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Sunday - February 28, 2010

Game 7: Stanford at Texas

Texas got their first series sweep today beating Stanford 8-2. Cole Green got the win in relief and Russell Moldenhauer hit his first homer if the year.

Another quick post from the field. Full report to come this evening. Watch for an update here.

UPDATE. I have to say...that was awfully sweet. After watching the Horns struggle last weekend, it was really nice to see them play so well this weekend. It was another fairly chilly day at Disch-Falk. I think the temperature was in the low 60s but the wind was blowing the whole game...from rf to lf, in stark contrast to the wind on Friday. It was only a few degrees colder than yesterday but felt more like 15 degrees colder. It never ceases to amaze me how much colder it can be in the stands at Disch-Falk Field than anywhere else in the city of Austin. Ah well...the win made the weather much easier to tolerate. Heh.

Here's the line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Stanford	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	2
Texas	3	0	0	3	0	0	0	2	x	8	8	0

Austin Dicharry got the start and pitched the first four innings. He gave up the two Stanford runs (both earned) as he faced 17 batters. By my count, he threw 58 pitches (34 strikes). He hit one batter, walked one, and gave up 5 hits. Cole Green threw the final 5 innings to get the win. His five innings were perfect, by the way. 1-2-3 all the way. He faced 15 batters, threw 52 pitches (38 strikes) and struck out 6. 'Twas a thing of beauty. And, he was sporting the high-sock look. Love it!

Once again, the Horns jumped to an early lead, scoring 3 in the first:

• Tant Shepherd, who started the day hitting well over .500, led things off with his first of four strikeouts. Ouch. He's still leading the team with a batting average of .435, by the way.
• Brandon Loy singled and then moved to 2b on an error by 1b. The Stanford pitcher had him picked off (that seems to be something the team really needs to work on, by the way) but the first baseman mishandled the pick-off throw from the pitcher so Loy was safe at 2b. Whew.
• Cameron Rupp hit a single that dribbled off the third baseman's glove into shallow lf, scoring Loy.
• Russell Moldenhauer then hit a homerun over the 375 sign in lf.
• Kevin Keyes struck out swinging.
• Connor Rowe reached on a throwing error by 3b. The third baseman fielded and looked like he had plenty of time to catch Rowe at 1b but his throw was low and off-line.
• Kevin Lusson popped out to 2b.

The Horns went down in order in the 2nd and 3rd...two strikeouts in both innings. Ouch.

They scored three more in the 4th, though:

• Keyes led things off with a single to shallow cf that he tried to stretch into a double. Bad idea. Thrown out at 2b.
• Rowe singled up the middle.
• Kevin Lusson drew a 5-pitch walk, putting runners at 1b and 2b.
• Kyle Lusson then tripled down the rf line, scoring Rowe and the younger Lusson.
• Jordan Etier drew an 8-pitch walk. Purty.
• With Shepherd at the plate, Lusson scored and Etier moved to 2b on a balk by the pitcher, who had Etier picked off (again!) but double-pumped before throwing to 1b. Balk.
• Shepherd, sadly, as I noted earlier, struck out.
• Loy grounded out to 2b to end the inning.

Rupp led the 5th off with a walk and moved to 3b (hit batter, double play ball) but was stranded there. The Horns went 1-2-3 again in the 6th and 7th before putting another couple of runs up in the 8th:

• Moldenhauer reached on a full-count walk.
• Keyes flew out to lf...just shy of the lf fence in front of the scoreboard. So close.
• Rowe singled through the left side, moving Moldenhauer to 2b.
• Kevin Lusson doubled off the top of the wall in lf (near the 375 sign) to score Moldenhauer and Rowe.
• Kyle Lusson grounded out to 2b, moving Kevin Lusson to 3b.
• Etier struck out to end the inning.

The Horns now play UT-Pan American on Tuesday (6:05 first pitch) and then are off to Houston for the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park over the weekend. Texas, Missouri, and Texas Tech are the three Big 12 teams participating this year. The other three teams are Houston, Rice, and TCU. Oddly, Texas is scheduled to play Rice, Houston, and Mizzou. Weird. Usually, the Big 12 teams do not play each other...they each play the other three teams. Dunno why things are different this year. But, I do know the Mizzou game will not count in the Big 12 standings. I won't be headed to Houston, as usual, but will try to listen to (and report on) all the games.

Go, Horns!

Posted by Joanna at 3:25 PM | Permalink

Saturday - February 27, 2010

Game 6: Stanford at Texas

Texas wins again, 6-3 today. Nice game.

Another quick post from the field. Full report to come this evening. Watch for an update here.

UPDATE. Texas took the lead early and kept it. Timely hitting was the key to today's win. Afterall: 6 hits, 6 runs. Yikes. The weather was much better today. There was a slight breeze in from lf for a little while but, for the most part, the flags were quiet this afternoon. The temperature stayed in the mid-60s for most of the day.

Brandon Workman started and got his first win of the year. He threw 5 innings. By my count, he threw 97 pitches (58 strikes), faced 23 batters (hitting one of them), gave up 2 walks, and struck out 6, while giving up 2 runs (both earned) on 6 hits. Andrew McKirahan started the 6th. McKirahan did not have as good a day today as he did yesterday. He faced three batters, giving up a full-count walk (7 pitches) to the first and a single to rf to the second. The runner from 1b was off with the pitch and dug for 3b. Kevin Keyes tried to throw the lead runner out at 3b but his throw was high. The batter scooted up to 2b on the throw, putting batters at 2b and 3b with no outs. The next batter grounded out to ss, scoring one. Texas sent Chance Ruffin to the mound. He struck out the first batter he faced on 3 pitches. Then, got the next one to ground out to the pitcher. Whew. Ruffin threw the final 3.2 innings to earn his first save of the year. By my count, he threw 44 pitches (34 strikes), faced 12 batters, struck out 4, and gave up a single. He looked really good today.

Offensively, the Horns scored early when Tant Shepherd hit a solo homerun into the Texas bullpen to start the game. Yeah! Brandon Loy then walked his way aboard but was picked off 1-3-6. So sad. Russell Moldenhauer drew another full-count walk a couple of batters later but was stranded at 1b. Moldenhauer is only batting .118 on the year but paces the team with 9 walks. Cameron Rupp and Kevin Lusson are in 2nd place with 5 walks apiece.

In the second, Connor Rowe started things with a single and was moved to 2b on a sac bunt by Kevin Lusson. Kyle Lusson then reached on an error by the 1st baseman who stopped a ground ball but could not get a handle on it and was unable to get a throw off to the pitcher covering 1b. Rowe moved to 3b on the play. Jordan Etier then executed a really lovely squeeze bunt to score Rowe and move Lusson to 2b. Shepherd then singled in his second rbi of the day. Alas, he was picked off much like Loy was, 1-3-6. The pitcher must've had a really good move, eh?

The Horns went down in order in the 3rd but scored another run in the 4th. The last three runs scored by the Horns came on 2-out/nobody-on rallies. 'Love that kind of playing! In the 4th, with 2 out, Kevin Lusson singled his way aboard. Kyle Lusson singled behind him, moving him to 2b. Etier then worked an 8-pitch full-count walk to load the bases. The pitcher (Scott Snodgress) made a move to throw to 1b after his 2nd pitch to Shepherd. Alas, nobody was covering the base and he did not throw the ball. Balk. Kevin Lusson scored. Stanford lifted the starter at that point. The reliever went on to complete the walk and then got Loy to ground out to 2b to end the inning. Texas up 4-1 at that point.

After giving up single runs in the 5th and 6th, the Horns started off the bottom of the 6th with back-to-back ground outs by the Lusson brothers. Etier drew another full-count walk, though. Shepherd then drew a 4-pitch walk to chase a second Stanford pitcher from the game. Loy followed with a full-count/8-pitch double to lf (he did a great job fighting off some nice pitches), scoring Etier and Shepherd! Rupp flew out to cf to end the inning.

The line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Stanford	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	3	8	1
Texas	1	2	0	1	0	2	0	0	x	6	6	0

So, the Horns get their first series win of the year. Hopefully, they get their first series sweep tomorrow. Austin Dicharry is slated to get the start for the Horns. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 4:47 PM | Permalink

Game 5 photos

How 'bout a few photos from yesterday's game against Stanford? Okay. Here you go.

First, Taylor Jungmann on the mound...

Connor Rowe at 1b as Kevin Lusson squares to bunt in the 2nd...

Cameron Rupp hitting a double to bring Etier home for the first run of he game in the 3rd (see the blur of the ball leaping off the bat?)...

Bases loaded with Keyes at the plate in the 5th...

Celebrating the grand slam...

Jordan Etier at 3b in the 6th, right before he scored the final run of the game...

Posted by Joanna at 11:12 AM | Permalink

Friday - February 26, 2010

Game 5: Stanford at Texas

Texas beats Stanford 6-0. Seven innings pitched by Taylor Jungmann and a grand slam by Kevin Keyes were the big highlights.

Quick post from the field. Full report to come this evening. Watch for an update here.

UPDATE: Sorry it took me so long to get to this. I got kinda caught up in the whole Apolo Ohno thing. Those short-track guys are crazy! Anyway...

Much better game today. Of course, if that grand slam hadn't slipped over the fence, things probably wouldn't have seemed nearly so rosy. It was cold out there today. At the start of the game, it was 51 °F and it only fell one degree over the course of the game. Which shouldn't have been too terribly unbearable but there was a very stiff wind blowing across from the lf corner to the rf corner...making conditions miserable. And, I ignored my hard-earned knowledge about how the weather at Disch-Falk is always worse than it is in the rest of Austin and ran off without a blanket. Boy was I sorry! But, I survived. Whew.

Taylor Jungmann got the start for the Horns and moved his record to 2-0. Yay. He went 7 innings, faced 29 batters, threw 113 pitches by my count (63 strikes), walked 4, struck out 10, and gave up 4 hits...and, most importantly, no runs! Very nice. The defense looked good behind him. In particular, I thought Jordan Etier looked really good at 2b today. He made a couple of really nice stops on hard-hit ground balls that looked like they were destined to slip through the infield and into rf. But, he got to 'em, almost effortlessly it seemed, and tossed batters out easily at 1b. Stayton Thomas went in at the beginning of the 8th, and faced 3 batters. He threw 16 pitches (11 strikes), had one strikeout, and gave up one hit. Andrew McKirahan threw the final 1.1 innings. He faced 4 batters and sat them all down. He threw only 11 pitches (9 of them were strikes!) and had one strikeout. Very nicely done by all three pitchers.

It looked, for quite some time, like neither team would score much at all. Stanford did threaten, getting men in scoring position with 1 out in the 1st, 2nd, and 5th, but that was about it.

Texas also threatened in the 1st:

• Tant Shepherd, leading off for the first time this year, grounded out to 3b.
• Brandon Loy then reached on a throwing error by 3b. The third baseman bobbled a ground ball and then sailed his throw way over the first baseman. But, the ball bounced right back to the second baseman who was backing up the throw so Loy stayed at 1b.
• Cameron Rupp flew out to deep in the cf/rf gap, giving Loy time to tag and move up to 2b.
• Russell Moldenhauer then drew a full-count walk.
• Alas, Keven Keyes grounded out to the pitcher to end the threat.

Connor Rowe drew a 5-pitch walk to start the Texas half of the 2nd and moved to 2b on a sac bunt by Kevin Lusson. He made a running blunder when he hesitated on a ball hit deep in the hole to ss by Kyle Lusson. He started for 3b, hesitated, and then took off. The shortstop threw to 3b, easily getting Rowe out. Lusson was then picked off (very nice move by the pitcher) with Etier at the plate. Tsk tsk.

The Horns scored their first run of the game in the 3rd. Etier singled up the middle and moved to 2b on a sac bunt by Shepherd. Loy flew out to lf. Rupp then doubled to cf, scoring Etier. Moldenhauer drew his second of 3 walks on the day (seems the Cardinal was a bit hesitant to give the Texas dh anything to swing at). But, Keyes hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice to end the inning.

In the 4th, Kyle Lusson reached on a 2-out single but was stranded at 1b when Etier lined out to ss.

The 5th though. That was the inning. Yeah. It went like so:

• Shepherd lined a single into cf and moved to 2b on a sac bunt by Loy.
• Rupp was hit by a 1-1 pitch (on the forearm, I think) to put runners at 1b and 2b.
• Moldenhauer drew a full-count walk to load the bases.
• And, Keyes hit a 1-0 pitch just over the 375 sign in rf for a grand slam. I think it might've been slightly aided by the wind. It sure was pretty, nevertheless.
• Sadly, that meant the end of Kyle Lusson's reign as the homerun leader for the Horns.
• Rowe and Kevin Lusson grounded out to end the 5th.

The Horns scored another run in the 6th. Etier reached on a 1-out single and moved to 3b on a single to cf by Shepherd. He then scored on a 6-4 fielder's choice hit by Loy. It probably should've been an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play but the second baseman couldn't get a handle on the ball to make the relay throw. Loy was then caught stealing with Rupp at the plate.

And that was about it.

The line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Stanford	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
Texas	0	0	1	0	4	1	0	0	x	6	7	0

I kept score with iScore again and was fairly happy with how it went. Of course, nothing really unusual happened in today's game so things went more smoothly. I've decided, though, that I'm not going to post the scoresheets. It's too much work...adding the notes. I might go to the effort to post the scoresheets from time to time but don't think it's worth the effort to post them after every game...especially since nobody really seems to be clamoring for them.

Up tomorrow? Game 2 of the Stanford series. I believe Brandon Workman will get the start for the Horns.

UPDATE #2: I posted some photos from the game in a second post.

Posted by Joanna at 5:24 PM | Permalink

Wednesday - February 24, 2010

Game 4: Dallas Baptist at Texas

Was busy at work and unable to tune into the game until the top of the 5th. Cole Green was in trouble...bases loaded with one out as I tuned in. Texas was ahead 6-1. The Horns did give up a run on a ground out then got a fly out to end the threat. Texas ahead 6-2, going into the bottom of the 5th. Kyle Lusson started things off in the bottom of the inning with a double to the lf/cf gap. Nice. Jordan Etier moved him to 3b on a shallow fly ball to cf that was dropped by the DBU center fielder...the out was recorded with a ruling by the umpire that the ball was dropped on the transfer from the catch to the throw. Brandon Loy then singled through the lef side to score Lusson. He promptly stole 2b on the first pitch to Tant Shepherd. Alas, after several pitches to Shepherd, the Patriots managed to pick Loy off between 2b and 3b. Shepherd went on to strike out swinging. Texas up 7-2 at the end of the 5th.

Stayton Thomas went in at the top of the 6th to pitch for the Horns. And he got a flyout to cf, a ground out to ss, and a pop-out to himself just short of the mound. Nicely done.

Left my office and came back to find 2 Longhorns (Rupp and Moldenhauer) aboard in the bottom of the 6th...both via walks, it seems. Keyes and Rowe popped out to shallow rf and then Kevin Lusson grounded out to 3b. Too bad.

Thomas still in for the 7th: strikeout, ground out to 2b, and another ground out to 2b. Very nice.

It looked cold at Disch-Falk, by the way. I tuned into the free audio/video feed to watch the action. Very nice. The link, when there's a free feed, is the little video camera that you can see on the schedule on the TexasSports.com baseball page.

In the bottom of the 7th, Kyle Lusson tried to bunt his way aboard but popped the ball up...caught by the catcher. Etier struck out swinging. It would seem that the DBU reliever who walked the first two batters he faced had found a bit of a groove. Loy grounded out to 3b.

Thomas still in for the 8th. First DBU batter chopped a ball to 2b. Loy made a great play to field and nip the batter out at 1b. Texas sent Andrew McKirahan in to relieve Thomas and face a left-handed DBU batter. Sadly, he walked the batter on 5 pitches. A nice double play (6-4-3) ended the DBU half of the inning.

And, I missed the rest of the game. I managed to "tune" back in to see Chance Ruffin on the mound with 2 on and 2 out. A pop-up to 2b ended the game. Texas won 7-2.

The line (according to GameTracker):

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Dallas Baptist	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	5	0
Texas	0	0	4	2	1	0	0	0	x	7	8	1

Cole Green got the win in his first outing of the year.

Next up...Stanford comes to town. I'm gonna try to make all three games of the series. Go, Horns!

Posted by Joanna at 5:59 PM | Permalink

Monday - February 22, 2010

Dallas Baptist game pushed back

UT and Dallas Baptist have decided to push their game back to Wednesday since the weather forecast for tomorrow is so dreary. The start time is still set for 3 o'clock. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 8:08 AM | Permalink

Sunday - February 21, 2010

Game 3: New Mexico at Texas

Texas lost again today 1-3 to drop their opening series of the 2010 season to the New Mexico Lobos. 'Not really sure what to say about the situation. They looked awfully flat today. And, sadly, I've had to come in to work and will likely be here very late tonight...and then well into the very late hours tomorrow night (many many papers due by midnight tomorrow night and you know how folks love to wait 'til the last minute on those things, right?) so am not sure when I'll be able to post much at all.

The line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New Mexico	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	3	10	0
Texas	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	8	0

At least it was an error-free game. Austin Dicharry took the loss, by the way. I'll be back with more when I can get back.

Posted by Joanna at 4:24 PM | Permalink

Saturday - February 20, 2010

Game 2: New Mexico at Texas

Alas, Texas fell to New Mexico today 5-6. Brandon Workman started for the Horns and went 6 innings. He struggled a bit, giving up 2 runs (2-out, 2-run homer) in the 1st, another in the 4th and a 4th in the 6th. By my count, he threw 112 pitches. Andrew McKirahan started the 7th and struck out 2 lefties before he was lifted for Stayton Thomas who threw 2 pitches to get the next batter to ground out. Chance Ruffin came on for the final two innings. He breezed through the 8th (2 Ks and a pop-up). He started the 9th with a 3rd K. He then gave up a solo dinger to Justin Howard, who went 3-for-4 on the day, to tie the game at 5-5. Ouch. Then he gave up a couple of singles and committed an error to load the bases. A sac fly gave the Lobos the lead...and Ruffin the loss. Austin House threw the final 2 innings for New Mexico (allowing only one base-runner in the 8th...with 2 outs) to earn the win.

The line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New Mexico	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	6	12	1
Texas	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	10	3

Texas looked great in the bottom of the 1st...answering and then topping the runs scored by the Lobos in the top of the inning. And, then..for the most part, they just struggled. Sadly, they left 6 runners in scoring position in the final 8 innings of play...4 of them at 3rd base. The Horns combined for 10 hits, including 2 doubles. But, 7 of those hits, including the two doubles came in the 1st and 2nd innings. What? Yep...that's the way things went.

Hopefully, things will turn around tomorrow. Austin Dicharry is expected to get the start.

By the way, I used iScore to score the game again. I'm ambivalent about the program. There are lots of things I really like about it. But, there are lots of little things that I can't quite get used to. And, I spent way too much time this evening trying to reconcile what happened with what was on the scoresheet. 'Not sure it's worth all the effort. Regardless, here's the scoresheet if you're interested: New Mexico at Texas scoresheet - Feb. 20, 2010 (PDF format).

Posted by Joanna at 11:45 PM | Permalink

Friday - February 19, 2010

Game 1: New Mexico at Texas

Texas won their season opener today...defeating New Mexico 6-2. Taylor Jungmann started for the Horns and went 7 innings. Yes, 7. Yes, Coach Garrido said he would not use any starters for more than 5 or 6 innings at the start of the season so that the middle relievers would get the chance to get lots of work in. Who's shocked that Jungmann went 7 innings (and threw 98 pitches) in the first game? Not me. Oh well. Stayton Thomas pitched the 8th and Chance Ruffin closed things out by pitching the 9th. Both relievers allowed a double but were lights-out otherwise. Very nice job on the mound from all three young men.

Offensively, Kyle Lusson was the hero of the day. He hit the 2nd pitch he saw over the lf fence for his first career homerun. He also reached on a bunt single and scored in the 4th, advanced a runner with a sac bunt in the 6th and then, disappointed us all by flying out in the 8th. Heh. Brandon Loy also scored 2 runs; he went 1-for-5 in the lead-off spot, scoring runs in the 1st and 4th. Jordan Etier went 1-for-5 with a run scored in the 1st. Connor Rowe and Cameron Rupp were both responsible for a couple of runs batted in. All-in-all, a pretty good day at the plate.

I tried something new today. And, I mostly liked it. I scored the game on my iPhone with an app called iScore (available from Faster Than Monkeys). It was a bit hit-or-miss to start. And, of course, Texas did something unusual in the 1st that immediately caused a problem. The bottom of the 1st went like so for Texas:

• Loy singled up the middle
• Etier, trying to bunt, popped a ball up along the 1b side. The catcher dove for the ball and had it but then dropped it. Whew. Etier then bunted a ball past the pitcher toward 1b. Both 1b and 2b went to cover the 1b bag and the ball was hit too deep for the pitcher to field. By the time, the 2b changed course to field the ball, Etier was safe. Bunt single.
• Ruppo struck out swinging.
• Moldenhauer walked, loading the bases.
• Keyes grounded out to ss. Loy scored. Etier moved to 3b; Moldenhauer moved to 2b.
• Rowe doubled to lf, scoring Etier and Moldenhauer.
• Lusson walked, moving Rowe to 2b.
• Shepherd flew out to cf.

At some point, the official scorer decided to assign an error to the catcher for the missed bunted pop-up by Etier. iScore would not allow me to score both the error and the bunt single. Annoying. I'll be dropping them a line to see if that can be fixed. But, for now, my unofficial scorecard just has a note about the situation but does not reflect reality. Or, at least, the official scorer's reality.

In the top of the 2nd, the lead-off batter hit a shallow pop-up to rf. Keyes dove for the ball but couldn't make the catch. He booted the ball toward the rf line, allowing the batter to advance to 2b. I scored this as a singled plus an error by rf. The official scorer, however, scored it as a double. I don't see how that reasoning went. If Keyes had not left his feet and allowed the ball to bounce, he likely would've fielded cleanly, keeping the batter at 1b. I was unable to go back and change the single+e9 to a double in iScore. Again, a bit frustrating.

Adding notes in iScore is a bit cumbersome as well. I'll probably get better at that, though. We'll see.

I've decided to post the iScore scoresheet for you: New Mexico at Texas scoresheet - Feb. 19, 2010 (PDF format). If I continue to use the program, I'll post the scoresheets for all iScored games.

And, the line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New Mexico	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	9	1
Texas	3	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	-	6	11	1

Note that this line reflects the official boxscore...not my scoresheet (since I couldn't get some of the stuff to work, as noted above).

Brandon Workman is slated to make the start tomorrow for the Horns. I'll be back with a report tomorrow night.

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 11:51 PM | Permalink

Opening day

I'm headed off to lunch and then Opening Day! I may post updates to my Twitter page during the game. You don't have to have a Twitter account to read the updates...just look at that boring page from time to time. I'll be back here later this evening with a full game report.

Hook 'em, Horns!

Posted by Joanna at 12:32 PM | Permalink

Tuesday - February 9, 2010

Miscellaneous news

Alan Trubow (from the Statesman) posted some news 'bout the baseball team today. To wit:

• Thomas to stopper - lots of news 'bout the pitching situation. It all sounds good!
• Keyes heads back to right field - Kevin Keyes is headed back to the outfield and Tant Shepherd will be manning 1b to start the season

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 9:34 PM | Permalink

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