b and 2b and 2 out, he fell behind (2-1) the 5th batter. Which prompted a quick trip to the mound by Skip Johnson. Two pitches later, the batter struck out swinging. Pretty. Jungmann's final numbers: 16 batters faced, 1 hit (a single), no runs, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 57 pitches thrown by my count. Nice outing.

Here's the line (my photo of the scoreboard at the end of the game):

Rubber match tomorrow at 1 o'clock. We've got an overnight freeze warning but they're saying we'll get to the mid 70s by the afternoon. I hope that's true. I'm tired of being cold at Disch-Falk. Feel free to remind me of this sentiment come May.

Posted by Joanna at 11:08 PM | Permalink

Friday - March 27, 2009

Game 22: Texas Tech at Texas

Let me just get this out of the way before I go on. The Horns made me very happy this evening. They managed this before the first pitch of the game. How did they do this? It took very little effort on their part. I was sitting there in the stands watching Chance Ruffin throwing his warm-up pitches. And, noticed he was sporting high socks. I thought that was odd; I didn't remember him doing the high socks thing in the past. Then, I noticed that Travis Tucker was also sporting high socks. Also unusual. I quickly looked around the field to find that all of the Longhorns were sporting high socks. Woo hoo! That made me very happy. I dunno what the deal was. But, as things went on and the Horns were winning, I started to get a bit giddy. 'Cause, I could see this turning out very nicely. I mean, you know 'bout baseball players and their superstitions, right? If the high socks were instrumental in the win, that would mean high socks for the rest of the season. Right? Happy happy. Joy joy. Tee hee.

Okay. I can move on now. Those of you who just don't care (or, heaven forbid, prefer long pants) can relax as we now resume our regularly scheduled game report.

First off. The weather. It was windy windy windy. And, when I say windy, I mean windy. We had a steady wind (25 mph or so) for the entire game. It blew in from the lf corner straight across the field to the rf corner...northwest to southeast. And, it did not ease up at all as the game wore on. It was 66 °F at the start of the game and dropped down to 55 °F by the time it was over. Most of us really weren't prepared for such a drop. The high this afternoon was about 80. I wore a t-shirt to work today but, luckily, I'd tossed a hooded sweatshirt into the back of my car this morning. Wearing that along with my jean jacket, I managed. But, if I'd realized how much the temperature was going to drop, I would've taken some gloves along, at the very least. My pencil-holding hand did not appreciate the cold wind. Brrr.

So, how'd things go? The Horns won! They beat Tech 9-5. Thanks, to two big innings. In the first, the Horns scored 5 runs on 4 hits, a couple of walks, and a hit batter. In the second big inning, they scored 4 unearned runs as the Tech defense collapsed and managed to commit 3 errors. It was rather painful to watch. Anyway...

Chance Ruffin started (as I may have mentioned) and got the win. He threw 6.2 innings and gave up 4 earned runs on 9 hits (including 1 double and 1 homerun) while throwing 8 strikeouts. He did hit a batter but didn't give up any walks. He threw 96 pitches by my count. Austin Wood earned his 4th save of the year. He went the final 2.1 innings and gave up 1 earned run on 2 hits (1 single, 1 double) with 1 strikeout. He didn't walk or hit any batters and threw 26 pitches by my count. Miles Morgan started, went 4 innings, and took the loss for the Red Raiders.

The starting line-ups:

Texas Tech	Texas
1 Willie Rueda, 2b 2 Joey Kenworthy, ss 3 Michael Reed, lf 4 Chris Richburg, 1b 5 Scott LeJeune, dh 6 Taylor Ashby, cf 7 Justin Berry, 3b 8 Mason Macnoll, rf 9 Jeremy Mayo, c - Miles Morgan, p	1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Michael Torres, 3b 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Kevin Keyes, rf 5 Preston Clark, dh 6 Cameron Rupp, c 7 Kyle Lusson, cf 8 Tant Shepherd, lf 9 Brandon Loy, ss - Chance Ruffin, p

So...how were the runs scored? Like so...

• 3rd inning, Tech
• Mayo led things off with a towering homerun down the rf line. The ball, headed more toward straight-away rf, got caught up in the wind and almost blew foul. But, the ump ruled it fair. My seats stare straight down the rf line and it was close. By the time it landed, no doubt it was foul. But, when it passed over the fence? I think it might have just been fair. Just barely. So. Texas down 0-1.
• Rueda grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Kenworthy singled down the lf line. The ball was ruled fair by the 3b ump. Coach Garrido argued that it was foul. But, you know how those things go.
• With Reed at the plate, Kenworthy stole 2b.
• Reed flew out to cf.
• Richburg then singled up the middle to score Kenworthy. Texas down 0-2.
• LeJeune then flew out to lf.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Tucker singled into cf.
• Torres reached on an infield single. Tucker took off as the pitcher threw, drawing the ss to 2b to cover a possible sb. Torres managed to hit the ball to where the ss had been. He backtracked and fielded the ball but had no play. If Tucker hadn't taken off (hit and run?...or sb?...not sure), it likely would've been a double play. Whew.
• Belt hit a beautiful bunt down the 3b line. The third baseman might've had a play at 1b. He started down the line after the ball, then abruptly went back to 3b to cover the bag. There was zero chance of a play at 3b since he'd charged so hard. The pitcher was forced to field and had no play by the time he got to the ball. Bases loaded, no outs.
• Keyes grounded out (high bouncer) to ss (rbi). Tucker scored, Torres moved to 3b, and Belt moved to 2b. Texas down 1-2.
• Clark drew a 5-pitch walk to reload the bases, this time with one out.
• Rupp doubled off the wall in the lf/cf gap, scoring all three baserunners. Yes! Texas up 4-2.
• Lusson reached on a full-count walk. Which prompted a visit to the mound.
• Shepherd was hit by a pitch (on his left hip) to load the bases again (still only one out).
• Loy hit a sac fly near the warning track in rf. Rupp scored. Lusson tagged and moved up to 3b. Texas up 5-2.
• With Tucker (10th batter of the inning) at the plate, Shepherd stole 2b.
• Alas, Tucker grounded out to 2b to end the inning.
• 5th inning, Tech
• Mayo struck out swinging. He flailed, really, at a low/outside pitch. The pitch got away from Rupp and rolled all the way to the backstop. Mayo reached 1b quite easily on the wild pitch.
• Rueda singled through the right side, moving Mayo to 2b.
• Kenworthy advanced the runners to 2b and 3b on a sac bunt to 3b. This play was nearly identical to the play in the 3rd where Belt reached safely. Torres, however, charged hard from 3b, fielded cleanly, and got the batter out at 1b. Nicely done.
• Reed then reached on an error by lf. He hit a hiiiiiiiigh fly ball to lf. The ball got a bit caught up in the wind and Shepherd had to make a pretty long run in to field. I couldn't tell if he took his eye off the ball a bit or what, but the ball glanced off his glove and fell to the ground. E7. Mayo scored on the play. Texas up 5-3.
• Richburg doubled to right-center, scoring Rueda. The hit also turned Reed's score into an earned run. Texas up 5-4.
• LeJeune struck out swinging (3 pitches).
• 7th inning, Texas
• Clark struck out swinging.
• Rupp reached on an error by the pitcher who was running to cover 1b as the first baseman fielded the ball. The toss from the first baseman reached the pitcher in time but he dropped the ball.
• Rupp advanced to 2b on a balk with Lusson at the plate.
• Lusson singled about 1/3 the way down the 1b line. Rupp moved to 3b. On the play, the pitcher and catcher both went for the ball and then both pulled up, apparently thinking the other would field. Mental lapse, I suppose, but no error on the books.
• Shepherd singled to 3b, scoring Rupp and moving Lusson to 2b. The third baseman made a nice stop on the ball headed into the lf corner and then couldn't pick the ball up. Texas up 6-4.
• Loy reached on a fielder's choice. The second baseman fielded a ground ball to him and tried to get Shepherd at 2b but overthrew the shortstop. Lusson advanced to 3b on the ground ball and then scored on the throwing error. Shepherd moved to 3b on the error. Texas up 7-4.
• With Shepherd at 3b, Loy at 1b, and Tucker at the plate, Loy broke for 2b and appeared to be caught in a run-down. He slowed down, in order to give Shepherd a chance to steal home, and the pitcher threw past the second baseman into shallow rf. Shepherd scored on the play and Loy made it all the way to 3b. Wow. Texas up 8-4.
• Tucker grounded out to the catcher (bunt attempt).
• Torres reached on an error by 2b. Loy scored. The second baseman made a great stop of a ground ball headed toward the cf/rf gap. He then threw from his knees to 1b. The ball bounced on the ground before reaching 1b and the first baseman couldn't handle the throw. It did beat Torres to the bag and the first baseman really needs to dig that throw out. I would've probably charged the error to 1b. But, I wasn't in charge. Texas up 9-4.
• Belt reached on an infield single to 2b, moving Torres to 2b.
• With Keyes at the plate, the runners attempted a double steal. Belt was thrown out (2-4) to end the pain. It appeared that the Horns were just going to keep forcing the situation until Tech could get their act together.
• 9th inning, Tech
• Berry singled to lf.
• Hanslick, pinch-hitting for Macnoll, lined out to lf.
• Mayo doubled into the lf corner, scoring Berry. Texas up 9-5.
• Rueda grounded out to 2b, moving Mayo to 3b.
• Kenworthy flew out to cf to end the game. Whew.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

Don't be late to tomorrow's game or you'll be sorry! They're gonna retire Brooks Kieschnick's number. I'm pretty sure the ceremony will take place at the start of the game.

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 11:00 PM | Permalink

Wednesday - March 25, 2009

Two quick notes

I meant to post these last night and forgot. Two things...

First: Kirk Dressendorfer and Keith Moreland have been selected to the fourth National College Baseball Hall of Fame class. Very cool. Congrats to both of them. Here's a link to the TexasSports.com story.

Second: they announced during last night's game that there would be a ceremony before Saturday's game to officially retire Brooks Kieschnick's number. Don't be late to Saturday's game or you'll miss it!

UPDATE. Dates for the remaining jersey number retirement recognition ceremonies have been announced: Kieschnick (March 28), Swindell (April 17), Hooton (April 25), and Bryant (May 9). The Kieschnick, Hooton, and Bryant ceremonies will take place before Saturday games; the Swindell ceremony will take place on a Friday. See the TexasSports.com article for more details.

Posted by Joanna at 7:46 AM | Permalink

Tuesday - March 24, 2009

Game 21: Dallas Baptist at Texas

The losing streak is over! Whew. I do believe that four games were enough or all of us. Texas scored single runs in the 3rd, 6th, and 7th innings to beat Dallas Baptist 3-0. Austin Dicharry pitched into the 8th for the win. With 1 out and a runner at 2b, Keith Shinaberry went in to do what he does best: get a couple of quick outs. He gave up a single to start off the 9th so was lifted in favor of Chance Ruffin who went strikeout, fly out to lf, ground out to 2b to earn his first save of the year. Yes, they're still playing with the idea of turning Chance into a closer.

The starting line-ups:

DBU	Texas
1 Ryan Enos, cf 2 Austin Knight, 3b 3 Ryan Goins, ss 4 Trevor Head, 1b 5 Jason Krizan, dh 6 Travis Meiners, 2b 7 Ryan Thompson, rf 8 Brandon Bantz, c 9 Clay Kelley, lf - Victor Black, p	1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Michael Torres, 3b 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Russell Moldenhauer, lf 5 Kevin Keyes, rf 6 Preston Clark, dh 7 Cameron Rupp, c 8 Kyle Lusson, cf 9 Brandon Loy, ss - Austin Dicharry, p

The Horns modified the line-up just a bit from Sunday's game. They switched Rupp and Clark (moving Clark to dh and Rupp to c) and inserted Kyle Lusson in at cf, replacing Connor Rowe. They also dropped Loy back down to the #9 spot.

The bats made a bit (just a bit...a good start, I hope) of a reappearance this evening. The big blow came from Kevin Keyes again (for the 3rd time in the last 4 games). His 1-out double off the lf wall in the 6th drove home the 2nd run of the game. Keyes also came close to hitting a homerun in the 8th...but it was just a bit too high and stayed in the park. In the deepest corner of the park in the lf/cf gap.

Side note. Keyes also struck out twice. I had a gut feeling (without having looked at those particular numbers at all this season), that he was pacing the team in strikeouts this season. And, yeah...he is. But. Yes, there's a but. He's got 14 Ks in 53 at-bats with 8 walks. Rupp has 13 (with 5 walks) in 63 at-bats, Rowe has 13 (with 8 walks) in 43 at-bats (!), and Tant Shepherd has 11 (with 7 walks) in 47 at-bats. So, yeah...he's leading but his percentages are (mostly) better. And, he's tied for 2nd on the team for number of hits, is in the lead in slugging percentage, and is in 3rd place in on-base percentage. (Aside to my side note: Keyes and Rowe are tied for 2nd in walks with 8; lapping the rest of the team is Belt with 19 walks. Wow.)

So, anyway...here's how the Horns scored their runs:

• 3rd inning
• Lusson walked (full count).
• Loy moved Lusson to 2b with a really nice bunt down the 3b line.
• Lusson stole 3b on the 2nd pitch to Tucker.
• Mysteriously, with a 1-2 count, Tucker tried to bunt but hit a foul ball to go down swinging. Weird.
• Torres singled over the ss into lf to drive Lusson home.
• Belt lined out to lf to end the inning.
• 6th inning
• Belt struck out swinging. And, it's all Bob's fault for commenting (about 2 seconds before the pitch) on how hard Belt was hitting the ball. So, if you see Bob, give him some grief for it, 'kay?
• Moldenhauer singled up the middle and was promptly replaced at the 1b bag by pinch-runner Tim Maitland.
• Keyes hit that double I mentioned earlier (off the lf wall) to drive Maitland home.
• Keyes was, sadly, caught stealing 3b a couple of pitches later. On the play, the pitch got away from the catcher and started rolling toward the 1b dugout. Keyes took off. But, the catcher gathered the ball up quickly and threw to 3b to catch Keyes by 2 or 3 feet.
• Clark (at the plate at the time of the "caught stealing" thing) struck out looking.
• 7th inning
• Rupp singled up the middle.
• Lusson hit a sac bunt to the pitcher to move Rupp to 2b. Frankly, we all thought the pitcher had a chance at a play at 2b but he didn't even appear to think about it. He fielded and went straight to 1b. Whew.
• Loy singled to lf, scoring Rupp, and then moved to 2b on a wild pitch with Tucker at the plate.
• Tucker flew out to cf and Torres grounded out to ss to end the inning and the scoring for the Horns.

On the defensive side of things, the Horns gave up solo hits in the 1st, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th. They never allowed more than one baserunner in any single inning and threw three 1-2-3 innings (the 2nd, 3rd, and 7th). The only lead-off batter to reach was in the 9th. In fact, 3 of the 5 hits given up were to 2-out batters. Not bad at all.

The weather was gorgeous, by the way. The temperature was in the high 70s all evening with virtually no wind. I wish it could be like that all the time. I was, frankly, a bit worried as things wore on this morning that we might not be able to play at all. It was drizzling and raining most of the morning and the roads around campus didn't really start to dry out until about 3 or so this afternoon. But, once the drizzle dried up and the sun came out, the conditions turned lovely.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

Texas hosts the Red Raiders this weekend. Tech comes to town with a 10-14 record (3-3 in Big 12 play). It should be an interesting series. Clearly, both teams have quite a bit to prove.

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 10:29 PM | Permalink

Sunday - March 22, 2009

Game 20: Texas at Kansas

Once again, I listened to the game on the radio...Keith Moreland and Bill Little making the call. They estimated the crowd at 50. Yes, Kansas is playing basketball today at 1:30. Heh.

The starting line-ups:

Texas	Kansas
1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Michael Torres, 3b 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Russell Moldenhauer, lf 5 Kevin Keyes, rf 6 Cameron Rupp, dh 7 Preston Clark, c 8 Brandon Loy, ss 9 Connor Rowe, cf - Cole Green, p	1 David Narodowski, ss 2 Brian Heere, rf 3 Robby Price, 2b 4 Buck Afenir, c 5 Tony Thompson, 3b 6 Jimmy Waters, dh 7 Preston Land, 1b 8 Nick Faunce, lf 9 Jason Brunansky, cf - Lee Ridenhour, p

Texas played with the line-up again...moving Russell Moldenhauer into lf (taking Tant Shepherd's spot) and using Cameron Rupp as dh. Kansas again stayed with the same line-up; the one that's worked so well for them in the first two games of the series.

And, here's how the game went:

• 1st inning, Texas: Lee Ridenhour on the mound for Kansas. Tucker grounded out to 2b. Torres singled to rf. Belt reached on a 3-6 fielder's choice. The throw almost pulled the ss off the bag. Moldenhauer grounded out to 2b.
• 1st inning, Kansas: Cole Green on the mound for Texas. Narodowski grounded out to 2b. Heere grounded out to the pitcher. Price reached on a bunt single down the 3b line. Afenir struck out swinging.
• 2nd inning, Texas: Keyes grounded out to 2b. Rupp grounded out to 1b (unassisted). Clark popped out to ss.
• 2nd inning, Kansas: Thompson struck out swinging. Waters was hit by a pitch ("square in the back" according to Keith). Land flew out to lf. Faunce hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice to end the inning.
• 3rd inning, Texas: Loy singled into rf and then got caught up (and tagged out) in a rundown (Keith reported 9-3-6-4; GameTracker reported 9-3-6). Loy took a big turn around 1b and the throw went back to 1b behind him. Keith commented that Heere did a great job of acting like he was going to throw to 2b and then gunning the ball to 1b. Rowe grounded out to 3b (first pitch). Tucker flew out to cf.
• 3rd inning, Kansas: Brunansky grounded out to ss. Nice hustle by Loy to scoop and throw. Narodowski (boy, Keith can NOT say that name!) singled to lf. Heere singled to lf, moving Narodowski to 2b. These back-to-back hits come just a few minutes after Bill Little commented that the 3rd inning has been the death knell (my words...not his; but that was his point) for the Horns in their losses to Kansas and Missouri. Thanks, Bill! Price flew out to rf. Afenir watched 3 balls and then a strike before fouling one off to see the count go full before he struck out swinging. Whew. By the way, I feel compelled to comment on the fact that the yahoos at the ball park in Kansas are running all the same stupid sound effects that they play at Disch-Falk. It's bad enough when there's a big crowd. But, doing all that nonsense when there are 50 people in the stands? Puh-lease. By the way: 'glad the Bill Little curse didn't work.
• 4th inning, Texas: Torres struck out looking (4 pitches). Belt singled up the middle. Moldenhauer singled through the right side, moving Belt to 3b. Yes! Keyes popped out to 2b in foul territory on the right side. Rupp struck out swinging. Sigh.
• 4th inning, Kansas: Thompson was hit by a 2-2 pitch. Waters singled (first pitch) up the middle, moving Thompson to 2b. Which prompted a visit to the mound by Skip Johnson. Land reached on a bunt single down the 3b line. Perfectly hit ball. Bases loaded, no outs. Television coverage, by the way, switched a few minutes ago from the Kansas game to the Okie State game. 'Wonder what the rationale behind that is? The OSU game does seem to be a more competitive game but...?? Big 12 South in favor of Big 12 North? Anyway, Faunce singled over the 2nd baseman, scoring one and keeping the bases loaded. With Brunansky at the plate, Clark almost threw Waters out at 3b (on the 3-0 pitch). Brunansky went on to walk in a run. Bases still loaded, no outs, 2 runs in. Narodowski hit an infield single (high chopper to the pitcher) to score another run. Green fielded and tried to threw the runner out at home but couldn't get the ball there in time. Bases still loaded, no outs, 3 runs in. Texas sent Keith Shinaberry to the mound, replacing Green. It's all a mental thing, right? C'mon, Horns! Heere lined into a double play. He lined to Belt at 1b who then stepped on the bag to double off Narodowski. Yes! Price grounded out to ss. Good job, Shinaberry! Texas, sadly, down 0-3.
• 5th inning, Texas: Clark reached on an error by ss who could not handle the ground ball. First error of the series for Kansas. Loy singled into lf (2nd hit of the day for Loy), moving Clark to 2b. Rowe failed to get the bunt down and then struck out swinging. Tucker grounded out to 1b (unassisted), moving the runners to 2b and 3b. With Torres at the plate, Clark scored (unearned) on a wild pitch. Afenir tried to block the ball but it bounced away from him. Loy moved to 3b on the play. Torres then grounded out to 1b (unassisted), ending the rally. Texas down 1-3.
• 5th inning, Kansas: Austin Dicharry went to the mound for the Horns, replacing Shinaberry. Afenir grounded out to the pitcher. Thompson flew out to cf. Waters grounded out to 3b. Nice play by Torres. Texas down 1-3.
• 6th inning, Texas: Belt tripled down the rf line. The first baseman dove for the ball and just clipped it. The ball went down the line in foul territory and the right fielder had to make a long run to round the ball up. Moldenhauer struck out swinging. Keyes grounded out to ss, scoring Belt. Rupp grounded out to 2b. Texas down 2-3.
• 6th inning, Kansas: Land grounded out to 3b (first pitch). Faunce drew a full-count walk. Brunansky popped out to 2b. Faunce was off with the pitch but got back to 1b easily. Narodowski struck out looking. Texas down 2-3.
• 7th inning, Texas: Clark singled past 2b. Loy reached on a 2-6 fielder's choice. Loy bunted the ball down in front of the plate and Narodowski made a nice play to dig the throw from the catcher in the dirt (passed ball). The first pitch to Rowe got away from the catcher, allowing Loy to move to 2b. Texas sent Tim Maitland to the plate, batting for Rowe with a 1-0 count. Which prompted a visit to the mound for Kansas. Maitland grounded out (1-2 count) to 1b, unassisted. Loy moved to 3b on the play. Tucker singled into rf, scoring Loy! Pitching change: Travis Blankenship (lhp) to the mound for Ridenhour. With a lefty on the mound, Coach Garrido took an offensive timeout to discuss the situation with Torres and Belt (both lefties) due up. Torres grounded out to 2b. Game tied 3-3.
• 7th inning, Kansas: Taylor Jungmann went to the mound for Texas, replacing Dicharry. Maitland stayed in the game in cf. Heere doubled to rf. Keyes dove and almost caught the ball but the officials ruled he trapped the ball. Kansas called an offensive timeout and talked things over with the baserunner and batter. Price moved Heere to 3b on a sac bunt to 3b. With a runner at 3b and 1 out, the defense moved in. Afenir hit a sac fly to cf, scoring Heere. Thompson flew out to rf. Texas down 3-4.
• 8th inning, Texas: Belt popped out to ss in shallow cf. Tant Shepherd was announced as a pinch-hitter for Moldenhauer. Which prompted a pitching change: Colton Murray went to the mound, replacing Blankenship. Shepherd flew out to rf. Keyes struck out swinging. Texas down 3-4.
• 8th inning, Kansas: Waters grounded out to 1b (3-1, pitcher covering 1b). Land reached on an infield single behind 3b. Faunce flew out to cf. Brunansky grounded out to the pitcher (bunt attempt). Texas down 3-4.
• 9th inning, Texas: Kansas sent closer Paul Smyth to the mound, replacing Murray. Rupp grounded out to ss. And, the television coverage of March Madness switches to the Cleveland State/Arizona game? With two Big 12 games in progress? How bizarre is that? Ah well. Back to baseball. Clark singled to lf. Morgan Mickan went in to pinch-run for Clark. Loy grounded out to the pitcher, moving Mickan to 2b. Coach Garrido took another offensive timeout to talk to Maitland, due up. Maitland struck out looking (1-2 count). Texas loses 3-4 and is swept by the Kansas Jayhawks in three 1-run games. Wow.

Taylor Jungmann took his second loss in the series. Blankenship got his second win (again, like yesterday, after only facing 2 batters), and Smyth got his 3rd save in the series.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

Sigh. Texas got more hits today but it didn't make enough of a difference. They won their first five 1-run games. And, now they've lost three 1-run games in-a-row. The Horns face Dallas Baptist on Tuesday at Disch-Falk. The Patriots, like the Horns, were swept this weekend. I wonder who'll bounce back on Tuesday? Normally, I wouldn't even really think about it. Hmmm...

It really does seem to be a mental thing. Earlier in the season, this team was not pressing. They were doing what needed to get done. And, now? They're really struggling at the plate. Things are starting to look a bit like last season, in that they started out strong, had a bad middle of the season, and then finished strong. Before coming up very short in the post-season. I hope this team turn things around quickly and doesn't flail about too long.

In the post-game interview, Bill Little and Coach Garrido commented that the Big 12 has parity in baseball now...just like football and basketball...and that nobody is going to dominate as they go through conference play. Interestingly, here's how things played out in conference play this weekend:

• Texas (ranked) lost 3 at Kansas.
• Oklahoma State (ranked) lost 2 at Nebraska.
• Texas A&M (ranked) lost 2 at Missouri (the Aggies barely won the 3rd by breaking a tie with an unearned run in the top of the 9th).
• Texas Tech lost 2 at Baylor (ranked).
• OU (ranked) won 2 at Kansas State (after losing the opener 1-9 and squeaking by 12-11 in the 2nd game).

So, three ranked teams lost series this weekend. And, OU almost made it four. Although, the Sooners really stomped all over Kansas State today (scoring 13 in the 1st inning and 11 in the 5th...and going on to win 29-4 in 7 innings). So, yes...it would appear that there is quite a bit of parity in the Big 12 this year.

Posted by Joanna at 5:11 PM | Permalink

Saturday - March 21, 2009

Game 19: Texas at Kansas

The start of the game was not on the radio...they were covering the Women's basketball game. Which turned out poorly. Texas trailed much of the game, got within 2 with about 4 minutes left (woo hoo!) and then ended up losing to Mississippi State by 8. Season over. So sad.

At any rate, I "watched" the start of the baseball game on GameTracker while listening to the basketball game. And, then listened to the rest of the game on the radio...once it was joined in progress. By the way, Keith Moreland and Bill Little called the game.

The starting line-ups:

Texas	Kansas
1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Michael Torres, 3b 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Russell Moldenhauer, dh 5 Kevin Keyes, rf 6 Preston Clark, c 7 Tant Shepherd, lf 8 Brandon Loy, ss 9 Connor Rowe, cf - Brandon Workman, p	1 David Narodowski, ss 2 Brian Heere, rf 3 Robby Price, 2b 4 Buck Afenir, c 5 Tony Thompson, 3b 6 Jimmy Waters, dh 7 Preston Land, 1b 8 Nick Faunce, lf 9 Jason Brunansky, cf - T. J. Walz, p

Texas went with a new line-up today. David Hernandez did not start. Instead, Brandon Loy moved to ss and Michael Torres went in at 3b. The Jayhawks went with the same line-up they used yesterday.

And, here's how things played out:

• 1st inning, Texas (from GameTracker): Tucker was hit by a 3-0 pitch. Torres advanced him to 2b on a sac bunt to the pitcher. Tucker advanced to 3b on a balk (with Belt at the plate, I guess). Belt struck out swinging. Moldenhauer grounded out to the pitcher. (Initially, GameTracker reported that Belt grounded out to 2b and Moldenhauer struck out. After the K to Moldenhauer, though, it showed Tucker standing on 3b. Weird. I "replayed" the previous plays and got the new story. Weird, I say.)
• 1st inning, Kansas (from GameTracker): Narodowski struck out swinging. Clark apparently dropped the ball and had to complete the out by throwing down to 1b. Heere struck out swinging. Price flew out to lf.
• 2nd inning, Texas (from GameTracker): Keyes flew out to cf. Clark did likewise. Shepherd grounded out to 3b.
• 2nd inning, Kansas (from GameTracker): Afenir doubled to rf. Thompson struck out swinging. Waters drew a full-count walk. Land flew out to ss. And, the radio broadcast joined the baseball game. Just in time to hear Faunce strike out (looking) on 3 pitches.
• 3rd inning, Texas: Loy lined out to lf. Rowe popped out to 2b in foul territory on the right side. Nice play by Price at 2b who had to make a long run. Tucker flew out (described by Keith as a hump-back liner) to lf.
• 3rd inning, Kansas: Brunansky struck out swinging. Narodowski reached on an infield single toward 2b. Workman, Belt, and Tucker all went for the ball and nobody covered the bag. Narodowski moved to 2b on a ball that got away from Clark. It appeared that Clark thought it was a foul ball. GameTracker reported it was scored as a stolen base. Keith seemed to expect it would be scored a wild pitch or passed ball. Heere reached on an infield single to 1b and moved to 2b on an error by 1b. Narodowski scored. Keith said Workman failed to cover 1b on the play and that Belt threw there expecting it to be covered. The ball went into the dugout. Keith did not agree with scoring a single; he felt it should be a 2-base error. Price grounded out to ss, moving Heere to 3b. Afenir lined out to ss. Texas down 0-1.
• 4th inning, Texas: Torres drew a 5-pitch walk. Belt also walked. Moldenhauer bunted down the 3b line, advancing the runners to 2b and 3b. Keyes struck out swinging. Damn. Clark grounded out to 3b. Double damn. The third baseman made it interesting by bobbling the ball and then throwing high. But, the first baseman caught the ball and tagged the bag in time for the out. Runners in scoring position with 1 out...and no hits for the Horns. Sigh. Texas down 0-1.
• 4th inning, Kansas: Thompson flew out to rf. Waters flew out to right center; nice running catch by Keyes. Land singled into lf. This happened, of course, because Bill Little said (as Land went to the plate) that Texas would do well to have a quick 1-2-3 inning. Tsk tsk tsk. Faunce singled into rf, moving Land to 2b. Which prompted a visit to the mound by Skip Johnson (2nd trip of the day, reported Keith). Brunansky popped out to ss in shallow lf. Texas down 0-1.
• 5th inning, Texas: Shepherd flew out to lf at the wall. Keith said the ball was about 3 feet short of leaving the park. Loy singled up the middle. First hit of the day for Texas. Rowe struck out swinging. Tucker grounded out to 2b. Texas down 0-1.
• 5th inning, Kansas: Narodowski grounded out to ss. Heere struck out looking. Heere grounded out to 3b. Nice play by Torres at 3b. Texas down 0-1.
• 6th inning, Texas: Torres flew out to cf. Belt drew a 5-pitch walk. Moldenhauer singled into rf, moving Belt to 3b. Which prompted a visit to the mound. Morgan Mickan went in to pinch-run for Moldenhauer. Keyes, who struck out in the 4th with runners in scoring position, homered (first pitch) to lf!!!!! First lead of the series for Texas. Kansas sent Cameron Selik (rhp) to the mound for Walz. Clark grounded out to 3b. Shepherd popped out to 2b. Texas up 3-1.
• 6th inning, Kansas: Afenir drew a lead-off walk. Grrrrr. Thompson singled to the rf/cf gap and moved to 2b on the throw to 3b as Afenir moved to 3b. Which prompted a pitching change: Taylor Jungmann went to the mound for Workman. Waters singled up the middle, tying the game. Land bunted toward 3b. Torres at 3b fielded and quickly threw to 2b to get the lead runner out. Faunce popped out to 2b. Jungmann fell behind 3-0 to Brunansky and then balked, moving Land to 2b. Brunansky went on to strike out swinging. Game tied 3-3.
• 7th inning, Texas: Loy popped out to 2b. Rowe singled into rf. Tucker tried to check his swing but grounded out to the pitcher, moving Rowe to 2b. Kansas sent Travis Blankenship (lhp) to the mound for Selik. Bill Little expected Texas to counter with a right-handed batter but the Horns left Torres in. Torres worked the count full, fouled off a couple, and then was hit by a pitch. Belt grounded out to 1b. Game tied 3-3.
• 7th inning, Kansas: Narodowski reached on a bunt single. On the play, he bunted the ball up down the 3b line and Torres dove for the ball but was unable to come up with it. Heere moves Narodowski to 2b on a sac bunt to the pitcher. Texas sent Austin Wood to the mound, replacing Jungmann. Price singled into left center, scoring Narodowski. Afenir struck out looking. Thompson flew out to lf. The ball just barely stayed in the park. Whew. Texas down 3-4.
• 8th inning, Texas: Cameron Rupp was announced as the new hitter in the dh spot. Which prompted Kansas to send Brett Bochy (rhp) to the mound for Blankenship. Rupp doubled into right center. Jordan Etier went to 2b to pinch-run for Rupp. Keyes flew out to rf. Etier tagged and moved up to 3b on the play. Kansas sent Colton Murray (rhp) to the mound for Bochy. Clark popped out to 2b. Shepherd grounded out to cf. Texas down 3-4.
• 8th inning, Kansas: Waters grounded out to ss. Land doubled to lf. Shepherd dove for the ball but missed it...thus giving up a double instead of a single. Which prompted a visit to the mound by Skip Johnson (his last "free" visit of the game). Faunce popped out to 1b in foul territory. Brunansky grounded out to 2b. Texas down 3-4.
• 9th inning, Texas: Kansas sent closer Paul Smyth (rhp) to the mound. Loy popped out to ss. Rowe grounded out to ss. Keith commented that it was an outstanding play by Narodowski at ss. Tucker reached on an infield single to 2b. Torres doubled down the lf line, moving Tucker to 3b. Which prompted a visit to the mound. Belt fouled off several pitches, worked the count full, and then flew out to deep lf. Damn. Texas loses 3-4.

You can chalk this one up to not getting needed hits at crucial times in the game, except for the big bomb by Keyes. Going into today's game, Texas had a team ERA of 1.79. Which is fantastic. But, as a team, they're hitting .276. They've got to get more hits. I'm sure hoping that comes around soon.

Jungmann took the loss. Blankenship (who faced only 2 batters...and hit one of them!) got the win for Kansas. 'Gotta love that, doncha? And, Smyth got another save.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

Posted by Joanna at 4:37 PM | Permalink

Friday - March 20, 2009

Game 18: Texas at Kansas

I listened to the game as I set up a new computer at work and was able to listen to the whole game. Keith Moreland and Bill Little on the radio.

The starting line-ups:

Texas	Kansas
1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Brandon Belt, 1b 3 Tant Shepherd, lf 4 Cameron Rupp, c 5 Preston Clark, dh 6 Kevin Keyes, rf 7 David Hernandez, ss 8 Brandon Loy, 3b 9 Connor Rowe, cf - Chance Ruffin, p	1 David Narodowski, ss 2 Brian Heere, rf 3 Robby Price, 2b 4 Buck Afenir, c 5 Tony Thompson, 3b 6 Jimmy Waters, dh 7 Preston Land, 1b 8 Nick Faunce, lf 9 Jason Brunansky, cf - Shaeffer Hall, p

Texas mixed up the line-up a bit. The starting pitcher for Kansas was a lefty...which put Kevin Keyes and Preston Clark back in the line-up. In one of the pre-game interviews on the radio a few games ago, Coach Garrido said Keyes and Moldenhauer would be platooning in rf and that Clark and Torres would do likewise at dh.

And, here's how things played out:

• 1st inning, Texas: Tucker reached on an infield single to lead things off but was stranded at 1b.
• 1st inning, Kansas: Heere reached on a 1-out single and he, too, was stranded at 1b.
• 2nd inning, Texas: Down in order. Drat.
• 2nd inning, Kansas: Ditto. (Minus the "Drat" comment. Heh.)
• 3rd inning, Texas: 3-up/3-down again. The game was flying by.
• 3rd inning, Kansas: Faunce led off with a single up the middle and then moved to 3b on a single by Brunansky to rf. Narodowski reached on a fielder's choice. He bunted in front of the plate. Ruffin fielded and threw home. The runner from 3b went back to 3b and beat the throw from the catcher. Bases loaded with no outs. Skip Johnson made a trip to the mound. I "spoke" too soon about the speed of the game, eh? Ruffin issued a 5-pitch walk (ball, ball, ball, called strike, ball) to Heere to push a run across. Price hit a ground ball to Belt at 1b. Belt thought about going home and decided he couldn't make the play so tried to get the runner at 2b. He threw to 2b off-target and into lf, allowing Brunansky and Narodowski to score. Heere moved to 3b. Price at 1b. Afenir singled up the middle, scoring Heere and moving Price to 2b. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Thompson struck out. Rupp tried to turn a double play and get the runner at 2b but threw the ball into cf. 2nd error of the inning. The runners moved up to 2b and 3b. Waters struck out. Ruffin struck Land out to strike out the side. Too bad all that other stuff happened before the 3 Ks. Texas down 0-4.
• 4th inning, Texas: Sadly, Belt led off with a strikeout. Shepherd also struck out. Geesh. 5 stirkeouts in a row. And, Rupp struck out just to make things even. Or something. Sigh. Texas down 0-4.
• 4th inning, Kansas: Brunansky reached on a 1-out single. After Narodowski struck out, Heere singled to rf, moving Brunansky to 3b. Bill Little commented at this point that Ruffin was struggling to keep the ball down in the strike zone. He said Ruffin was throwing high and when he would get it down, it was not going across low enough. Price flew out to rf. It sounded like a particularly nice catch by Keyes in rf. Texas down 0-4.
• 5th inning, Texas: Clark led things off with a double off the wall in the left-center. Keyes homered over the wall in cf. Yes! Hernandez and Loy flew out to lf. Rowe struck out. Texas down 2-4.
• 5th inning, Kansas: Afenir started things off with a single up the middle. Thompson flew out to cf. Ruffin hit Waters, putting runners at 1b and 2b. Land singled to cf, scoring Afenir and moving Waters to 2b. Faunce flew out to lf. Shepherd made a nice running catch to keep the runners from advancing. Brunansky flew out to rf. Texas down 2-5.
• 6th inning, Texas: Tucker singled into lf. Belt singled into lf, moving Tucker to 3b. Runners at the corners...nobody out! Shepherd hit a sac fly to deep rf, scoring Tucker. Which prompted a visit from the coaching staff to the mound. Rupp fell behind, worked the count full, and then struck out swinging. Clark grounded out to 3b. Texas down 3-5.
• 6th inning, Kansas: 3-up/3-down! Texas down 3-5.
• 7th inning, Texas: Keyes reached on a 4-pitch walk. Hernandez moved Keyes to 2b with a sac bunt to the pitcher. Loy grounded out to 3b. Rowe worked the count full, fouled off a couple of pitches, and then doubled down the 3b line, scoring Keyes. Tucker grounded out to ss. Texas down 4-5.
• 7th inning, Kansas: 3-up/3-down again! Texas down 4-5.
• 8th inning, Texas: Kansas sent Travis Blankenship (another lefty) to the mound. Belt struck out swinging (on 3 pitches). After getting his one out, Blankenship was replaced by Brett Bochy (rhp) on the mound. Shepherd also struck out swinging. Rupp grounded out to the ss. So sad. Texas down 4-5.
• 8th inning, Kansas: Land flew out to rf after almost hitting a homer to lf (long enough but foul). Whew. Faunce struck out swinging. But, the pitch (low and in the dirt) got away from Rupp...allowing Faunce to reach 1b. But (#2), he was promptly picked off (1-3-4). Brunansky drew a walk (full count). Texas sent Austin Wood to the mound, replacing Ruffin. Narodowski singled to lf, moving Brunansky to 2b. Heere grounded out to the pitcher. Texas down 4-5.
• 9th inning, Texas: Kansas sent Paul Smyth (rhp) to the mound. Clark flew out to lf. Keyes was hit by a 2-2 pitch. Morgan Mickan went to 1b to pinch-run for Keyes. Michael Torres (pinch-hitting for Hernandez) flew out to cf. Russell Moldenhauer, pinch-hitting for Loy, flew out to cf just shy of the wall. Texas loses 4-5. Too bad.

Once again, a bad inning does the Horns in. They really need to get the bats going. Chance Ruffin, as usual, just got stronger as the game went on. But, that 3rd inning proved too much to overcome. Ruffin took the loss. Shaeffer (who pitched a very nice game) got the win. Smyth got his 4th save of the year.

And, here's the line (from GameTracker):

The radio broadcast will be delayed tomorrow...in favor of the women's basketball game. I'm not going to bother with the Yahoo! Sports thing so may not have much of a report. Texas will send Brandon Workman to the mound. The Jayhawks will counter with T.J. Walz.

Posted by Joanna at 5:38 PM | Permalink

Tuesday - March 17, 2009

Game 17: Texas at Rice

I tried to watch the "Owlvision" stream online but it kept reporting that "The Media You Have Selected Is Currently Unavailable" so I gave up. I'm not having the best of luck with the online watching lately. So, I ended up listening to Craig Way and Keith Moreland on the radio. Which is just fine. This report is, it follows, based on the radio broadcast. And, by the way, I never did get a video feed. I don't know if anyone else had the same problem. Weird.

The starting line-ups:

Texas	Rice
1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Michael Torres, dh 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Russell Moldenhauer, rf 5 Cameron Rupp, c 6 Tant Shepherd, lf 7 Kyle Lusson, cf 8 David Hernandez, ss 9 Brandon Loy, 3b - Austin Dicharry, p	1 Brock Holt, 2b 2 Rick Hague, ss 3 Chad Mozingo, rf 4 Anthony Rendon, 3b 5 Diego Seastrunk, dh 6 Jeremy Rathjen, cf 7 Steven Sultzbaugh, lf 8 Craig Manuel, c 9 Jimmy Comerota, 1b - Matthew Reckling, p

And, here's how things played out:

• 1st inning, Texas
• Matthew Reckling on the mound for Rice. (Yes...it appears that he is the grandson of the namesake for the Rice stadium.)
• Tucker struck out looking (full count).
• Torres doubled to the rf corner.
• Belt struck out swinging (full count).
• Recking balked with Moldenhauer at the plate, moving Torres to 3b.
• Moldenhauer popped out to 3b (in foul territory).
• 1st inning, Rice
• Austin Dicharry on the mound for Texas.
• Holt grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Hague struck out looking (1-2 count).
• Mozingo flew out to cf.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Rupp struck out swinging.
• Shepherd flew out to rf.
• Lusson lined out to rf.
• 2nd inning, Rice
• Rendon grounded out to 3b.
• Seastrunk grounded out to 2b.
• Rathjen struck out swinging.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Hernandez singled to lf.
• Loy moved Hernandez to 2b with a sac bunt down the 3b line.
• Belt moved to 3b on a wild pitch (4th pitch of the at-bat) with Tucker at the plate.
• Tucker struck out swinging.
• Torres flew out to lf.
• 3rd inning, Rice
• Sultzbaugh hit the first pitch he saw off the top of the fence in rf (it sounded like Moldenhauer leapt and almost caught the ball) for a triple.
• Manuel hit the first pitch he saw into cf for a single (rbi).
• Comerota tried to bunt Manuel over but Dicharry fielded and threw out the runner at 2b; Comerota safe at 1b on the fielder's choice.
• Holt flew out to cf.
• Hague singled to lf (full count). Since the count was full, Comerota was off with the pitch and made it to 3b. Hague took a wide turn around 1b and was almost thrown out.
• Skip Johnson made a visit to the mound.
• Mozingo grounded out to 3b.
• Texas down 0-1.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Belt reached on a 5-pitch walk.
• Moldenhauer moved Belt to 2b with a sac bunt (1b unassisted).
• The first pitch to Rupp was a wild pitch that went all the way to the backstop, moving Belt to 3b. Which prompted a visit to the mound by Coach Graham.
• Rupp hit a sac fly to the warning track in rf, scoring Belt.
• Shepherd lined out to lf.
• Game tied 1-1.
• 4th inning, Rice
• Rendon got ahead 2-0 and then struck out swinging.
• Seastrunk drew a full-count walk.
• Rathjen struck out looking. Craig and Keith both commented that it was a killer change-up pitch for the strikeout.
• Sultzbaugh singled through the left side, moving Seastrunk to 2b.
• Manuel popped out to shallow lf.
• Game tied 1-1.
• 5th inning, Texas
• Rice sent Matt Evers to the mound, replacing Reckling.
• Lusson reached and moved to 2b on a throwing error by the shortstop. The ss threw wide of 1b and the ball went into the stands.
• Hernandez reached on a 5-pitch walk. He squared to bunt on the 2-1 and 3-1 pitches but both went for balls.
• Loy hit a bunt down the 3b line. The pitcher fielded and tried to get the lead runner out at 3b but did not make the play. Bases loaded. Keith argued that it should be scored as a sac bunt and a fielder's choice. I don't think the official scorer gave Loy the sac.
• Tucker struck out looking...and was not happy with the call by the home plate umpire. (3rd strikeout of the day for Tucker.)
• Preston Clark was announced as a pinch-hitter for Torres. Which prompted a visit to the mound by Coach Graham.
• Jordan Rogers (righty) was sent to the mound, replacing Evers (lefty).
• Clark hit a sac fly to lf, scoring Lusson.
• Belt grounded out to ss.
• Texas up 2-1.
• 5th inning, Rice
• Comerota flew out to cf (1st pitch).
• Holt singled up the middle.
• Hague hit a homerun over the lf fence. 2 rbi.
• Texas sent Andrew McKirahan to the mound for Dicharry.
• Mozingo singled into lf.
• Rendon hit a bloop single into rf, moving Mozingo to 3b. Craig and Keith commented that the ball had a weird spin on it and kicked off toward the line after it hit the ground.
• Skip Johnson made a visit to the mound.
• Seastrunk singled a high-bouncer up the middle, scoring Mozingo and moving Rendon to 2b. Yep...5 hits in a row.
• Texas sent Taylor Jungmann to the mound, replacing McKirahan.
• The runners advanced to 2b and 3b on a wild pitch with Rathjen at the plate.
• Rathjen struck out swinging.
• Rendon scored and Seastrunk moved to 3b on a wild pitch with Sultzbaugh at the plate.
• Sultzbaugh went on to strike out looking.
• Texas down 2-5.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Moldenhauer doubled down the rf line past the first baseman into the corner.
• Rupp singled up the middle, moving Moldenhauer to 3b. The ball was hit so hard to cf, there was no chance for Moldenhauer to score.
• Shepherd hit a sac fly to lf, scoring Moldenhauer.
• Lusson worked the count full but struck out swinging.
• Hernandez flew out to rf.
• Texas down 3-5.
• 6th inning, Rice
• Manuel singled past 3b into lf.
• Comerota struck out (2-strike foul bunt). Keith said he thought Comerota was actually trying to get out of the way of the pitch but couldn't get the bat out of the way.
• Holt reached on a 6-4 fielder's choice.
• Hague struck out looking (3 pitches).
• Texas down 3-5.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Loy popped out to ss.
• Tucker was hit by a 2-0 pitch.
• Coach Graham made a visit to the mound but did not change the pitcher.
• With Clark at the plate, Tucker was picked off by the pitcher. Perhaps that was the subject of the mound visit conversation?
• Clark lined out to 3b. Craig reported that Tommy Harmon was having words with the 3b ump...saying the ball was trapped?...I dunno. 3rd out, regardless.
• Texas down 3-5.
• 7th inning, Rice
• Mozingo singled past Hernandez into cf. The throw back in was not caught (Hernandez was frustrated at not catching the hit ball?) and the hitter moved to 2b on the error. The error was charged to cf but probably should've been charged to ss. (UPDATE: The error did end up going to ss instead of cf.) Coach Garrido immediately sent Etier into the field, replacing Hernandez. Etier went to 3b and Loy moved over to ss.
• Rendon flew out to rf. Very bizarre play. Official initially ruled the ball not caught. Mozingo scored...just beating the throw. After things were appealed by Garrido, the officials ruled that the ball was caught but they let the run scored by Mozingo to stand...essentially ruling that Mozingo tagged and scored after the ball was caught. Which DID NOT HAPPEN. He did not tag up. Bizarre and very bad call by officials. Rendon was credited with a sac fly and run batted in. Wow.
• Seastrunk singled up the middle.
• Texas sent Wood to the mound for Jungmann.
• Rathjen reached on an error (E1). High throw from Wood on a bunt attempt.
• Sultzbaugh flew out to cf.
• Manuel lined out to 3b.
• Texas down 3-6.
• 8th inning, Texas
• Rice sent Abel Gonzales to the mound.
• Belt flew out to cf.
• Kevin Keyes was announced as a pinch-hitter (for Moldenhauer).
• Rice responded by sending Mike Ojala to the mound.
• Which prompted Texas to send Tim Maitland to hit for Keyes.
• Maitland struck out swinging.
• Rupp grounded out to ss.
• Texas down 3-6.
• 8th inning, Rice
• Texas sent Lusson to rf and kept Maitland in the game in cf.
• Comerota struck out looking (full count).
• Holt reached on a bunt single down the 1b line.
• Hague struck out swinging.
• Holt stole 2b with Mozingo at the plate.
• Holt was caught stealing 3b (2-5) 3 pitches later. Mozingo left at bat.
• Texas down 3-6.
• 9th inning, Texas
• Shepherd struck out looking (2-2 count).
• Lusson struck out swinging. The catcher dropped the ball so had to throw down to 1b to complete the out.
• Etier struck out swinging. And, like the previous play, the catcher dropped the ball and had to throw down to 1b.
• Texas loses 3-6.

The win went to Jordan Rogers. Mike Ojala got a save (his first of the year). And, Austin Dicharry took the loss.

And, here's the line (from GameTracker):

That 7th inning was just bizarre. The officials got the call completely wrong. Simply amazing. The run did not end up counting in the decision. But, you don't know what would've happened if things had been ruled correctly. The mind boggles at the bad decision by the officials.

UPDATE (a couple of hours later). Entertainingly, the official story on the game from the TexasSports.com website describes the poor officiating in the 7th thusly: "[Mozingo] scored on an extremely rare two-base sacrifice fly by Rendon." Extremely rare, indeed.

The folks at the Rice Owls page couldn't even bring themselves to say that much. They wrote: "Rice plated its final run of the night in the seventh for a 6-3 final." It would appear that they were appropriately embarrassed enough that they would not pretend it was anything other than a bad call by the officials.

"Extremely rare two-base sacrifice fly." Wow.

Texas next travels to Lawrence for a 3-game series against Kansas this weekend.

Posted by Joanna at 10:32 PM | Permalink

Monday - March 16, 2009

Game 16: Missouri at Texas

Texas beat Missouri 4-3 yesterday afternoon to take the series. It was not a pretty win. But, it was an exciting win. Texas came back from a 1-3 deficit in the 9th to score the winning run after the Missouri shortstop committed a throwing error. Tough break for him. By that point, though, the Texas win was probably already in the bag. The momentum had shifted. So, how'd they get to that point? Read on.

The starting line-ups:

Missouri	Texas
1 Greg Folgia, lf 2 Conner Mach, dh 3 Ryan Lollis, cf 4 Aaron Senne, rf 5 Trevor Coleman, c 6 Steve Gray, 1b 7 Andrew Thigpen, 2b 8 Kyle Mach, 3b 9 Michael Liberto, ss - Nick Tepesch, p	1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Michael Torres, dh 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Russell Moldenhauer, rf 5 Cameron Rupp, c 6 Tant Shepherd, lf 7 Kyle Lusson, cf 8 David Hernandez, ss 9 Brandon Loy, 3b - Cole Green, p

I had a little internal debate with myself: play-by-play for the whole game or not? Hmmm. Okay...the whole game. But, let's mix it up a bit, shall we? Okay. Let's do that. And so...

• 1st inning, Missouri
• Cole Green got the start for the Horns and made two nice plays to start things off. He induced groundouts to himself from Folgia and C. Mach.
• Then, he gave up the first 1st-inning hit of the year for Texas pitching. That's right, through the first 15 games of the season, the Horns held the opposition hitless in the first inning. We all knew that couldn't last, right? Right. Green gave up a single (up the middle) to Lollis.
• Then? Then, he walked Senne (full count), moving Lollis to 2b.
• Coleman grounded out to 2b. But, not your run-of-the-mill groundout. Nope. Senne was running and the ball was going right at him. He held up just enough to let the ball by. It was also just enough that it could've messed with Tucker's ability to field the ball. But, Tucker scooped the ball up as it passed in front of the Missouri baserunner and made a great throw to Belt to beat the batter and make the 3rd out. Nice.
• Texas is still holding the opposition scoreless in the first inning. Cool.
• 1st inning, Texas
• Nick Tepesch on the mound for Missouri. He went into the game with an ERA over 6. But, he did not throw like a guy with an inflated ERA. In fact, for much of the game, he looked a lot like Kyle Gibson looked in the opener on Saturday. It was, for the most part, a frustrating day at the plate for the Horns.
• Tucker worked the count full to lead things off and then grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Torres lined out to lf. Folgia made a very nice running catch to rob Torres of a single...if not a double.
• Belt doubled off the lf wall. Pretty.
• Moldenhauer then flew out on a fairly routine fly ball to lf. Lots of work for Folgia in that opening inning.
• 2nd inning, Missouri
• Gray reached on a 5-pitch walk.
• Thigpen popped out to 3b on a bunt attempt. Ouch. It was not pretty.
• K. Mach flew out to cf. Kyle Lusson made a spectacular run and over-the-shoulder catch that may well have been the defensive play of the game. That was pretty.
• Liberto grounded out to 3b.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Rupp singled up the middle to start things off nicely.
• Shepherd moved him to 2b on a sac bunt down the 1b line. The pitcher, first baseman, and second baseman all converged on the ball. The first baseman fielded and then had to charge Shepherd to tag him out. He just barely made the play.
• Lusson singled to shallow rf, moving Rupp to 3b.
• Which prompted a visit to the mound by the Missouri coaching staff.
• Hernandez hit a beautiful bunt down the 1b line. Again, the first baseman and pitcher converged on the ball. Nobody covered 1b. And, the ball was too far off the line this time to catch the batter. Beautiful. Hernandez safe at 1b. Lusson moved to 2b. And, more importantly, Rupp scored.
• With runners at 1b and 2b, Loy hit a ground ball to 3b (first pitch). Right at 3b. The third baseman fielded (very nearly on top of the bag), stepped on 3b to get the lead runner, and then fired to 1b to complete the double play. Ugh.
• Texas up 1-0.
• 3rd inning, Missouri
• Folgia watched a couple of called strikes, then a ball, then fouled off a couple, then saw another ball, then struck out looking.
• C. Mach singled through the left side.
• Lollis flew out to lf.
• Senne doubled off the wall in cf. Kyle Lusson made a great effort and very nearly caught the ball as he made a leaping effort but missed it by inches. Mach scored.
• Coleman grounded out to 2b.
• Game tied 1-1.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Tucker grounded out to ss.
• Torres reached on a 5-pitch walk and was then caught stealing with Belt at the plate. So sad.
• Belt also drew a 5-pitch walk.
• Moldenhauer struck out swinging.
• Game tied 1-1.
• 4th inning, Missouri
• Gray struck out swinging.
• Thigpen grounded out to 3b.
• K. Mach reached on an infield single to 2b. On the play, Tucker was going for the ball and appeared to catch his foot in the turf. He stumbled and fell. In the process, he knocked the ball toward Hernandez who grabbed it and almost threw Mach out at 1b. Almost.
• Liberto grounded out to 3b.
• Game still tied 1-1.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Rupp struck out swinging.
• Shepherd singled up the middle. Purty.
• Lusson reached on an error by 2b. On the play, Lusson hit a picture-perfect 6-4-3 double play ball to the shortstop. Liberto fielded and tossed the ball to Thigpen covering 2b. Thigpen dropped the throw, though, and scrambled to pick it up. Shepherd was at the bag by then and was called safe. Thigpen felt he had the ball on the bag but did not get the call. I don't think he had full possession until he was off the bag.
• Hernandez drew a full-count walk to load the bases.
• Which prompted another visit to the mound from the Missouri bench.
• With the bases loaded and one out, Loy hit into his second double play of the day. Tough luck. He hit a ground ball right to the second baseman covering 2b. Thigpen fielded, stepped on 2b, and threw to 1b to end the threat.
• Game still tied 1-1.
• 5th inning, Missouri
• Folgia flew out to cf.
• C. Mach was hit by a pitch.
• Lollis struck out swinging (after watching two called strikes cross the plate.
• With two out, Senne doubled to the cf/rf gap. Mach scored and Senne moved to 3b on the throw home.
• Coleman then singled to cf, scoring Senne.
• Which prompted Skip Johnson to visit the mound.
• Gray grounded out to ss (full count).
• Texas down 1-3.
• 5th inning, Texas
• A disheartening 3-up/3-down affair: Tucker grounded out to 2b; Torres grounded out to ss; and Belt grounded out to 2b. Sigh.
• Texas down 1-3.
• 6th inning, Missouri
• Texas surprised me a bit by sending Taylor Jungmann to the mound to start the 6th. Green left after throwing 5, facing 24 batters, and giving up 3 earned runs on 6 hits (including 2 doubles) while striking out 3, walking 2, and hitting one batter. All on 77 pitches by my count.
• The 6th proved to be the fist 1-2-3 inning for the Texas defense.
• Thigpen flew out to lf. K. Mack flew out to rf. And, Liberto flew out to rf.
• Texas down 1-3.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Moldenhauer struck out swinging.
• Rupp popped out to 2b.
• Shepherd singled into shallow rf.
• Lusson grounded out to the pitcher.
• Texas down 1-3.
• 7th inning, Missouri
• Another 1-2-3 inning: Folgia lined out to cf; C. Mach grounded out to the pitcher on an excuse-me swing; and Lollis flew out to lf.
• Texas down 1-3.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Sigh: 3-up/3-down. Hernandez grounded out to ss. Loy grounded out to 3b. Tucker grounded out to 3b.
• Texas still down 1-3.
• 8th inning, Missouri
• Jungmann gave up a 4-pitch walk to Senne and then struck out the side. That sounds easier than it was. Coleman saw 8 pitches (fouling off 6 of them) before striking out looking. Gray also saw 8 pitches (fouling off 5 of them) before striking out swinging. Thigpen gave us all a break by fouling off one and then swinging at the next two. 25 pitches in all. Geesh.
• Texas down 1-3.
• 8th inning, Texas
• Torres singled up the middle to lead things off.
• Belt struck out swinging. Let me just say: not pretty. I don't know what Tepesch was doing. It wasn't as good as what Gibson did on Saturday. But, sometimes, he just made our guys look bad.
• Moldenhauer grounded out to 2b. Thigpen almost went to 2b, hoping for the double play but thought better of it and went for the sure out. (Torres to 2b on the play, in case you couldn't figure that out.)
• Rupp grounded out to the pitcher.
• Sigh. Texas down 1-3.
• 9th inning, Missouri
• K. Mach grounded out to ss.
• Liberto struck out swinging.
• Folgia drew a 5-pitch walk.
• C. Mach grounded out to 3b.
• Texas down 1-3.
• 9th inning, Texas
• Wherein, all hell broke loose.
• Shepherd was hit by the second pitch he saw. Missouri argued that he swung at the pitch so it should be Strike Two. The home plate ump did not agree. Shepherd trotted 90 feet down the line.
• Texas sent Tim Maitland (left-handed batter) to pinch-hit for Kyle Lusson and Connor Rowe to pinch-run for Shepherd. Before sending him to the plate, Coach Garrido called an offensive time-out and had a chat with Maitland.
• The first pitch to Maitland was a ball. A passed ball. Rowe broke late and just beat the throw from the catcher to 2b. Whew.
• Missouri changed pitchers. By my count, Tepesch had thrown 105 pitches when he was removed. And, he'd done a very good job. Missouri decided to go with their lefty closer Scooter Hicks. Texas countered with Kevin Keyes.
• Yes, Texas pinch-hit for the pinch-hitter after one pitch.
• Keyes looked at a called strike, a ball, and another called strike before fouling off a pitch. Then, he hit a deeeeeeep fly ball to the track in front of the 405 sign in the lf/cf gap. The center fielder made a diving attempt to catch the ball but could not make it. Rowe scored. Texas down 2-3.
• Texas sent Preston Clark to pinch-hit for Hernandez. And, after a couple of pitches to Clark, Texas sent Jordan Etier in to pinch-run for Keyes.
• Clark worked the count full and then drew a walk, putting runners at 1b and 2b. Texas sent Morgan Mickan in to pinch-run for Clark.
• With 2 on, one across, and no outs, Loy (0-fer on the day) went to the plate. He hit a beautiful sac bunt down the 3b line, putting runners at 2b and 3b. Beautiful.
• Missouri sent Brad Buehler to the mound.
• With Tucker at the plate, Missouri almost picked Etier off at 3b. Close play. Whew.
• Tucker then hit a bloop single over the second baseman's head, scoring Etier and moving Mickan to 3b.
• GAME TIED!!!
• Runners at the corners. 1 out.
• Torres watched a ball and a called strike before he fouled off a pitch. Then, he lined one at the shortstop (Liberto). Mickan and Torres dove back to their respective bases. Liberto tried to double up Torres. But, his throw was low and off-line (on the outfield side of the bag). Mickan took off and scored. The first baseman got to the ball fairly quickly but then hesitated before throwing home. When he finally did throw, the ball was way off target and Mickan had already scored.
• Texas wins. 4-3. Wow.

Missouri was (I guess) very upset at the end of the game and did not come out of the dugout for the "good game" handshake. The first base coach appeared to argue runner's interference on the last play of the game...that Tucker interfered with the first baseman's chance to catch the ball thrown from Liberto. I watched the replays on three of the local news stations last night and don't think there was any way it could be called. Tucker went straight for the bag. The throw was low and off-target. I can understand the Tigers being frustrated. The atmosphere at Disch-Falk was amazing. I was, frankly, surprised at the size of the crowd...the stadium was very full. The weather was much better than on Saturday. And, I guess we always have more "fair weather" fans whenever the team's ranked high, eh? Anyway, the crowd really got into things at the end of the game. There was a lot of noise. And, a lot of punch/counter-punch going on between the coaching staffs. It's tough to lose a game on an error. And, I guess Missouri thought there were two calls that went against them (the hit batter and then the "no call" on the interference; and maybe even four if you count Rowe's close call at 2b and Etier's at 3b) but that's baseball. I wish someone in the media would ask for an explanation. But, they didn't even report that the handshake did not take place. I won't hold my breath that we'll get an explanation any time soon. Ah well. I've asked around and nobody seems to know anything for sure. If I do find an explanation, I'll be sure to post.

Oh. And, just a tiny FYI. Jungmann got the win for Texas while Hicks took the loss for the Tigers. Details.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

Texas plays Rice in Houston tomorrow night. As usual, I won't be there. I really do hope the team builds on this momentum and wins another one tomorrow. Hook 'em, Horns!!

Posted by Joanna at 9:48 AM | Permalink

Saturday - March 14, 2009

Game 15: Missouri at Texas

The 2nd game on today's schedule went a lot better as far as the home crowd was concerned. After losing the opener 0-2, the Horns made turnabout fair play and blanked the Tigers 5-0. Brandon Workman started and went 7 innings. Austin Wood threw the final 2. They combined to face 30 batters and gave up 3 hits with 8 strikeouts and 2 walks. Very nice.

The starting line-ups matched the first game with one change (Clark was behind the plate for the Horns, replacing Rupp):

Missouri	Texas
1 Greg Folgia, lf 2 Conner Mach, dh 3 Ryan Lollis, cf 4 Aaron Senne, rf 5 Trevor Coleman, c 6 Steve Gray, 1b 7 Andrew Thigpen, 2b 8 Kyle Mach, 3b 9 Michael Liberto, ss - Ian Berger, p	1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Michael Torres, dh 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Russell Moldenhauer, rf 5 Tant Shepherd, lf 6 Preston Clark, c 7 David Hernandez, ss 8 Kyle Lusson, cf 9 Brandon Loy, 3b - Brandon Workman, p

Workman gave up one hit to the lead-off batter in the 2nd. He was promptly erased on a 4-6-3 double play. He gave up another single (again to the lead-off batter, Liberto) in the 6th. Liberto tried to steal 2b and appeared to beat the throw. However, he took his hand off the bag and was called out. Wood gave up a single to the 2nd batter (Folgia) he faced in the 9th. Folgia was stranded at 2b as the game ended.

On the offensive side of the game, things went much better for the Horns in the 2nd game of the day than they did in the 1st. The scoring went like so...

• 1st inning, 1 run scored:
• Tucker doubled down the 3b line. It was a very pretty hit.
• Torres moved Tucker to 3b on a sac bunt down the 1b line.
• Belt grounded out to 2b, scoring Tucker. Small ball at its best. The Horns did not even square to bunt a single time in the opener.
• Moldenhauer grounded out to 2b to end the inning.
• 4th inning, 1 run scored:
• Torres was hit by a pitch. The first pitch. It seemed to hit him low on his left leg. But, the catcher and umpire were blocking my view so I'm not sure about that.
• Belt advanced Torres to 2b with a s sac bunt to the pitcher.
• Moldenhauer singled up the middle, scoring Torres. Nice hit.
• Shepherd walked, moving Moldenhauer to 2b.
• Clark struck out.
• Hernandez grounded out to 2b. Nice play. Which reminds me. The Mizzou second baseman (Andrew Thigpen) made several really nice plays today.
• 6th inning, 2 runs scored:
• Torres singled past 2b.
• Belt doubled to the lf/cf gap, scoring Torres. It sure looked like it was gonna be a homerun. Alas.
• That prompted the Tigers to change their starter.
• Moldenhaeur reached on an error by 3b. The third baseman made a nice play to stop a hard hit ball headed to lf. But, he dropped the ball...and then couldn't find it. It dribbled a couple of feet behind him. By the time he managed to scoop it up, Moldenhauer was safe at 1b. Belt could not advance, though, since the ball was between him and 3b.
• Shepherd hit a sac bunt to the pitcher, moving Belt to 3b and Moldenhauer to 2b. On the play, the throw was a bit offline and the first baseman caught it right as Shepherd was getting to the bag. The ball reached the glove and both hit Shepherd near his head. He fell to the ground after crossing the bag (tagged out...ouch) but got up after about a minute. At first, I though he might have been hit in the face but I think the hit went to the side of his head (on his helmet). He was replaced in the field but did not appear to be injured...just a bit shook up. From the stands, it looked like he'll be okay.
• Clark hit a single to lf, scoring Belt and moving Moldenhauer to 3b.
• Hernandez hit a sky high pop-up to shallow rf. No chance for Moldenhauer to score.
• Lusson grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• 8th inning, 1 run scored:
• Rowe (who entered the game after Shepherd was hurt) singled to lf.
• Clark was hit by a pitch, moving Rowe to 2b.
• Hernandez worked the count full. On the 5th pitch, Rowe stole 3b. Nice.
• Hernandez flew out to rf...but not deep enough to score Rowe.
• Lusson singled to rf, scoring Rowe and moving Clark to 3b.
• Loy, sadly, hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

The Horns looked very good in the 2nd game. Not that they looked bad in the first (they just couldn't hit Gibson). It was a good game. The temperature, by the way, did get up to 50 °F and the wind barely kicked up at all in the 2nd game but it felt colder as the day wore on. I'm sure it was mostly because we'd been sitting out there for so long and the cold moist air managed to seep in past our cold-weather garments and blankets.

Entertaining note for our section today: Russell Moldenhauer hit a foul ball up toward us in the 1st inning of the first game. It was headed for the seat (empty at the time) in front of my dad. He tried to reach over and catch it but it fell down into the bag on the seat...a bag belonging to our buddy Forrest. In the 7th inning of the second game, Ryan Lollis hit a foul ball to the exact same spot. Our buddy Don was in his seat this time. But, he couldn't hold onto the ball and Forrest managed to snag his second foul ball of the day. We all got a kick out of that.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

Here's hoping the Horns take the series tomorrow. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 11:47 PM | Permalink

Game 14: Missouri at Texas

Sorry I didn't get this posted sooner. I was tired when I got home and just kinda lazed around watching TV for a few hours after I got home.

Anyway.

Yesterday's Big 12 opener against Missouri was postponed due to cold and rainy conditions. It was raining most of the day. And, the high only reached 42 °F. So, the teams agreed to play two 9-inning games today starting at 1 o'clock. And, how was the weather today? No rain. But, it was still cold. It was 46 °F at the start of Game 1. And, it got up to 48 by the end of the game. It wasn't raining but there was still plenty of moisture in the air. And, a bit of a light wind blowing in from the north. Brrrrr... We bundled up big time. But, there was no chance of staying warm today.

Sadly, the Horns dropped the opener 0-2. It was a tough loss. The main problem today? A pitcher named Kyle Gibson. The Horns just couldn't string together any hits. Not more than one hit in any given inning. It's tough to win a game that way. On the other side of things, Missouri got 4 hits in the 3rd to score those two runs. They managed two additional hits...in the 9th. But that was it. It's awfully tough to no-hit a team for 7 innings and walk away with a loss, eh? Awfully tough.

The Horns switched things up a bit today. I think they were trying to put a more offensively-minded line-up together. But, there was that Kyle Gibson problem. So, here were the line-ups for today's opener:

Missouri	Texas
1 Greg Folgia, lf 2 Conner Mach, dh 3 Ryan Lollis, cf 4 Aaron Senne, rf 5 Trevor Coleman, c 6 Steve Gray, 1b 7 Andrew Thigpen, 2b 8 Kyle Mach, 3b 9 Michael Liberto, ss - Kyle Gibson, p	1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Michael Torres, dh 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Russell Moldenhauer, rf 5 Tant Shepherd, lf 6 Cameron Rupp, c 7 David Hernandez, ss 8 Kyle Lusson, cf 9 Brandon Loy, 3b - Chance Ruffin, p

Yep, Travis Tucker was back in the line-up and out on the field. He looked good and did not appear to be bothered by any ankle pain. At least, that's how it looked from high up in the stands!

The Horns actually started the game off very nicely. Chance Ruffin struck out the first batter he faced but hit the next (C. Mach). He picked Mach off after tossing a few throws over to 1b and then got Lollis to ground out. In the bottom of the inning, Belt and Moldenhauer reached on back-to-back 2-out walks. But, Shepherd hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning. Alas, that's pretty much the way the game went offensively. The Horns went 3-up/3-down in the 3rd and 9th and had 1 hit in each of the other innings (all singles except for one double by Moldenhauer in the 6th). The did not manage to get the lead-off batter aboard at all during the game. And, when they did get a man aboard, Gibson would buckle down and kill any thought of a rally.

And, what about those two runs the Horns gave up? In the third, Kyle Mach reached on a 1-out bloop single to shallow lf and then moved to 2b on a throwing error by Ruffin (bad pick-off throw...yes, after that beautiful effort in the 1st). He moved to 3b when Liberto singled through the right side. Folgia then singled to lf, scoring Mach and moving Liberto to 2b. Connor Mach then singled through the left side...the ball just barely skipped under the diving Brandon Loy's outstretched glove. Liberto scored on that one. Four singles in a row. Ouch. Lollis and Senne both flew out to lf to end the Missouri half of the inning and the scoring for the game. Ruffin went on to mow down the next 9 batters he saw. He walked one (the only walk on the day for him) and then sat down 7 more before giving up another hit to the 2nd batter in the top of the 9th. At that point, Austin Wood went to the mound to get the final two outs (he also gave up a single). So. One bad inning made all the difference. So sad.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

'Back with today's 2nd game in a bit.

Posted by Joanna at 10:28 PM | Permalink

Friday - March 13, 2009

Missouri opener postponed

Today's opener in the Missouri series has officially been postponed. I've been expecting this announcement for a couple of hours now. It's very wet outside. The rain has never really stopped falling today. It drizzles for a bit...then rains pretty hard...then goes back to a drizzle. But, never really stops. To top it off, the temperature is 39 °F as I post (at about 2:45 in the afternoon). That's awfully cold for baseball. Although, there's not much wind so it would probably feel warmer than it did during the first couple of games of the Penn State series!

Anyway, the teams are now scheduled to play two 9-inning games tomorrow. First pitch at 1 o'clock.

Posted by Joanna at 2:44 PM | Permalink

Wednesday - March 11, 2009

Baylor game postponed

Just a quick note: today's game against Baylor has officially been postponed.

Posted by Joanna at 2:57 PM | Permalink

Sunday - March 8, 2009

Game 13: Texas at Stanford

Sigh...I'm apparently not destined to listen to today's game. At least, not live. Since it's being "tape-delayed" on the radio, I decided to sign up for the Yahoo! streaming audio. And, no matter what I tried, the system refused to recognize that I'd paid. I'd go to the player window and it would report that I have to pay. I'd click on the pay link and it'd say I'd paid. I logged out and back in and got the same results. I cleared browser cookies, restarted the browser, and got the same results. I tried a different browser. Same results. Sigh. So, I cancelled. I'll have to remember to check my credit card statement to make sure I don't get charged. They do not seem to have phone support and the reply to my email message asking for help said I should hear back within 24 hours. Isn't that helpful? Bah.

I guess I'll "watch" on GameTracker. It's a very boring way to watch a game. Anyway, here are the line-ups for today's game:

Texas	Stanford
1 Jordan Etier, 2b 2 Brandon Loy, 3b 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Preston Clark, dh 5 Tant Shepherd, lf 6 David Hernandez, ss 7 Cameron Rupp, c 8 Kevin Keyes, rf 9 Connor Rowe, cf - Cole Green, p	1 Colin Walsh, 2b 2 Zach Jones, 3b 3 Joey August, cf 4 Kellen Kiilsgaard, rf 5 Jonathan Kaskow, 1b 6 Ben Clowe, c 7 Jeffrey Inman, dh 8 Toby Gerhart, lf 9 Jake Schlander, ss - Scott Snodgress, p

Nice to see Cameron Rupp back in the line-up. And, here's how things played out (according to GameTracker):

• 1st inning, Texas: With 2 out, Texas loaded the bases with a couple of walks and an infield (?) single. Alas, they were stranded.
• 1st inning, Stanford: The first batter reached on a walk. The next struck out. And, the third grounded into a double play.
• 2nd inning, Texas: 3-up/3-down.
• 2nd inning, Stanford: Ditto.
• 3rd inning, Texas: Etier walked...first lead-off batter to reach since Friday! Alas, he was erased on a line-drive double play. Then, Belt grounded out so effectively: another 3-up/3-down inning. Alan Trubow reported (in his Twitter feed): "Texas has regressed. Bad baseball right now. Bad baserunning. Bad hiting (sic). Bad bunting. Bad execution. The pitching is good though." That was the only Tweet he got out. I was hoping to get a bit more info from that today. But, alas...
• 3rd inning, Stanford: 3-up/3-down.
• 4th inning, Texas: Shepherd reached on a 1-out single. Hernandez walked, moving Shepherd to 2b. And, Stanford changed pitchers (Brett Mooneyham in for Snodgress). Rupp singled to cf, scoring Shepherd. Texas takes the lead. Back on track? Keyes walked, loading the bases. After Rowe struck out, Etier singled and then advanced to 2b on an error by 3b. Rupp and Hernandez scored; Keyes moved to 3b. Loy singled (scoring Keyes and Etier) and was then caught stealing. Texas up 5-0.
• 4th inning, Stanford: Jones reached on a 1-out walk and was erased on a 3-6-1 double play. Very rare, that 3-6-1 double play. Texas up 5-0.
• 5th inning, Texas: After getting Belt out (strikeout?...hard to say, GameTracker's being very flakey) Stanford sent Brandt Walker to the mound. Going for the righty-righty matchup, I guess. Clark flew out and Shepherd grounded out. Texas up 5-0.
• 5th inning, Stanford: Kiilsgaard homered. The next three batters did the 3-up/3-down thing. Texas up 5-1.
• 6th inning, Texas: Rupp reached on a 1-out walk. Keyes singled, moving Rupp to 2b. They moved to 2b and 3b on a wild pitch. Sadly, they were stranded there. Texas up 5-1.
• 6th inning, Stanford: 3-up/3-down. Texas up 5-1.
• 7th inning, Texas: Belt and Clark reached on back-to-back 1-out walks which prompted Stanford to send Max Fearnow to the mound. Shepherd, sadly, grounded into a double play. Texas up 5-1.
• 7th inning, Stanford: August and Kaskow sandwiched a couple of singles between 3 outs and were stranded at 1b and 2b. Texas up 5-1.
• 8th inning, Texas: Keyes reached on a 2-out walk. Maitland went in to pinch-run for him but made the third out on a fielder's choice hit by Rowe. The radio broadcast finally kicked in here during the 8th inning. I missed the pre-game interview with Coach Garrido, though. I tuned in just in time to hear Keith Moreland (working with Bill Little again) giving the line-ups. Texas up 5-1.
• 8th inning, Stanford: (Texas kept Maitland in the game in lf, inserted Lusson in rf, and sent Austin Wood to the mound.) 3-up/3-down. Texas up 5-1.
• 9th inning, Texas: (Stanford sent Michael Marshall to the mound.) 3-up/3-down. Texas up 5-1.
• 9th inning, Stanford: Walsh singled to lead things off and then moved to 2b on a balk. A balk? Nevermind. He was wiped out on a fielder's choice (6-5, Jones safe at 1b) shortly thereafter. August flew out to rf. Oddly, the tape-delay audio of the game was relating the same batters in the 1st inning...doing different things, of course. It was rather disconcerting. Anyway, Jones stole 2b. That seems rather risky...with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, eh? I wonder what actually happened. (UPDATE. I listened to the end of the tape-delay on the radio as I was driving to visit some friends. Keith commented that Belt was not making any effort to hold Jones at 1b and that 2b was his for the swiping. Two pitches later, Jones stole 2b. It was very nearly defensive indifference.) Kiilsgaard flew out to lf. Game over. Texas wins 5-1.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

So, Texas takes the series. It did seem that, like yesterday, they failed to jump on a couple of chances but they did jump in a big way on the one that counted in the 4th inning.

The Horns host Baylor on Wednesday for a non-conference game. Then, Mizzou comes to town for the weekend series to start conference play. Hook 'em!

UPDATE. A few links:

• UT baseball team takes series vs. Stanford by Alan Trubow (Statesman)
• Baseball wins rubber match at Stanford, 5-1 (TexasSports.com)
• Stanford Drops Series Finale to No. 2 Texas, 5-1 (GoStanford.com)

Posted by Joanna at 5:51 PM | Permalink

Saturday - March 7, 2009

Game 12: Texas at Stanford

I listened to the game on the radio. Keith Moreland and Bill Little were on the air. The bad news, at the start of the game, was that neither Cameron Rupp nor Travis Tucker were listed in the starting line-up. Keith reported, sometime around the 3rd inning or so, that Tucker is "day to day" but I never heard him say anything about Rupp's status. The Horns went with Preston Clark at c, Jordan Etier at 2b, and Russell Moldenhauer at dh. Brandon Workman took the mound for the Horns.

Line-ups:

1 Brandon Loy, 3b 2 Connor Rowe, cf 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Russell Moldenhauer, dh 5 Tant Shepherd, lf 6 Preston Clark, c 7 Kevin Keyes, rf 8 David Hernandez, ss 9 Jordan Etier, 2b - Brandon Workman, p

1 Colin Walsh, 2b 2 Zach Jones, 3b 3 Joey August, cf 4 Kellen Kiilsgaard, rf 5 Jonathan Kaskow, 1b 6 Ben Clowe, c 7 Jake Schlander, ss 8 Mike Garza, dh 9 Wande Olabisi, lf - Jordan Pries, p

And, here's how things played out:

• 1st inning, Texas
• Pries on the mound for the Cardinal.
• Loy flew out to rf.
• Rowe stepped in and we lost audio. When the audio came back, Belt was at the plate. GameTracker reported that Rowe grounded out to 3b.
• Belt grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• 1st inning, Stanford
• Workman on the mound for the Horns.
• Walsh struck out (looking, I think).
• Jones grounded out to ss.
• August flew out to lf.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Moldenhauer popped out to 3b (foul).
• Shepherd doubled to right-center.
• Clark struck out swinging.
• Keyes popped out to 2b in shallow cf.
• 2nd inning, Stanford
• Kiilsgaard struck out swinging. I think he saw 7 pitches (including 2 foul balls). Workman threw 5 pitches in the first inning. Then 7 to one guy? Tsk tsk.
• Kaskow reached on an infield single that went off Workman's glove. Well...from Keith's description, it sounded like an infield single. GameTracker reported it was a single up the middle. You choose.
• Clowe singled to lf, moving Kaskow to 2b.
• Schlander reached on a 1-5 fielder's choice. Kaskow out, Clowe moved to 2b.
• Garza (called "Garcia" by both Keith and Bill, entertainingly enough) struck out swinging. Clark couldn't hold onto the ball so had to throw down to 1b to complete the out.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Hernandez grounded out to the ss.
• Etier also grounded out to the ss.
• Loy grounded out, for a bit of variety, to 2b.
• 3rd inning, Stanford
• Olabisi hit a hard grounder to 2b. Etier made a very nice play to just beat Olabisi with his throw to Belt for the out.
• Walsh doubled to left center.
• Jones struck out swinging.
• August grounded out to 1b. On the play, Belt bobbled the ball a bit but threw it to Workman, covering 1b, in time for the out.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Rowe fell behind 1-2, worked the count full, and then struck out. Shucks.
• Belt grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Moldenhauer reached on a full-count walk.
• Shepherd hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice.
• 4th inning, Stanford
• Kiilsgaard grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Kaskow was hit by a pitch (1-0 count).
• Clowe flew out to rf.
• Schlander hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice to end the inning.
• 5th inning, Texas
• Clark flew out to lf. Olabisi had to make a long run and just made the play.
• Keyes struck out (swinging, I think).
• Hernandez singled to lf. The hitting streak lives on.
• Etier grounded into a 4-unassisted fielder's choice.
• 5th inning, Stanford
• Garza grounded out to ss. The throw from Hernandez was high and Belt made a nice play to get the ball and come down on the bag...saving the error.
• Olabisi doubled down the lf line.
• Walsh flew out to cf. Rowe made a very nice run and diving catch to rob Walsh of a hit. Olabisi alertly tagged and moved to 3b on the play.
• Olabisi scored on a wild pitch. The first pitch to Jones was in the dirt and Clark could not round it up. First earned run of the year allowed by Workman.
• Jones singled through the left side and moved to 2b on another wild pitch.
• August was hit by a pitch, putting runners at 1b and 2b.
• Kiilsgaard flew out to rf. Keyes got a good jump on the ball and made a nice catch.
• Texas down 0-1.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Loy flew out to rf.
• Rowe drew a 5-pitch walk.
• Belt struck out swinging. Jinxed by Keith? Two pitches earlier, Keith commented that Belt had not struck out this season.
• Moldenhauer flew out to lf.
• Texas down 0-1.
• 6th inning, Stanford
• Kaskow homered over the rf fence.
• Clowe flew out to cf.
• At this point, Keith commented that Taylor Jungmann and Keith Shinaberry were warming up in the bullpen.
• Schlander struck out swinging. 5th strikeout of the game for Workman.
• Garza (Keith finally figured out that his name is not "Garcia") reached on an error by ss. Bill Little said it looked like Hernandez expected the ball to bounce up and it didn't.
• Whitlow (pinch-running for Garza) stole 2b on the first pitch to Olabisi. Texas threw a pitch-out on the play but Clark couldn't hold onto it.
• Olabisi drew a 5-pitch walk.
• In response, Texas sent Keith Shinaberry to the mound (replacing Workman).
• Walsh singled into cf. With two outs, the runners were off with the swing of the bat. Whitlow scored (unearned) and Olabisi made it to 3b.
• Jones singled off the pitcher, scoring Olabisi (unearned) and moving Walsh to 2b.
• August grounded out to 2b.
• Texas down 0-4.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Stanford sent Toby Gerhart into lf (replacing Olabisi).
• Shepherd grounded out to ss.
• Clark flew out to lf.
• Keyes flew out to lf at the wall.
• 7 pitches by my count. Sigh...
• Texas down 0-4.
• 7th inning, Stanford
• Kiilsgaard struck out looking (sounded like he looked at all three pitches).
• Kaskow flew out to rf.
• Clowe grounded out to 3b.
• Texas down 0-4.
• 8th inning, Texas
• Hernandez grounded out to 1b (3-1, pitcher covering).
• Etier singled to rf.
• Stanford sent Drew Storen to the mound, replacing Pries.
• With Michael Torres (pinch-hitting for Loy) at the plate, Etier moved to 2b on a wild pitch.
• Torres singled to lf, moving Etier to 3b.
• Tim Maitland (pinch-hitting for Rowe) singled the first pitch he saw through the right side, scoring Etier and moving Torres to 2b. First hit of the year for Maitland!
• The pitching coach made a visit to the mound after Storen threw 2 balls to Belt.
• Belt flew out to lf (2-1 pitch).
• Moldenhauer flew out to cf.
• Texas down 1-4.
• 8th inning, Stanford
• Texas kept Torres and Maitland in the game at 3b and cf, respectively.
• Schlander grounded out to ss.
• Whitlow hit the first pitch he saw over the lf fence.
• Gerhart reached on an error by 3b. Torres fielded the ball nicely but then threw high to 1b, pulling Belt off the bag.
• Walsh lined out to rf. Nice play by Keyes.
• Jones homered over the lf wall (2 unearned runs).
• August was hit by the 3rd pitch but the home plate ump ruled that he made no effort to avoid the ball so made him stay at the plate. The crowd was not happy with that call. August worked the count full and then grounded out to 2b. Very nice play by Etier to make the stop and throw for the out. Keith thought the ball was going to get through and was happily impressed.
• Texas down 1-7.
• 9th inning, Texas
• Shepherd flew out to cf.
• Bill Little commented at this point that Texas had failed to get the lead-off man aboard for all 9 innings.
• Also, at this point, the Horns lost 73-83 in basketball. I'd been watching the game on TV while listening to the baseball game. I think they were actually up by 14 at one point. So sad.
• Clark also flew out to cf.
• Keyes struck out swinging.
• Texas loses 1-7. Bah.

So, what went wrong? I think, for the most part, the Stanford starter (a freshman) did a really good job of keeping the Texas hitters off-balance. Keith didn't really say much about Pries having really good or tricky stuff. But, the Texas hitters did not get many hits so he was clearly doing something right. I have no idea how much the absences of Tucker and Rupp had on the rest of the team. And, it was really too bad that they couldn't hold Stanford scoreless in the bottom of the 8th after scoring in the top of the inning.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

Post-game comments from the coach: Augie talked about the starting pitchers both doing a great job. He said baseball's a game of opportunity and if you take care of the ball and take advantage of the chances given, you will win. He said Stanford took advantage and then control of the game...particularly in the 2nd half. He said the team has done a good job this year in picking up after each other and tomorrow will go a long way to showing how much confidence they really have in each other.

Ah well, here's hoping things go better tomorrow. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 6:04 PM | Permalink

Friday - March 6, 2009

Game 11: Texas at Stanford

I, of course, did not make the trip out west for today's game against Stanford. I listened to the first inning on the radio as I drove home and then watched the rest of the game over the Internet for about $8. (I do not have access to CBS College TV via my cable system, sadly.) Well, I didn't see all of the 2nd inning but did get to see most of it.

Line-ups:

1 Travis Tucker, 2b 2 Brandon Loy, 3b 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Michael Torres, dh 5 Tant Shepherd, lf 6 Cameron Rupp, c 7 Kevin Keyes, rf 8 David Hernandez, ss 9 Connor Rowe, cf - Chance Ruffin, p

1 Zach Jones, 3b 2 Colin Walsh, 2b 3 Joey August, cf 4 Kellen Killsgaard, rf 5 Jonathan Kaskow, dh 6 Brent Milleville, 1b 7 Toby Gerhart, lf 8 Ben Clowe, c 9 Jake Schlander, ss - Jeffrey Inman, p

Texas started things off very nicely when Tucker led things off by sending the second pitch he saw over the left field wall. Cool. Belt also reached on a double off the wall in right-center field. Shepherd later reached on a walk but he and Belt were stranded onbase when Rupp popped out to 1b in foul territory. Yes...Rupp started behind the plate. Whew. I was very glad to see him playing and not sitting on the bench nursing a sore collar bone.

Chance Ruffin started on the mound for Texas and the Cardinal went 3-up/3-down (fly out to rf, line out to 2b, ground out to ss) in the bottom of the 1st.

Texas scored 3 more in the 2nd. Keyes was hit by a pitch to start things off. Hernandez hit a sac bunt (3-4) to move Keyes to 2b. Rowe walked. He and Keyes advanced to 2b and 3b on a double-steal with Tucker at the plate. Tucker then singled up the middle (2 rbi). He then stole 2b and moved to 3b when the throw from the catcher got through to cf (E2). Loy hit a ground ball to the shortstop who tried to gun Tucker down at home. Alas, the ss rushed his throw and pulled the catcher off the plate. The catcher could not hold onto the throw and Tucker crossed the plate safely. He limped off the field after scoring, though; he seemed to jam his foot a bit as he crossed home plate. Belt singled to rf, moving Loy to 2b. Torres grounded out to 3b, moving Loy to 3b and Belt to 2b. Shepherd grounded into a 5-unassisted fielder's choice (the third baseman tagged Belt running from 2b) to end the top of the 2nd. Texas up 4-0.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Kiilsgaard walked. (There went the perfect game. Heh.) Kaskow struck out looking on 3 pitches. And, Milleville hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

And, now that I've caught up, on to the rest of the game...in list fashion:

• 3rd inning, Texas
• Rupp grounded out to ss.
• Keyes reached on catcher's interference (the Stanford catcher reached forward to catch the pitch and got his glove between the bat and ball as Keyes swung at the pitch).
• Hernandez flew out to rf.
• Rowe struck out looking.
• Texas up 4-0.
• 3rd inning, Stanford
• Gerhart grounded out to ss.
• Clowe popped out to rf.
• Schlander walked.
• Jones grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Texas up 4-0.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Tucker singled past a diving third baseman into lf.
• Loy reached on a 1-6 fielder's choice (sadly, a failed sac bunt).
• Belt singled through the right side, moving Loy (who was off with the pitch) to 3b.
• Which prompted a visit to the mound...with the entire infield. Augie Garrido took advantage to meet with his players as well.
• Torres reached on an error by the first baseman who took his eye off the ball (rolling on the ground 10 feet or so in front of the bag) to check on Torres' progress down the line and then missed picking up the ball as it glanced off the edge of his glove. Loy scored and Belt moved to 2b.
• Shepherd walked (4 pitches, I think...but am not sure) to load the bases.
• Rupp struck out (0-2 pitch, I think). He tried to hold up his swing but the home plate umpire said he went too far.
• Keyes popped out to ss.
• Texas up 5-0.
• 4th inning, Stanford
• Texas sent Jordan Etier to 2b for Travis Tucker. I noticed that Tucker stayed in the game after he scored in the 2nd (and appeared to jam his ankle) but maybe it started to bother him and they decided to give him a rest...with the 5-run lead and all. UPDATE. A quick note about this substitution. The folks on TV didn't notice the change. Nor did the official scorer. It is not listed in the game account on the Texas site or the Stanford site. The only reason I know was because I was listening to the radio intermittently during the game. I didn't listen the whole time because the radio broadcast was about 30 seconds ahead of the Internet feed. But, I did happen to be listening at this point (I'd gone to the kitchen to find a snack since I hadn't eaten any dinner) and Keith Moreland announced the change.
• Walsh grounded out to 1b.
• August flew out to rf.
• Kiilsgaard lined out to lf. Shepherd made a nice jump on the ball and caught it at a full run (toward the lf/cf gap).
• Texas up 5-0.
• 5th inning, Texas
• Hernandez grounded out to 3b.
• Rowe struck out.
• Etier lined a pitch just past 3b into lf for a single. First plate appearance and hit for the freshman! Hook 'em! They did show Tucker in the dugout with ice on his ankle when Etier went to the plate. Hopefully, they're just being careful and he'll be back on the field this weekend. I'm not counting on that, though.
• With Loy at the plate, Etier was thrown out (3-4) trying to steal 2b. A perfect throw that just beat Etier to the bag.
• Texas up 5-0.
• 5th inning, Stanford
• Kaskow flew out to lf.
• Milleville struck out swinging.
• Gerhart reached on a 5-pitch walk.
• Clowe singled to cf, moving Gerhart to 2b. (And, there goes the no-hitter. Heh.)
• Schlander singled into rf, scoring Gerhart. (Bye-bye shut-out. Heh.) Clowe had to hold up at 2b since Keyes got the ball back to the infield quickly.
• Skip Johnson made a trip to the mound and had a visit with the entire infield.
• Jones struck out to end the threat.
• Texas up 5-1.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Alex Pracher replaced Inman on the mound.
• Loy popped out to ss.
• Belt worked the count full, fouled off a couple of pitches, and then walked.
• Torres popped out to the catcher (foul).
• Shepherd hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice.
• Texas up 5-1.
• 6th inning, Stanford
• Walsh grounded out to the pitcher. The ball went off the heal of Ruffin's glove and he made a nice play to go back for the ball and get the throw in to 1b in time. Nice effort.
• August singled into cf.
• With Kiilsgaard at the plate, Ruffin made a pick-off throw to 1b. It ricocheted off Belt's glove and headed toward the rf fence. August made it all the way to 3b on the error (E3).
• Kiilsgaard grounded out to 1b, scoring August (unearned).
• Kaskow walked on 4 pitches.
• With a 1-1 count to Milleville, Skip Johnson made another trip to the mound.
• Milleville worked the count full, fouled off a pitch, and was then struck out looking.
• Texas up 5-2.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Rupp singled through the left side.
• With the count 2-0 to Keyes, Stanford sent Carey Schwartz to the mound, replacing Pracher.
• Keyes hit a sac bunt (3-4) to move Rupp to 2b.
• Hernandez reached on an infield single to 3b. Rupp had to hold up at 2b.
• Russell Moldenhauer (pinch-hitting for Rowe) reached on a 5-pitch walk to load the bases.
• Tim Maitland went in to pinch run for Moldenhauer.
• Etier hit into a 5-4-3 double play. So sad.
• Texas up 5-2.
• 7th inning, Stanford
• Maitland stayed in the game in cf for Texas.
• Gerhart struck out looking.
• Clowe flew out to rf.
• Schlander popped out to the catcher in front of the Stanford dugout (which is on the 1b side of the infield). Rupp made a very nice sliding catch. Purty.
• Texas up 5-2.
• 8th inning, Texas
• Loy fouled off several pitches before he finally struck out swinging.
• Belt grounded out to 1b (3-1).
• Torres singled up the middle.
• Shepherd struck out swinging.
• Texas up 5-2.
• 8th inning, Stanford
• Jones flew out to rf.
• Walsh grounded out to 2b.
• August flew out to cf.
• I wasn't counting pitches but that was a very quick inning. It felt like only 3 or 4 pitches.
• Texas up 5-2.
• 9th inning, Texas
• Rupp singled through the right side to lead things off.
• Augie took an offensive time-out to chat with Keyes before he went to the plate.
• When Keyes got to the plate, Stanford gathered with their coach for a visit on the mound.
• Keyes lined a 3-0 pitch into lf, moving Rupp to 2b. That's the second time this season I remember Keyes swinging away on a 3-0 pitch and getting a hit.
• Stanford sent Chris Reed in to the mound, replacing Schwartz.
• Hernandez struck out looking after fouling off a couple of pitches.
• Kyle Lusson (pinch hitting for Maitland...who did not make a plate appearance) doubled to the lf/cf gap. Rupp scored and Keyes moved to 3b.
• With a 1-0 count to Etier, Stanford sent Kyle Thompson to the mound, replacing Reed.
• Etier reached on a fielder's choice. On the play, the ball went to the shortstop and Keyes was caught in a run-down. Actually, not that much of a run-down: the out went 6-2 when the catcher tagged him out. However, Keyes kept the shortstop and catcher occupied for long enough that Lusson scooted up to 3b and Etier made it to 2b.
• Loy flew out to cf.
• Texas up 6-2.
• 9th inning, Stanford
• Chance Ruffin stayed on the mound for the Horns, hoping to throw a complete game.
• Kiilsgaard grounded out to ss.
• Kaskow singled through the right side.
• David Giuliani went in to pinch-run for Kaskow.
• Christian Griffiths (pinch-hitting for Milleville) worked the count full and then struck out swinging.
• Gerhart struck out swinging.
• Complete game for Ruffin!!
• Texas wins 6-2.

Texas goes to 11-0 on the season. Talk about purty.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

One last note: at one point during the broadcast they announced that they (CBS College Sports) will be broadcasting one of the Nebraska games. I didn't pay attention to which game and it's hasn't been posted to the TexasSports.com page yet. I'm sure it'll show up soon. UPDATE: I got an email message telling me it'll be the April 9 (Thursday) game. Thanks for the note, Ruy.

Posted by Joanna at 10:55 PM | Permalink

Thursday - March 5, 2009

Rupp injury update

"What Rupp injury?" you might ask. As I did when I saw the "Rupp cleared to practice" headline on an Alan Trubow blog post. He was injured in Tuesday's game? Wait a minute. Nobody said anything about Rupp being injured. Not a word in the TexasSports article, or the Daily Texan, or the Statesman. In the linked blog post, Trubow says:

"[Rupp] was injured when a ball missed his padding and hit his collarbone. He has a deep bruise in his shoulder/chest area, but he was cleared to practice today. That's good news because the Longhorns thought it was possible he had broken his collarbone."

When I posted my game report, there was no boxscore attached to the TexasSports.com story on the game. There is one now. And, it does say that Preston Clark replaced Rupp late in the game, but doesn't say why. Of course.

In Trubow's post, he comments that back-up J.T. Files is injured. Yep, we've all noticed him hobbling around on crutches at the games. So, clearly, he can't play. Trubow mentions that Jordan Etier and Russell Moldenhauer have been spending some time behind the plate in practice. But, Moldenhauer is still recovering from his bad knee injury at the Rice Regional. Surely, he can't be expected to be behind the plate during a regular game? I have no idea what Etier's experience as a catcher is. He played shortstop and third base at Westlake. I wondered, not for the first time, where Kawika Emsley-Pai is. He was not listed on the Fall roster and isn't listed on the current roster. So, I went looking for him. And, I found him. He's playing for the Lewis-Clark State College Warriors in Lewiston, Idaho. I don't know why he transferred. But, he's a lot closer to home (Washington) now. And, he's playing a lot more now than he did as a Freshman at UT. Anyway, he's not an option.

This doesn't really seem like good news for the Horns. Having a bunch of injured players lined up to play catcher. Sigh...

Ah well. There's other news in that blog post. Do read it.

Posted by Joanna at 6:53 PM | Permalink

Tuesday - March 3, 2009

Game 10: Texas at Texas State

So...no, I did not make the trip to San Marcos. First, there's the work thing. Second, there's the Gordon Lightfoot concert tonight thing. So, not only did I not drive down, I wasn't able to listen to the whole game. I did hear the first few innings, though.

I was rather surprised to see that Texas was travelling to San Marcos. Then, I found out that the Bobcats were opening their brand-new stadium. And, that tonight's game against the Horns was scheduled to be the first game in the new digs. Needless to say, the Bobcats did not have a hard time selling out the event!

Texas started with the same line-up they've been using over the past few games...with Michael Torres in the dh spot. (They've been switching between Torres and Preston Clark in that spot.) Austin Dicharry started on the mound.

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about today's game. Texas State always gives the Horns a run for their money. Today, they have the added incentive of playing their inaugural game in their new stadium. The Horns might actually feel a bit of added pressure with that 9-0 record, their first game away from home, and their first game on grass. We've got three freshmen on the field (Rowe, Loy, and Dicharry); this will be the first test for them away from the friendly confines of Disch-Falk. I do hope it works out well. But, I'm a bit nervous.

Anyway, on with the game report...

The home crowd was really into the game. I don't know if it was the placement of the crowd mics or if they really were that loud but they frequently threatened to drown out Keith Moreland and Craig Way on the radio. The crowd was so hopped up they started the game with a cheer after pretty much every pitch. I'm guessing it was a fun place to be! Texas went 3-up/3-down to start the game. Much to the delight of the crowd.

Austin Dicharry struggled with the first batter he faced: ball, ball, hit batter. Ouch. The crowd loved it, though. My immediate thought: settle down, Austin. The next batter flew out to cf. The third batter worked the count full and then walked, putting runners at 1b and 2b. The next reached on a 3-6 fielder's choice. On the play, David Hernandez, trying to turn the double play, threw the ball into the dirt back to Dicharry covering 1b. Dicharry could not make the catch and as the ball trickled away from him, the batter from 2b scored. E6. The runner at 1b advanced to 2b on a wild pitch but was stranded there when the final batter flew out to lf. Texas down 0-1 at the end of the 1st inning. That's the 2nd time this year that the Horns failed to score first.

I didn't hear what happened in the top of the 2nd but the Horns did not score. (GameTracker update: Michael Torres grounded out to 2b; Tant Shepherd flew out to cf; Kevin Keyes singled up the middle; Cameron Rupp walked; and David Hernandez struck out swinging.) I came back to my office to hear Craig say there was a runner on base for the Bobcats and that another run had already scored. Uh-oh. The Bobcats put another couple of hits together to score another and go ahead 3-0 with one out and runners at 1b and 2b. Keith and Craig commented that Dicharry had seemed more comfortable when he started the 2nd, getting a quick out, and then gave up a double and then three more singles. With Andrew McKirahan warming up in the bullpen, he managed to get the next batter to fly out to lf, and then struck out the next to end the inning. Texas down 0-3.

Connor Rowe and Travis Tucker started off the 3rd with fly outs to cf. And, Brandon Loy grounded out to ss. Dicharry remained on the mound and walked the first batter of the 3rd. The next grounded into a double play, though. Nice. Then, there was a single and then a fly out to rf. Texas still down 0-3.

Brandon Belt led off the 4th with a single (sorry, I didn't hear the details, but GameTracker said it was to rf). Torres singled through the right side, putting runners at 1b and 2b with nobody out. Shepherd failed to get a bunt down and then struck out swinging (2-2 count). Keyes followed suit and also struck out swinging, sadly. Rupp worked the count full and then walked to load the bases. Hernandez singled into cf, scoring 2 (Belt and Torres), and moving Rupp to 2b. Rowe singled to right-center, scoring Rupp and moving Hernandez to 3b. Game tied!

And...sadly, with that, I'm off to the Gordon Lightfoot concert. I'll be back late tonight with the final results. Go, Horns!

UPDATE. 'Back from the concert. 'Twas an entertaining night for me at the Bass Concert Hall. And, I'm very happy to report that the Horns pulled off a 6-5 win whilst I was away from the radio.

The Bobcats scored 2 in the bottom of the 6th to reclaim the lead (game tied 3-3 when I left). Texas then scored one in the 7th and two more in the 8th to get their 10th win in as many tries this season. I was happy to see that Keith Shinaberry finally made an appearance. He threw the middle 2.1 innings. He did allow the 2 unearned runs in the 6th. My mom reports that he was removed due to injury but they couldn't tell what was wrong. (She and my father went to the game and reported that, yes, the crowd really was very loud and boisterous. It was not just a "misplaced mic" thing.) Austin Wood pitched the final 3.1 innings to earn his 3rd win of the season.

I see that the Horns committed 4 errors on the day. Ouch. Uh-oh...it looks like all four errors were committed by David Hernandez. Double ouch. Was he pushing too hard after the first one? On a happier note, I see that he had two hits and batted 2 runs in. He also scored the winning run.

A few links:

• Baseball comes from behind for win at Texas State (TexasSports.com)
• Texas beats Texas State in baseball by Michael Sherfield (Statesman)
• Horns need late rally to survive Bobcats on road by Laken Litman (Daily Texan)
• Bobcat baseball falls short of winning home opener by Joseph O. Garcia (University Star)

Here's hoping the Horns stick to their winning ways this weekend at Stanford. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 7:25 PM | Permalink

It's Brandon Workman week!

Brandon Workman is getting accolades galore after throwing that no-hitter on Sunday:

• Big 12 Pitcher of the Week - "Workman allowed just two walks and one player to reach base on an error, facing the minimum 27 batters to record the 21st no-hitter in UT history. He also posted the conference's only complete game shutout on the week, while pacing the Big 12 in ERA and opponent batting average. The Bowie, Texas hurler fanned 10 Penn State batters, one shy of his career high. On the season, Workman has yet to give up a run and has only surrendered two hits and two walks over 16.0 innings."
• Collegiate Baseball Louisville Slugger's National Player of the Week - "Workman recorded the 21st no-hitter in Texas Longhorns' history during a 9-0, 9-inning win over Penn State. He allowed just three base runners in the game, two on walks and one on an error while striking out 10 batters."
• Recruting Closer Pitcher of the Week - "Workman threw a no-hitter against Penn State. He walked only 2 batters and struck out 10. It was the 2nd time in as many weeks this year that a Big XII pitcher has thrown a no-hitter."
• College Baseball Foundation and Diamond Sports National Allstar Lineup - "Workman recorded the 21st no-hitter in UT history against Penn State on Sunday afternoon. Workman had 10 strikeouts in the 9-0 victory. He also posted the Big 12's only complete game shutout for the week."
• National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Pro-Line Athletic National Co-Pitcher of the Week - "Workman allowed just two walks and one player to reach base on an error, facing the minimum 27 batters to record the 21st no-hitter in UT history. Three players reached base, with Workman issuing two walks and one batter reaching on an error, but a double play ground out and two faulty stolen base attempts erased them from the books. The Bowie, Texas, hurler fanned 10 Penn State batters, one shy of his career high. On the season, Workman has yet to give up a run and has only surrendered two hits and two walks over 16 innings." (The award is shared with Ryan Berry from Rice who shut-out TAMU while allowing 2 hits over the weekend.)

Way to go, Brandon!

UPDATE. I meant to link to this nice article from the Daily Texan earlier and forgot: No-hitter caps Penn State sweep by Austin Talbert.

Posted by Joanna at 12:43 PM | Permalink

Sunday - March 1, 2009

Game 9: Penn State at Texas

NO HITTER!!! That is the story of the game. Brandon Workman threw a no-hitter today. Wow. Wow. Wow. He faced the minimum 27 batters. But he did not pitch a perfect game. He walked 2 and one reached on an error. Those extra batters were all caught stealing and/or were gunned down in part of a double play. I say "and/or" because one runner was caught stealing in a strike 'im out/throw 'im out double play. It was a really special game. Not only did Workman shut down the Penn State batters, but our own batters really put together a nice day at the plate. The Horns combined for 13 hits, including 5 doubles and 2 triples. Pretty sweet. Texas won 9-0, by the way.

Normally, after a long weekend of baseball, I wouldn't bother recounting each at-bat in a shut-out. But, since it was a no-hitter and was almost a perfect game, I feel compelled to document the whole thing. So, read on.

Texas line-up: Travis Tucker (2b), Brandon Loy (3b), Brandon Belt (1b), Preston Clark (dh), Tant Shepherd (lf), Kevin Keyes (rf), Cameron Rupp (c), David Hernandez (ss), and Connor Rowe (cf).

Penn State line-up: Blake Lynd (cf, Lynd was the only player for the Nittanly Lions from Texas and he had a very large cheering section on hand), Louie Picconi (2b), Mike Deese (dh), Cory Wine (1b), Michael Glantz (ss), Jordan Steranka (3b), Rick Marlin (rf), Sean Deegan (lf), and Bobby Jacobs (c).

The game went like so...

• 1st inning, PSU
• Brandon Workman on the mound for the Horns.
• Lynd struck out looking on 3 pitches.
• Picconi flew out to rf.
• Deese struck out looking.
• 3 batters, 14 pitches.
• 1st inning, Texas
• Calvin Grumley on the mound for the Nittany Lions.
• Tucker hit a high fly ball into lf that fell fair in front of the left fielder. The wind helped push the ball away from the outfielder. The wind wasn't nearly as strong as it was yesterday but it still managed to wreak a wee bit of havoc. Tucker made it to 2b for a double.
• Loy moved Tucker to 3b on a sac bunt down the 1b line. The first baseman fielded and tagged Loy out.
• Belt hit a sac fly to rf, scoring Tucker. It was a very close play at home. Marlin made a very nice throw from rf and nearly gunned Tucker down. Whew.
• Clark flew out to rf. Another nice play by Marlin.
• Texas up 1-0.
• 2nd inning, PSU
• Wine flew out to lf.
• Glantz struck out swinging.
• Steranka grounded out to 1b.
• 3 batters, 9 pitches. Texas up 1-0.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Shepherd doubled down the lf line. The ball just cleared the 3b bag in fair territory.
• Keyes moved Shepherd to 3b on a sac bunt (1-4).
• Rupp struck out swinging. After swinging at (and missing) the first pitch, Coach Garrido called an offensive timeout. He called Rupp over and had a fairly long chat with Rupp and Hernandez. Rupp did foul off a couple of pitches and watched two balls before striking out.
• Hernandez grounded out to ss.
• Texas up 1-0.
• 3rd inning, PSU
• Marlin reached on a 5-pitch walk.
• Deegan struck out looking. Skip Johnson, after Workman fell behind 2-1 to Deegan, took a quick trip out to the mound. Good visit, eh?
• Jacobs struck out looking. On the play, Marlin took off in an attempt to steal 2b but was gunned down by Rupp. Double play. Very nice.
• 3 batters, 15 pitches. Texas up 1-0. I think it was at this point, when I was marking the 9th out after seeing 9 batters that I thought to myself that we had a no-hitter in the works. And, then the thought would not leave my head. But, I resolutely refused to say anything about it out loud.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Rowe struck out looking.
• Tucker popped out to ss. The shortstop had to make a long run and caught the ball at the foul line in shallow lf. Nice play.
• Loy flew out to lf.
• The only 3-up/3-down inning of the day for PSU. Texas up 1-0.
• 4th inning, PSU
• Lynd reached on an error by Hernandez at ss. He fielded and then threw high to Belt at 1b. Belt leapt, caught the ball, and came down on Lynd. We all rather thought he got the tag down (he definitely tagged Lynd on his back as he came down and the 1b ump could not see that at all) but he was ruled safe. The ump ruled that Lynd stepped on the bag before Belt came down. Close play.
• Lynd tried to steal 2b on the first pitch to Picconi but was thrown out by Rupp. Yes!
• Picconi struck out swinging.
• Deese grounded out to 2b.
• 3 batters, 12 pitches. Texas up 1-0.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Belt flew out to lf.
• Clark reached on a full-count walk.
• Shepherd doubled down the lf line. Clark was off (hit and run?) with the pitch and scored easily.
• Shepherd stole 3b on the 3rd pitch to Keyes. He beat the throw from the catcher by a mile!
• Keyes, sadly, lined out to 3b. Luckly, though, since he lined out to the third baseman who was standing 15 feet or so off the bag, there was no chance of a double play.
• Rupp singled to rf, scoring Shepherd. Fourth hit of the game...first one that did not go for extra bases.
• Hernandez flew out to cf. Nice play in cf.
• Texas up 3-0.
• 5th inning, PSU
• Wine grounded out to the pitcher.
• Glantz grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Steranka lined out to lf. Shepherd initially misjudged the ball and took a couple of steps in. He quickly started running back and just barely caught the ball. Whew.
• 3 batters, 5 pitches. Texas up 3-0.
• 5th inning, Texas
• Rowe tripled off the lf wall.
• Tucker tripled to cf, scoring Rowe. The center fielder dove in an attempt to catch the ball but missed it and it rolled past him into deep cf. I think it should've been judged a singled and a 2-base error. If he'd let the ball bounce, Tucker would've had to stay at 1b. But, apparently, the official scorer did not agree with me.
• Loy lined out to ss.
• Belt singled to cf, scoring Tucker.
• Clark doubled off the base of the lf wall, moving Belt to 3b.
• PSU sent Ryan Ignas to the mound, replacing Grumley.
• Shepherd singled through the left side, scoring Belt, and moving Clark to 3b.
• Keyes ground into a 6-4-3 double play.
• Texas up 6-0.
• 6th inning, PSU
• Marlin flew out to cf.
• Deegan struck out looking.
• Jacobs flew out to cf.
• 3 batters, 9 pitches. Texas up 6-0.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Rupp grounded out to ss.
• Hernandez grounded out to the pitcher.
• Rowe reached on a full-count walk.
• Tucker grounded out to 2b.
• Texas up 6-0.
• 7th inning, PSU
• Lynd walked on 5 pitches.
• Picconi worked the count full and then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
• Deese flew out to lf.
• 3 batters, 13 pitches. Texas up 6-0.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Loy singled to cf.
• Belt grounded out to ss. Loy was off with the pitch and made it safely to 2b, keeping the Horns out of a double-play.
• Clark grounded out to ss.
• Shepherd grounded out to 3b.
• Texas up 6-0.
• 8th inning, PSU
• Texas sent Tim Maitland into lf for Shepherd and Kyle Lusson into rf for Keyes. This seems to be a pretty standard late-in-the-game defensive substitution for the Horns this year.
• Wine popped out to 3b in foul territory.
• Glantz grounded out to 2b.
• Steranka struck out swinging.
• 3 batters, 9 pitches. Texas up 6-0.
• 8th inning, Texas
• The Nittany Lions sent Drew Palen to the mound.
• Lusson was hit by the first pitch from Palen.
• Lusson stole 2b on the first pitch to Rupp.
• Rupp doubled to the rf corner, scoring Lusson.
• Hernandez singled to rf, scoring Rupp.
• Rowe reached on a full-count walk, moving Hernandez to 2b.
• Tucker singled off the pitcher to load the bases.
• Loy grounded into a 5-(unassisted)-3 double play. Rowe and Loy were out on the play. Tucker moved to 2b and Hernandez scored.
• Belt reached on a full-count walk.
• Clark flew out to lf.
• Texas up 9-0.
• 9th inning, PSU
• Marlin hit a ground ball hard up the middle. It carreened off of Workman's foot and headed toward ss. Hernandez, who was headed toward 2b in an attempt to field the ball on its original trajectory, quickly changed course, dodged to his right, scooped up the ball, and rifled it to 1b in time to throw Marlin out (1-6-3). Great adjustment by Hernandez. Wow.
• Deegan struck out swinging after working the count to 2-2 and fouling off a couple of pitches.
• The crowd, in unison, leapt to its feet and started cheering very very loudly.
• Pitch sequence to Jacobs: swinging strike, swinging strike, ball, swinging strike!!!!!
• The crowd roared. Rupp threw his gear aside and ran to give Workman a big bear hug. The rest of the Texas players mobbed the two. The pitchers from the bullpen (who never made a single move to warm up) ran as fast as they could to the middle of the infield and joined the swarm.
• 3 batters, 14 pitches, 90 100 pitches on the day. Texas wins 9-0!

The line:

																			R	H	E
Penn State			0	0	0			0	0	0			0	0	0		-		0	0	0
Texas			1	0	0			2	3	0			0	3	x		-		9	13	1

I was very amused when the public address announcer told us that this was Brandon Workman's first no-hitter as a Longhorn, rather than the 21st no-hitter thrown by a Texas pitcher. It was a very good day to be at Disch-Falk Field.

Hook 'em, Horns!!

Posted by Joanna at 8:42 PM | Permalink

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