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Tuesday - March 30, 2010

Game 25: Oral Roberts at Texas

Well, that was just painful. The Horns fell to Oral Roberts this evening 2-3. And, it seemed to take forever. The game started about 6:05 and didn't end 'til almost 9:20.

The line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oral Roberts	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	3	6	1
Texas	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	8	0

Brandon Loy was the standout player offensively for the Horns. He went 3-for-4 with a walk. He also scored a run. The Horns went with a different line-up today...trying to get something going against a left-handed pitcher, I guess. Alas, the experiment didn't really work. Here's how everyone did (going down the line)...

• Cohl Walla (cf): ground out to ss, single (stranded at 2b), ground out to 3b, strikeout swinging (full count), ground out to p.
• Brandon Loy (ss): single up the middle (stranded at 2b), reached on a fielder's choice (bunted too hard, lead runner thrown out at 3b, stranded at 1b), single up the middle (eventually scored 2nd run), walked (4 pitches, out 2 batters later on fielder's choice).
• Kevin Keyes (rf): flew out to cf, popped out to ss (great catch by the ss in shallow cf), grounded into 5-4-3 dp, grounded out to 3b, struck out swinging.
• Cameron Rupp (c): walked (5 pitches, stranded at 1b), popped out to rf, singled (eventually scored 1st run), hit by pitch (stranded at 3b), ground into fielder's choice to end game.
• Tant Shepherd (1b): flew out to rf, lined out to rf, 1-3 sac bunt, singled (a bloop hit to rf, rbi).
• Kevin Lusson (3b): strike out (looking, 2-2 count), fly out to rf, strike out swinging (2-2 count), strike out swinging (2-2 count).
• Kyle Lusson (dh): strike out swinging (full count), walk (stranded at 2b), single (rbi, stranded at 2b).
• Russell Moldenhauer (dh #2): grounded out to 2b.
• Jordan Etier (2b): grounded out to 3b, walk (full count, stranded at 1b), walk (5 pitches, stranded at 1b), strike out swinging.
• Connor Rowe (cf): single (forced out at 3b later), grounded out t 2b, grounded out to 3b, flew out to cf.

So, lets see...

• 1st inning: 2 stranded (1 in scoring position)
• 2nd inning: 1-2-3
• 3rd inning: 2 stranded (1 in sp)
• 4th inning: 2 stranded (1 in sp)
• 5th inning: ground out, single, double play
• 6th inning: 1 run scored, 2 stranded (1 in sp)
• 7th inning: 1 run scored, 2 stranded (1 in sp)
• 8th inning: 1-2-3
• 9th inning: 1 stranded

As I watched the game, I felt like the Horns actually stranded more than they did. But, no. They just couldn't get any hitting rallies going. Let's see how that went...

• 1st inning: 1-out single
• 2nd inning: 1-2-3 (no hits)
• 3rd inning: back-to-back singles to start the inning then a fielder's choice (bad bunt) and 2 quick outs (two 1st-pitch pop-outs)
• 4th inning: no hits
• 5th inning: 1-out single followed by double play
• 6th inning: single, sac, out, single (rbi), walk, out
• 7th inning: 1-out single, out, hbp, single (rbi), K
• 8th inning: 1-2-3
• 9th inning: out, walk, out, fielder's choice

Interesting. The only time they actually managed to get back-to-back hits, they didn't score! I dunno. The team just looked flat.

Pitching wise, they did just fine. Here's how the pitching went...

• Sam Stafford got his 2nd start of the year: 3 innings, 64 pitches (39 strikes), 14 batters faced, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts (6 in-a-row at one point!...too bad that fantastic highlight gets lost in the shuffle, eh?), 2 hits (singles), 1 run (earned).
• Kendal Carrillo: 1 inning, 18 pitches (13 strikes), 4 batters faced, 1 strikeout, 1 hit (single).
• Hoby Milner: 1.2 innings, 43 pitches (26 strikes), 10 batters faced, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 2 hits (singles), 1 run (earned).
• Austin Dicharry: 1.2 innings, 41 pitches (25 strikes), 8 batters faced, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 1 hit (homerun), 1 run (earned).
• Andrew McKirahan: .2 innings, 12 pitches (7 strikes), 2 batters faced, 1 strikeout.
• Stayton Thomas: 1 inning, 16 pitches (9 strikes), 3 batters faced.

Geesh...the Texas pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts. And, yes...8 walks (3 of them back-to-back...ouch). But, still...16 strikeouts. The lead-off batter for ORU (center fielder Joey Winecki) who reached base the first 4 times he got up to bat (walk, walk, single, walk) was called out on strikes in the 8th. He said something to the home plate ump as he walked back to the dugout and was promptly ejected from the game. I was amused that it was a guy who'd actually walked 3 times that got tossed for arguing pitches...and not one of the 3 guys who struck out 3 times. [Edit: forgot to mention one other interesting note regarding the ORU batters...the homer in the 8th? Pinch hitter batting .167 going into the game on an 0-2 pitch. What??? Yep, that's the way it went.] Ah well...

Texas really should be winning games in which they give up 3 runs. They should be scoring at least 5 or 6 runs a game. So sad to see all that offense from the last two games at Tech just disappear in a puff of smoke, eh? Ah well...tomorrow's another day.

The Horns now head up to Norman to face the Sooners on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The Sooners seem to be doing pretty well this year. But, I just looked at their schedule and am a little surprised at they way they've got things set up this week. The had an away series in Nebraska (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and are hosting Arkansas-Pine Bluff today and tomorrow. The stomped all over A-PB this evening (winning 26-3) but they will be going into the Texas series having played 5 games in 6 days. I certainly do hope that ends up benefitting the Horns. Bob (who sits near me) commented that the Horns seemed to have left their hitting shoes in Lubbock. Here's hoping those shoes find their way to Norman!

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 10:30 PM | Permalink

Sunday - March 28, 2010

Game 24: Texas at Texas Tech

I'm gonna watch the game on TV...this post will be based on that broadcast. I sure do hope the Horns win the series.

By the way, my folks are driving through West Texas today...on their way to New Mexico. They called and asked me to look up the radio station in Lubbock that carries baseball so they could listen to the game. 'Looks like Tech doesn't cover baseball on the radio. That seems odd to me. Shrug.

So, here's the play-by-play for today's game:

• 1st inning, Texas
• Chad Bettis (rhp, who threw about 50 pitches on Friday night) on the mound for Tech.
• Cohl Walla (cf) reached on an infield single to ss deep in the hole.
• Brandon Loy (ss) squared to bunt on the first pitch and took a ball. He got the next pitch down the 1b line for a nice 1-3 sac bunt, moving Walla to 2b.
• The TV guys haven't said anything about wind but it does not look like a bad West Texas wind...more like a windy day but not a terribly windy day.
• Cameron Rupp (c) grounded out to 3b. Walla could not advance.
• Kevin Keyes (rf) struck out swinging (2-2 count).
• 1st inning, Texas Tech
• Brandon Workman (rhp) on the mound for Texas.
• Jamodrick McGruder (2b) struck out swinging to start the game for Tech.
• Joey Kenworthy (ss) grounded out to 3b.
• Michael Reed (lf) struck out swinging.
• 1-2-3. Nice.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Jonathan Walsh (lf) struck out swinging (2-2 count, foul tip).
• Kevin Lusson (3b) singled into cf.
• With Russell Moldenhauer (dh) at the plate, Lusson moved up to 2b on a bad pick-off throw by the pitcher (E1, 2-2 count at the time of the bad throw).
• Moldenhauer singled just past a diving second baseman into rf, scoring Lusson.
• Tant Shepherd (1b) struck out swinging (1-2 count).
• Jordan Etier (2b) struck out swinging (0-2 count, he swung at all three pitches).
• Texas up 1-0.
• 2nd inning, Texas Tech
• Barrett Barnes (1b) flew out to lf.
• Scott LeJeune (rf) hit a hard ground ball to 2b. Etier knocked the ball down and threw to 1b but the ball was a tiny bit late. Infield base hit. Wow.
• Jeremy Mayo (c) singled through the left side, moving LeJeune to 2b. LeJeune was running on the play but had no chance to advance to 3b with the ball quickly fielded by Walsh.
• Kevin Whitehead (dh) flew out (high fly ball) to shallow rf.
• Taylor Ashby (cf) popped out to ss in shallow lf.
• Texas up 1-0.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Walla reached on another infield single to ss deep in the hole!
• Loy hit a 1-3 sac bunt, moving Walla to 2b. Loy almost beat out the throw from the pitcher!
• Rupp doubled off the base of the wall down the line in rf, scoring Walla.
• Keyes grounded out to 1b (unassisted), moving Rupp to 3b.
• Walsh grounded out to 1b (3-1, p covered bag) for the 3rd out.
• Texas up 2-0.
• 3rd inning, Texas Tech
• Aside, is the guy that narrates the Big 12 commercials, the guy who plays one of detectives on the current season of "Law and Order"? The actor's name is Anthony Anderson. 'Sure sounds like him.
• Nick Popescu (3b) grounded out to 2b.
• McGruder struck out swinging. Nice.
• Kenworthy doubled to the cf/rf gap. Nice hit. Maybe caught up in the wind a bit.
• Reed popped out to the pitcher down the 3b line. That could've been bad. Lusson was in position to field the ball and Workman sliced in front of him to get it. Yikes.
• Texas up 2-0.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Lusson grounded out to 1b (3-1, p covered bag).
• Moldenhauer homered over the lf fence!
• Shepherd drew a 5-pitch walk.
• After the first pitch to Etier (a ball in the dirt), Tech made a visit to the mound.
• Shepherd moved up to 2b on the next pitch...passed ball that went off the catcher's glove, high but not too high to catch. After a foul ball, he stole 3b on a swinging strike by Etier.
• Etier went on to strike out swinging (2-2 count).
• Walla hit an easy ground ball to 2b. The second baseman made a terrible throw to 1b, though. E4. Shepherd scored and Walla moved up to 2b.
• Loy singled off the mound and into cf, scoring Walla.
• With Rupp at the plate, Loy was caught stealing (2-4) for the 3rd out. It was ball three to take the count full on Rupp, by the way.
• Texas up 5-0.
• 4th inning, Texas Tech
• Barnes reached on a throwing error by 3b. Lusson made a bad throw...just a bit wide toward the outfield. Barnes moved up to 2b on the error.
• LeJeune doubled to the lf/cf gap, scoring Barnes.
• Mayo reached on an infield single to ss. Loy dove and kept the ball from going into cf. LeJeune held up at 2b...base-running mistake.
• Visit to the mound by Skip Johnson.
• Whitehead popped up to ss in shallow cf. Very nice catch by Loy.
• Ashby grounded out to 1b (3-1, p covered). Workman eased up as he made his way to 1b and just barely beat the batter to the bag. Geesh. Runners at 2b and 3b with 2 out.
• Popescu grounded out to 1b, unassisted.
• Texas up 5-1.
• 5th inning, Texas
• Texas Tech sent Jay Johnson (lhp, who also threw about 50 pitches on Friday) to the mound.
• Rupp lined out to lf.
• Keyes doubled to the lf/cf gap. Nice hit.
• Walsh grounded out to 1b (3-1, p covered), moving Keyes to 3b.
• Lusson lined out to cf. The center fielder made a great diving catch. Sigh...
• Texas up 5-1.
• 5th inning, Texas Tech
• McGruder grounded out 2-3 on a bunt attempt. Nice play by Rupp to get the ball and throw hard to 1b in time for the out.
• Kenworthy grounded out to 2b.
• Reed singled off the pitcher. It looked like the ball (hard liner) hit Workman on his pitching hand as he tried to protect himself from the ball. He took a few practice pitches and stayed in the game. A close-up showed a bright red swelling spot on the knuckle of his right index finger. Ouch. I don't see how he could keep throwing but he seemed to retain control. Amazing.
• Barnes hit a bloop single into rf. Reed, off with the pitch, made it to 3b on the play.
• Another close-up showed that Workman's finger was bleeding a bit...to go along with the swelling.
• LeJeune doubled down the rf line. Reed scored and Barnes moved up to 3b.
• Visit to the mound. Workman stayed in the game.
• Mayo flew out to rf. First pitch. Wow.
• Texas up 5-2.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Moldenhauer grounded out to ss.
• Shepherd doubled down the lf line.
• Visit to the mound for Tech. No pitching change, though.
• Etier drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Walla singled to left center, scoring Shepherd and moving Etier to 3b. The left fielder dove and almost caught the ball but was about 2 inches short. Walla advanced to 2b on the throw to the plate.
• Tech sent Colton Farrar (rhp) to the mound.
• With the infield pulled in, Loy singled past a diving second baseman into cf, scoring Etier and Walla.
• Rupp drew a 5-pitch walk, moving Loy to 2b.
• Keyes drew a 4-pitch walk to load the bases.
• Walsh drew a full-count walk to score Loy. Bases still loaded.
• Lusson hit a sac fly to cf, scoring Rupp. Runners at 1b and 2b with 2 out.
• Moldenhauer (up for the 2nd time in the inning) doubled off the top of the wall in cf, scoring Keyes and moving Walsh to 3b.
• Shepherd singled to lf, scoring Walsh and Moldenhauer!
• Etier grounded out to 3b.
• Texas scores 8 to take their lead to 13-2!
• 6th inning, Texas Tech
• Texas, surprisingly, kept Workman in the game on the mound.
• Whitehead singled to cf.
• After 2 balls to Ashby, the trainer and Skip Johnson went out to the mound to look at Workman's finger. And, decided to send Chance Ruffin in, replacing Workman.
• Ashby ended up drawing a full-count walk. The walk gets charged to Workman.
• Popescu singled through the right side to load the bases. Sigh...10-run rule, people!
• McGruder grounded out to 1b unassisted. Whitehead scored, Ashby to 3b and Popescu to 2b.
• Kenworthy struck out swinging. Rupp couldn't hold onto the ball. His throw to 1b hit the runner who was called out for running inside the baseline. The other runners had to stay put.
• Reed flew out to lf to end the inning.
• Texas up 13-3.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Texas Tech sent Brennen Stewart (rhp) to the mound.
• Walla flew out to cf.
• Loy popped out (soft liner) to 2b.
• Rupp grounded out to 2b.
• Texas up 13-3.
• 7th inning, Texas Tech
• Texas moved Walla to lf, sent Kyle Lusson into rf (replacing Keyes) and Connor Rowe into cf (replacing Walsh in the lineup).
• Barnes hit a homerun to left center. Sigh. 10-run rule!!! Sigh.
• LeJeune drew a full-count walk.
• Mayo struck out looking.
• Whitehead flew out to rf near the line and at the warning track.
• Ashby drew a full-count walk.
• Popescu struck out swinging.
• Texas up 13-4.
• 8th inning, Texas
• Tech sent Bo Altobelli in at 3b.
• Kyle Lusson hit a homerun over the rf fence! 'Love it!
• Rowe struck out swinging (1-2 count).
• Texas Tech sent Ben Flora (lhp) to the mound.
• Kevin Lusson struck out swinging (2-2 count, very high pitch...ouch).
• Moldenhauer struck out swinging (full count).
• Texas up 14-4.
• 8th inning, Texas Tech
• Texas sent Hoby Milner (lhp) to the mound, replacing Ruffin.
• Garrett Totten (pinch-hitting for McGruder) flew out to cf (full count).
• Kenworthy singled over 3b into lf. Walla dropped the ball as he was transferring it to his throwing hand...E7 allowed Kenworthy to reach 2b.
• Bonham Hough (pinch-hitting for Reed) doubled off the wall in rf, scoring Kenworthy. Damn.
• Barnes flew out to cf. Rowe made a nice play to charge and make the catch.
• LeJeune grounded out to 2b. Close play at 1b as Etier dropped the ball and had to rush his throw. Ump called him out but the play was very close. Tie goes to the runner, right?
• Texas up 14-5. And, to the 9th we go. Sigh...
• 9th inning, Texas
• Shepherd drew a 5-pitch walk.
• Etier homered to lf!
• Walla (TV guys, not surprisingly, think the wrong guy is at the plate...but they eventually figured it out) also homered over the lf fence! More toward the gap than straightaway.
• Loy flew out to cf.
• Texas Tech sent Justin Cooper (rhp) to the mound.
• Rupp struck out looking (full count). The strikeout pitch looked outside but an earlier pitch was called a ball that looked like a strike so...eh.
• Kyle Lusson flew out to rf.
• Texas up 17-5.
• 9th inning, Texas Tech
• Mayo singled up the middle.
• Stephen Hagen (pinch-hitting for Whitehead) flew out to rf.
• Alec Mielnicki (pinch-hitting for Ashby) reached on a fielder's choice. On the play, Kevin Lusson at 3b fielded and threw on a hop to 2b. Etier bobbled the catch a bit and the runner was called safe (E5).
• Altobelli grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
• Texas wins 17-5.

Brandon Workman gets the win to move his record to 4-1. 'Not sure why he stayed in past the 5th with his sore hand or why Chance Ruffin went in at all with such a big lead. I have to say that the pitching decisions made by Texas this year confuse me. But, it's been working for the most part so...shrug. I am disappointed that the Horns didn't put things away when they had the chance in the 7th and again in the 8th. Frustrating. But, if they'd won in the 7th, Kyle Lusson wouldn't have had a chance to homer in the 8th. And, we would've missed the back-to-back homers by Etier and Walla in the 9th. Silver lining, eh?

The line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Texas	0	1	1	3	0	8	0	1	3	17	16	3
Texas Tech	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	5	14	2

The Horns come home to face Oral Roberts on Tuesday before they head out to Oklahoma to face a red-hot Sooner team on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday later in the week.

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 2:58 PM | Permalink

Saturday - March 27, 2010

Game 23: Texas at Texas Tech

Here's hoping tonight's game is an improvement over last night's! Like yesterday, I'll be listening to the KVET radio broadcast and recapping things as the game goes along. This report is based on said broadcast...Keith Moreland and Craig Way on the air again. The wind is blowing again...but from a different direction tonight. 'Sounds like it's blowing out to center and right-center. Coach Garrido said the equipment manager bought some clear glasses that'll help protect the players' eyes from the dust if it kicks up again.

The play-by-play:

• 1st inning, Texas
• Bobby Doran (rhp) on the mound for Tech.
• Cohl Walla (cf) grounded out to ss.
• Brandon Loy (ss) fell behind but worked the count full, fouled a pitch off his foot, and then flew out to cf (in the gap). Keith said it would normally have been a pop-up to 2b but was blown 300 feet deep. Heh.
• Cameron Rupp (c) grounded out to ss.
• 1st inning, Texas Tech
• Cole Green (rhp) on the mound for Texas.
• Jamodrick McGruder (2b) tried to bunt for a single but could not beat the throw from the catcher to 1b. Nice play by Rupp!
• Joey Kenworthy (ss) singled through the right side.
• Michael Reed (lf) doubled to the lf/cf gap, scoring Kenworthy. Sigh...
• Barrett Barnes (rf) doubled down the lf line, scoring Reed. Double sigh...
• Scott LeJeune (dh) flew out to lf (1st pitch).
• Jeremy Mayo (1b) grounded out to ss (0-2 count, I think).
• Texas down 0-2. Damn.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Kevin Keyes (rf) drew a 5-pitch walk.
• Jonathan Walsh (lf) struck out swinging (1-2 count).
• Kevin Lusson (3b) struck out swinging (0-2 count).
• Russell Moldenhauer (dh) singled off the mound and into cf, moving Keyes to 2b.
• Tant Shepherd (1b) struck out looking (full count). Craig said the ball looked low and outside.
• Texas strands 2.
• Texas down 0-2.
• 2nd inning, Texas Tech
• Kevin Whitehead (c) flew out to rf.
• Taylor Ashby (cf) struck out looking (2-2 count).
• Keith commented that the home plate ump tends to start out with a large strike zone that gets smaller as the game goes along.
• Nick Popescu (3b) singled a blooper down the lf line. He tried to stretch the single into a double but was thrown out by Walsh in lf (7-4?). Nice.
• Entertainingly, GameTracker reported that "Popescu singled to left field, popped up to 2b"...no idea what that means! Heh.
• Texas down 0-2.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Jordan Etier (2b) worked the count full, fought off a couple of pitches, and then drew a walk.
• Walla squared to bunt and bunted through the first pitch, strike one. He squared on the 2nd pitch and popped it foul, strike two. Pitch out on the third pitch...runner staying put at 1b, though. Fourth pitch: foul ball. Fifth pitch: ball bounced across the plate. Etier stole 2b on the pitch. Another foul ball. Walla then tripled off the wall in cf, scoring Etier!
• Loy grounded out to 2b, scoring Walla. Game tied. Yes!
• GameTracker failed to note Walla scoring from 3b. I'm thinking the scorer doesn't know how to use the software.
• Rupp struck out swinging (1-2 count, I think).
• And, Walla disappeared off 3b on GameTracker...mystery score!
• Keyes doubled off the wall in lf.
• Walsh struck out swinging (1-2 count).
• Game tied 2-2.
• 3rd inning, Texas Tech
• McGruder singled up the middle.
• Kenworthy squared to bunt and was hit by a pitch. Sigh...
• Reed squared to bunt on the first pitch: ball. Second pitch was a ball (radio guys did not say if he squared again but I think he did). Which prompted a visit to the mound by Skip Johnson. Squared again: called strike. Sac bunt (2-3, c fielded and only had play to 1b as 3b moved down line to field as the ball went down the 3b line) to move runners to 2b and 3b.
• Barnes popped out to 2b in shallow rf.
• LeJeune grounded out to 1b (3-1, p covered bag). Green fell behind 3-0 but then threw a strike and then had 2 or 3 balls fouled off before throwing the ground-out pitch.
• Game tied 2-2. Whew.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Lusson grounded out to ss.
• Moldenhauer doubled off the wall in lf. Craig Way sure did think it was gonna clear the fence. Heh.
• Shepherd doubled down the rf, scoring Moldenhauer! Texas ahead for the first time this series!
• Etier singled up the middle, scoring Shepherd!
• Walla grounded out to 3b, moving Etier to 2b. Etier was running with the pitch...no chance at a play at 2b.
• Loy lined a single into cf, scoring Etier!
• Loy was caught stealing (2-4?) on the first pitch to Rupp. Tech had thrown a pitch-out, anticipating the sb attempt.
• Texas up 5-2!
• 4th inning, Texas Tech
• Mayo flew out to cf (1st pitch).
• Whitehead grounded out to 2b.
• Ashby popped out to c in foul territory. Yes!
• Texas up 5-2.
• 5th inning, Texas
• Rupp singled up the middle.
• Keyes reached on a 5-4 fielder's choice...relay throw to 1b late so no dp. Whew.
• Walsh struck out swinging (2-2 count).
• Lusson flew out to rf at the warning track.
• Texas up 5-2.
• 5th inning, Texas Tech
• Popescu flew out to cf just shy of the warning track.
• Keith Moreland commented that the wind had really died down by this time to a normal wind...instead of the strong driving wind from earlier in the afternoon.
• McGruder struck out swinging (3 pitches).
• Kenworthy homered. Radio guys did not say to which field.
• Reed saw three balls in a row to start things off. Rupp went out to the mound to talk to Green. Next pitch: strike. Fifth pitch: ball 4.
• Barnes flew out to rf. First pitch. Whew.
• Texas up 5-3.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Moldenhauer flew out to lf (toward the lf/cf gap).
• Shepherd doubled down the lf line.
• Etier doubled down the rf line, scoring Shepherd. The ball got past the right fielder, allowing Etier to reach 3b. Officially scored as a triple.
• Visit to the mound. No pitching change.
• Walla struck out looking (1-2 count).
• Loy grounded out to ss.
• Texas up 6-3.
• 6th inning, Texas Tech
• LeJeune struck out swinging. The wild pitch got away from Rupp, though, and LeJeune made it to 1b safely. Bah.
• Radio guys pointed out that Chance Ruffin was up in the bullpen.
• Mayo very nicely hit into a 6-4-3 double play!
• Whitehead lined a single into lf.
• Ashby flew out to rf.
• Texas up 6-3.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Texas Tech sent Brett Bruening (rhp) to the mound, replacing Doran.
• Rupp struck out looking (1-2 count).
• Keyes grounded out to ss...nice play by the shortstop deep in the hole.
• Walsh grounded out to 2b.
• Texas up 6-3.
• 7th inning, Texas Tech
• Popescu flew out to cf (in the lf/cf gap).
• Moreland commented that earlier in the game, that ball would've been off the wall.
• McGruder grounded out to 2b.
• Kenworthy drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Visit to the mound. No pitching change.
• Reed hit a ball deep in the hole at ss. Infield single. Loy threw wide of 2b, trying to get the runner from 1b. Etier could not stop the ball. Kenworthy advanced to 3b and Reed moved up to 2b on the error.
• Texas sent Chance Ruffin (rhp) to the mound, replacing Green.
• Barnes flew out to rf. Whew.
• Texas up 6-3.
• 8th inning, Texas
• Lusson homered over the rf fence!
• Moldenhauer flew out to cf just shy of the warning track.
• Shepherd grounded out to ss.
• Etier flew out to cf.
• Texas up 7-3.
• 8th inning, Texas Tech
• LeJeune struck out looking (full count).
• Mayo hit a bloop double into shallow lf. Walsh dove for the ball but was unable to make the catch.
• Mayo moved to 3b on a wild pitch with Whitehead at the plate.
• Whitehead struck out swinging (!) after fighting off a couple of pitches (full count).
• Ashby flew out to lf in front of the warning track. Whew.
• Texas up 7-3.
• 9th inning, Texas
• Moreland and Way talked about carrying the football scrimmage next Sunday on KVET again and I realized that it would not be preempting the baseball game since the Horns are playing Th-Fr-Sa next week. Good deal.
• Walla doubled off the wall in lf after fighting off about 42 pitches. Or so it seemed. He probably saw 6 or 7 pitches.
• Loy grounded out to 2b (nice play by 2b), moving Walla to 3b.
• Rupp reached on a fielder's choice. Kenworthy tried to throw Walla out at home but could not make the play. E6. Run scores.
• Keyes reached on a 5-4 fielder's choice.
• Texas sent Kyle Lusson in to pinch-run for Keyes.
• Walsh flew out to lf.
• Texas up 8-3.
• 9th inning, Texas Tech
• Walla moved to lf, Kyle Lusson stayed in the game in rf, and Connor Rowe entered the game in cf (replacing Walsh in the lineup).
• Popescu drew a full-count walk.
• McGruder was hit by a pitch (1-2 count), putting runners at 1b and 2b. Ouch.
• Kenworthy popped up to ss behind 3b in shallow lf.
• Reed reached on a 4-6 fielder's choice. Popescu moved up to 3b on the play.
• With Barnes at the plate, Reed moved up to 2b...no throw. Not sure if he got credited with a sb or if it was considered defensive indifference.
• Visit to the mound by Skip Johnson with 2-1 count to Barnes.
• Barnes went on to draw a 5-pitch (I think) walk to load the bases.
• LeJeune struck out swinging (1-2 count).
• Texas wins 8-3!!

Cole Green gets the win, moving his record to 5-0. And, Chance Ruffin gets his 6th save of the year. All the extra-base hits made for a very happy listener at this end. 'Wish I could've seen a few of those hits. Here's hoping the bats stay lively tomorrow!

The line:

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

Oh, my! That bottom of the 9th was a little more interesting than I like. It makes you wonder if Chance Ruffin doesn't have a bit of an evil streak, doesn't it? Or is he just trying to get our blood pumping a bit? Heh.

The hitters did a great job tonight. 'Hope they continue their winning ways on TV (FSN) tomorrow at noon. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 8:33 PM | Permalink

Friday - March 26, 2010

Game 22: Texas at Texas Tech

I listened to the game on the radio. This report is based on the description provided by Criag Way and Keith Moreland this evening and a few things from GameTracker. I jotted notes for the first couple of innings as I was driving home so the details at the top of the game are a bit hazy.

Here's how things played out:

• 1st inning, Texas
• John Neely on the mound for the Red Raiders.
• Cole Walla (rf) singled (through the right side, I think).
• Brandon Loy (ss) moved Walla to 2b with a 1-3 sac bunt.
• Cameron Rupp (c) flew out to rf. Walla tagged up on the play and advanced to 3b.
• Kevin Keyes (dh) struck out swinging.
• Lead-off batter reached and then stranded at 3b.
• 1st inning, Texas Tech
• Jamodrick McGruder (2b) lined out to 2b.
• Joey Kenworthy (ss) lined out to 2b.
• Michael Reed (lf) walked (on four pitches, I think).
• Barrett Barnes (1b) homered over the lf fence.
• Scott LeJeune (rf) struck out swinging.
• Texas down 0-2.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Kevin Lusson (3b) singled (up the middle, I think).
• Jonathan Walsh (lf) moved Lusson to 2b with a 1-3 sac bunt.
• Tant Shepherd (1b) grounded out to 2b, moving Lusson to 3b.
• Connor Rowe (cf) struck out swinging.
• Lead-off batter reached and then stranded at 3b.
• Texas down 0-2.
• 2nd inning, Texas Tech
• Jeremy Mayo (c) walked (didn't note the count).
• Kevin Whitehead (dh) doubled to right-center, scoring Mayo.
• Taylor Ashby (cf) reached on a fielder's choice. He bunted. The ball was fielded quickly by Jungmann who looked back to 2b and saw that Whitehead was far enough off the bag that he had a play. He threw to Loy (at ss) who tagged Whitehead for the out. Ashby safe at 1b.
• Nick Popescu (3b) struck out swinging.
• McGruder hit a homerun to lf. Keith Moreland said it would've been a routine fly ball to lf without the wind.
• Kennworthy singled past 2b.
• Reed grounded out to the pitcher.
• Texas down 0-5.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Jordan Etier (2b) grounded out to 2b.
• Walla grounded out to the catcher. He hit a chopper off the plate.
• Loy tripled to right-center.
• Rupp flew out to cf.
• Texas stranded a runner at 3b...not the lead-off batter this time, though.
• Texas down 0-5.
• 3rd inning, Texas Tech
• Barnes struck out swinging to start things off.
• LeJeune grounded out to 2b.
• Mayo doubled off the wall in left-center.
• Whitehead struck out looking!
• Texas down 0-5.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Keyes homered over the left-center wall.
• Lusson popped out to the shortstop.
• Walsh grounded out to ss.
• Shepherd singled past 3b into lf.
• Rowe popped out to 2b in shallow cf.
• Texas did not strand a runner in scoring position for the first time in the game...and the lead-off batter scored!
• Texas down 1-5.
• 4th inning, Texas Tech
• Barnes flew out to rf.
• Popescu popped out to the pitcher.
• McGruder grounded out to the pitcher.
• Yes! 1-2-3.
• Texas down 1-5.
• 5th inning, Texas
• Etier singled to right-center.
• Walla, sadly, hit into a 1-6-3 double play.
• Loy drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Rupp flew out to rf. Craig Way said it would've been a homer without the wind. Too bad.
• Lead-off batter reached but did not score. Again.
• Texas down 1-5.
• 5th inning, Texas Tech
• Kenworthy grounded out to 2b. Etier made a very nice play to field a ball that bounced over the pitcher's outstretched glove.
• Reed drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Barnes was hit by a pitch (on his helmet)...a breaking ball that got away from Jungmann. Runners at 1b and 2b with 1 out.
• Comment from Keith Moreland that Jungmann is really struggling with his consistency tonight...that he has no feel for his breaking ball.
• After the first pitch to LeJeune (a ball), Texas made a visit to the mound.
• LeJeune lined into cf for a single. Reed scored and Barnes moved up to 3b.
• Mayo reached on a 5-4 fielder's choice, scoring Barnes. LeJeune out on the play. The ball was not hit hard enough to make the double play but Texas did try. Moreland commented that Lusson probably had a play at home.
• Whitehead was hit by a pitch...on the leg.
• Moreland noted that McKirahan was up in the bullpen.
• Ashby struck out swinging.
• Texas down 1-7. Ouch.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Keyes singled into left-center to lead things off for Texas.
• Which, peculiarly enough, prompted a pitching change. Jay Johnson (lefty) went to the mound, replacing Neely.
• According to GameTracker, opponents are hitting .429 against Johnson with runners on base. Go, Horns!
• Lusson lined out to cf. Nice diving catch.
• Walsh grounded into a 4-6 fielder's choice. Sigh...
• Shepherd was hit by a pitch, moving Walsh to 2b.
• Rowe struck out swinging. So much for .429, eh?
• Texas strands 2 this time...only one in scoring position, though.
• Texas down 1-7.
• 6th inning, Texas Tech
• Popescu grounded out to 2b.
• McGruder reached on a full-count walk.
• Kenworthy grounded out to 1b (unassisted). McGruder moved up to 2b.
• Reed lined into lf for a single, scoring McGruder.
• Which prompted a pitching change for the Horns. Texas sent Stayton Thomas to the mound.
• I'm pretty sure this marks Jungmann's worst outing at UT. Tech, like Nebraska, throws a lot of left-handed batters into its line-up.
• Barnes struck out looking after fighting off a few pitches.
• Texas down 1-8.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Bonham Hough went into rf for the Raiders...taking LeJeune's spot in the lineup. Got this info from GameTracker. Radio guys did not notice 'til after Hough's at-bat int eh bottom of the inning.
• For some reason I feel another lead-off homer headed our way.
• Etier worked the count full but then struck out swinging. 'Guess my feeling was off, eh?
• Craig Way commented that Etier is wearing jersey #30 tonight instead of #7. But, no explanation for the change. Hmmm...
• Walla was hit by a pitch.
• I think Keith Moreland said KVET would not be carrying next Sunday's game...that they'd be covering the football scrimmage instead. Sigh...
• Loy struck out looking (0-2 count).
• Rupp hit a pop-up into foul territory. Barnes and McGruder collided as they tried, but failed, to field the ball. McGruder was down for a few seconds but then got up and stayed in the game.
• Walla stole 2b with Rupp at the plate.
• At this point, things stalled out for a minute or so as a dust storm kicked up. I've been in Lubbock when the wind kicks up like that. No fun. I'm surprised it didn't last longer. I was driving in Lubbock once when one of those storms kicked up and I couldn't even see across the road. 'Had to pull over and wait for about 20 minutes before it was safe to drive. We used to watch the red wall of dust blowing over the town and just dread its arrival. Dust would get into everything...no way I'd ever try to wear contact lenses in Lubbock. No way.
• Rupp singled into rf, scoring Walla.
• Offensive timeout to allow Rupp (who wears contact lenses) to put solution in his eyes.
• Keyes grounds into a 4-unassisted fielder's choice. The second baseman fielded the ball and just beat Rupp to 2b.
• Texas down 2-8.
• 7th inning, Texas Tech
• Hough reached on an infield single to ss.
• Mayo moved Hough to 2b on a 1-3 sac bunt.
• Whitehead drew a 5-pitch walk.
• Ashby's double-play ball hit Hough. Hough out on the play. Whitehead safe at 2b, Ashby safe at 1b. The official scorer did not credit Ashby with a single on the play. The rule is part of the immediate dead ball rule and states that if a fair-hit ball touches a runner in fair territory before touching an infielder, the ball is dead and the runner hit by the batted ball is declared out. Runner(s) advance if forced and the batter is awarded first base with a single. The out, by the way, is scored unassisted to the nearest fielder. In this case, the shortstop.
• Popescu grounded out to 2b.
• Texas down 2-8.
• 8th inning, Texas
• Lusson grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Walsh drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Texas sent Chad Bettis (righty) to the mound, replacing Johnson.
• Shepherd reached on a throwing error by ss. Walsh moved up to 3b on the play and Shepherd moved to 2b.
• Russell Moldenhauer, pinch-hitting for Rowe, fought off a few pitches and then struck out swinging.
• Etier fell behind, worked the count full, then drew a walk. Nicely done.
• Walla grounded out to the pitcher.
• The Horns left 'em loaded. Ouch.
• Texas down 2-8.
• 8th inning, Texas Tech
• Texas sent Kyle Lusson into the game in rf, and moved Cole Walla to cf.
• McGruder reached on a bunt single. He was hit by the throw from p to 1b.
• Texas argued that McGruder was not in the runner's lane when he was hit by the throw from Thomas. Lost the argument. Not surprisingly. And, Thomas ended up being charged with an error on the play. No bunt single. GameTracker also got messed up at this point, showing McGruder at 2b on the play. He was clearly at 1b, though.
• Kenworthy flew out to cf.
• McGruder moved to 3b on an error by the pitcher. Thomas made a bad pick-off throw to 1b...on the rf side of the bag away from Shepherd.
• Reed singled through the left side, scoring McGruder. Sigh...
• With Barnes at the plate, Reed was caught stealing (2-4?...radio guys did not say).
• Barnes drew a full-count walk.
• Hough also drew a full-count walk, moving Barnes to 2b.
• This is one painful game.
• Mayo singled to lf, scoring Barnes and moving Hough to 2b.
• Nooooooooooo!!!! Sigh...
• Texas sent Andrew McKirahan (lhp) to the mound, replacing Thomas.
• Stepen Hagen, pinch-hitting for lefty Whitehead, doubled over Kyle Lusson's head in rf, scoring Hough and Mayo. Lusson had a bead on the ball and the wind caught it and blew it over his head.
• Ashby grounded out to 3b.
• Texas down 2-12. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.
• 9th inning, Texas
• Loy grounded out to 1b (p covered the bag).
• Rupp drew a full-count walk.
• Keyes got ahead 3-0, watched two strikes, fouled off a pitch, and then singled through the left side, moving Rupp to 2b.
• Kevin Lusson fell behind 0-2, watched a ball, then watched strike 3.
• Walsh doubled the first pitch he saw to the gap (did not hear which side but think it was to the cf/rf gap) to score Rupp and Keyes.
• Shepherd lined a single through the left side, scoring Walsh.
• Paul Montalbano (pinch-hitting for Kyle Lusson; UT going for left-handed batter vs. rhp situation)...
• Insert stolen base by Shepherd on first pitch to Montalbano.
• ...Montalbano grounded out to 1b unassisted to end the game.
• Texas loses 5-12.

The line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Texas	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	3	5	11	2
Texas Tech	2	3	0	0	2	1	0	4	-	12	12	1

Note, this line shows the hit in the 7th by Tech that was not scored by the official scorer.

In the post-game interview, Coach Garrido commented that the Red Raiders used the weather conditions better than the Horns did. He also said he felt like if the Horns had sustained their rally in the 8th inning, they would've handled the pitching differently in the bottom of the inning and would've still been in the game with a chance to win in the 9th.

I suppose anything's possible. But, this year's Horns don't seem to have that little bit of magic that last year's team had. 'Course last year's team lost the magic during the final 3-game series of the year in Omaha, eh? I do hope they got it all out of their system this evening and come back to win the series.

A couple more note about the series. The start time for tomorrow night's game has been moved to 6:30 (originally scheduled for 5 o'clock) in the hope that they'll be able to avoid even stronger winds than they saw this evening and Sunday's game will be broadcast on FSN.

Hook 'em, Horns!

Posted by Joanna at 9:17 PM | Permalink

Tuesday - March 23, 2010

Game 21: Rice at Texas

Texas beat Rice 5-1 tonight to take the series. In some ways, it was a very sloppy game. In others, it was a very well-played game. The line:

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

Sam Stafford got his first career start and threw three perfect innings. Very, very nice. He got two strikeouts (one looking), 5 ground outs, 2 fly outs, and threw 41 pitches by my count (26 strikes). Subsequent Texas pitching went like so:

• Austin Dicharry: 1.1 innings, 27 pitches (15 strikes), 7 batters faced, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 1 hit (a single), 1 unearned run.
• Hoby Milner: 0.2 innings, 5 pitches (4 strikes), 2 batters faced.
• Stayton Thomas: 0.2 innings, 13 pitches (4 strikes), 4 batters faced, 1 hit batter, 1 walk (intentional).
• Chance Ruffin: 3.1 innings, 42 pitches (32 strikes), 11 batters faced, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 1 hit (a single).

Rice scored their sole run in the 5th:

• Dicharry on the mound for Texas.
• Anthony Rendon drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Rick Hague hit a single to cf, moving Rendon to 2b.
• Michael Ratterree struck out swinging (1-2 count).
• Steven Sultzbaugh drew a full-count walk to load the bases.
• Texas sent Hoby Milner to the mound (looking for the lefty-lefty match-up).
• Rice tried a squeeze play with Craig Manuel at the plate. Milner fielded the softly hit bunt and then made a bad toss to the catcher (Cameron Rupp) for the force. But, Rupp could not hang onto the ball. Rendon bowled his way through Rupp and scored. All other batters safe on the play, 1 unearned run across. Mysteriously, they gave the error to the catcher rather than the pitcher. The toss was just awful. Rupp had almost no chance of catching it. Ah well...
• Mozingo then grounded into a very unusual double play. He hit the ball on the right side. The second baseman fielded and threw to the ss covering the bag. The runner from 1b (Manuel) did not slide into 2b and was called for runner's interference...which lead to the batter being called out.
• Double play. Inning over. Excess damage averted.

The Texas runs came in the 3rd (Jordan Etier hit his 5th homerun of the year) and 6th innings. The four runs in the 6th came without benefit of a hit:

• Brandon Loy reached on a throwing error by ss. Loy hit a hard ground ball to the shortstop who had time to throw him out but he let the ball sail way over the first baseman...giving Loy a free pass to 2b.
• With a 2-1 count to Rupp, Rice changed pitchers, sending Mike Ojala in for Abe Gonzales.
• Rupp went on to draw a 7-pitch full-count walk. Loy advanced to 3b on the last pitch to Rupp which was wild.
• Kevin Keyes was hit by a pitch (near his head) to load the bases.
• Kevin Lusson drew a 4-pitch walk to score Loy. Bases still loaded.
• With Jonathan Walsh at the plate, Rupp scored, Keyes moved to 3b, and Lusson moved to 2b on a wild pitch.
• Two pitches later, Keyes scored and Lusson moved to 3b on a passed ball.
• Walsh then hit a sac fly to lf, scoring Lusson.
• Russell Moldenhauer went on to draw a walk, prompting another Rice pitching change.
• Tant Shepherd then flew out to cf.
• And, Jordan Etier hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

It was not pretty. Not by a long shot. But, it was more than enough to put another mark in the win column. The pitching and defense (except for that one slip in the 5th) looked good all night. Stayton Thomas, by the way, was drilled by a line drive...in the leg it appeared to me, in the 6th, shortly before he was lifted in favor of Ruffin. I do hope all's well with him and he's not suffering from anything more than a nasty bruise.

The Horns now head out to Lubbock for a Big 12 series against the Red Raiders. 'Hope it all goes well. Next home action will be a week from tonight when the Horns host the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 11:09 PM | Permalink

Sunday - March 21, 2010

Game 20: Nebraska at Texas

Texas run-ruled Nebraska in 8 innings this afternoon, winning 13-3. Horns scored 4 in the 2nd, 6 in the 3rd, and 3 in the 8th. The 10-run rule is only in effect on getaway day for Big 12 games, by the way.

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

UPDATE #1. Sorry to say, the day got away from me and I did not have time to write up the full game report. I'll do my best to get it online before Tuesday's game against Rice. A few quick notes, though:

• Brandon Workman pitched the complete game for the win;
• Brandon Loy had 3 hits on the day;
• Cohl Walla, Kevin Keyes, Jonathan Walsh, and Russell Moldenhauer each had two hits on the day; and
• Cameron Rupp hit his 3rd homerun of the year.

Today's game was very nicely played all the way around.

UPDATE #2. Okay...I'm back. Here's the line from Sunday's game:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Nebraska	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	-	3	7	1
Texas	0	4	6	0	0	0	0	0	-	13	13	0

Yep, UT let another first-inning run across. Sigh. I really have to give two Nebraska batters a lot of credit for their performances this weekend, though: Adam Bailey and Cody Asche hit the heck out of the ball this weekend. They combined for 13 of Nebraska's 24 hits and accounted for 11 of 13 runs batted in. I dreaded seeing either of them walking up to the plate...especially if someone else was already aboard.

Ah well...on to the specifics of Sunday's game. It was cold out there but it wasn't as bad as it was on Saturday. I think it got up to 53 or so but the wind was blowing very strongly across from the lf corner to the rf corner throughout the game. And, how did things go? Like so...

• 1st inning, Nebraska
• Brandon Workman on the mound for Texas.
• DJ Belfonte (cf) grounded out on a sharply hit ball to the pitcher.
• Kale Kiser (2b) drew a full-count walk. With Adam Bailey due up.
• Adam Bailey (rf) doubled off the wall in the cf/rf gap, scoring Kiser. Sigh.
• Josh Scheffert (dh) struck out swinging.
• Cody Asche lined out to 3b.
• Texas down 0-1.
• 1st inning, Texas
• Tom Lemke on the mound for Nebraska
• Cohl Walla (cf) struck out looking (1-2 count).
• Brandon Loy (ss) drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Cameron Rupp (c) very sadly grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
• Texas down 0-1.
• 2nd inning, Nebraska
• Lovely 1-2-3 inning.
• Tylar Farst (1b) struck out looking; Patric Tolentino (c) grounded out to ss; Boomer Collins (lf) grounded out to ss.
• Texas down 0-1.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Wherein Texas bats around.
• Kevin Keyes (rf) reached no an infield single to ss.
• Kevin Lusson (3b) drew a 5-pitch walk, moving Keyes to 2b.
• Jonathan Walsh (lf) hit a 2-3 sac bunt, moving Keyes to 3b and Lusson to 2b.
• Russell Moldenhauer (dh) through the right side, scoring Keyes and Lusson.
• Tant Shepherd (1b) doubled to the lf/cf gap, moving Moldenhauer to 3b.
• Jordan Etier struck out swinging (2-2 count).
• Walla reached on an infield single (slow roller down the 3b line), scoring Moldenhauer and moving Shepherd to 3b.
• With Loy at the plate, Walla stole 2b. The catcher made no move to throw to 2b; he was looking at 3b all the way to see 3b Shepherd was going to take off.
• Loy singled through the right side, scoring Moldenhauer and moving Walla to 3b.
• Nebraska changed pitchers, sending Khris Tate in to replace Lemke.
• Cameron Rupp drew a 4-pitch walk to load the bases.
• Keyes hit a chopper off the plate that the pitcher managed to field on the run and reach out to tag Walla (running from 3b) out. He barely got to Walla. Wow.
• Texas up 4-1.
• 3rd inning, Nebraska
• In which Adam Bailey and Cody Asche come up to bat with runners on base. Again.
• Kyle Bubak (ss) struck out swinging.
• Belfonte reached on an infield pop-up that Lusson lost in the sun and wind.
• Kiser singled into rf, moving Belfonte to 3b. Hit and run. If Belfonte hadn't been on the move, causing Etier to break for 2b, I think it would've been a line drive out to 2b + possible double play at 1b. Alas, it did not go down that way.
• Bailey also singled into rf, scoring Belfonte and moving Kiser to 2b. Sigh.
• Scheffert popped out to ss. It was a soft pop-up just past the infield line over 2b. Loy made a nice over the shoulder basket catch to make the out.
• Asche singled up the middle, scoring Kiser and moving Bailey to 3b.
• Farst grounded out to 3b.
• Texas up 4-3.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• In which the wheels fall off for Nebraska, the Horns bat around again, and I have a disagreement or two with the official scorer.
• Lusson reached on a 4-pitch walk.
• Prompting Nebraska to change pitchers again. They sent Sean Yost to the mound.
• Walsh moved Lusson to 2b on a lovely 1-3 sac bunt.
• Moldenhauer reached on an infield single to 2b, moving Lusson to 3b. On the play, the throw from 2b went off the first baseman's glove and down the line toward home. Lusson broke for the plate. The pitcher fielded the ball and threw wildly home. Lusson safe on the error; Moldenhauer to 2b on the error.
• After all that excitement, Shepherd drew a 4-pitch walk. On the first pitch of his at-bat, Moldenhauer advanced to 3b on a wild pitch.
• Etier went for the squeeze but Moldenhauer stayed put at 3b and Shepherd moved to 2b on the 1-4 sac bunt. The official scorer did not credit Etier with a sac on the play. Not sure why not.
• Walla singled up the middle, scoring Moldenhauer and moving Shepherd to 3b.
• Loy doubled to rf, scoring Shepherd and Walla. The ball was hit toward pretty much straightaway rf but started blowing toward the rf line very quickly. The right fielder made a valiant effort to get to the ball and actually just got his glove on it but just couldn't make the catch. Thank you, wind!
• Cameron Rupp hit a homerun over the Wendy's sign. The wind might've given the ball a bit of distance but I think that one would've been out of the park on any day.
• Nebraska sent Mike Nesseth to the mound.
• Keyes grounded out to ss.
• The official scorer counted all six runs as unearned. I think they all should've been earned. Had the pitcher not made the throwing error, Lusson likely would've scored...and Moldenhauer would've been at 1b. With nobody out. He would've moved to 2b on the walk and then 3b on the sac by Etier. And, the rest played out like it played out makes all the runs earned. I guess the official scorer judged that Lusson would've been tagged out with a good throw, thus making the first out. And, Etier would not have been in position with two outs on the board to sac. But, I don't think you can assume that Lusson would've been tagged. It was gonna be close. But, you can't assume an out in that situation if it's not a force play and it's close. At least, I don't think you can. But, then, I guess it really doesn't matter. Earned versus unearned runs certainly have no bearing on the outcome of the game. Ah well.
• Texas up 10-3.
• 4th inning, Nebraska
• 1-2-3: Tolentino flew out to cf; Collins lined out to cf; and Bubak grounded out to 3b. Tolentino's ball likely would've been a homerun to lf if not for the wind blowing it back to cf.
• Texas up 10-3.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Equally uneventful 1-2-3: Lusson and Walsh grounded out to 2b; Moldenhauer grounded out to 1b.
• Texas up 10-3.
• 5th inning, Nebraska
• 1-2-3 again: Belfonte grounded out to 3b (nice play by Lusson); Kiser popped out to lf (in foul territory, great catch by Walsh); and Bailey (with nobody aboard!) popped out to the pitcher.
• Texas up 10-3.
• 5th inning, Texas
• More of the 1-2-3 dance: Shepherd lined out to lf (nice charge and diving catch by the left fielder); Etier grounded out to 1b; and Walla grounded out to ss.
• Texas up 10-3.
• 6th inning, Nebraska
• Scheffert reached on an infield single...a slow roller that the pitcher almost fielded. Etier made a great scoop and throw and just barely missed getting the out at 1b.
• Asche (with a runner aboard) struck out swinging. Shocker.
• Farst flew out to cf.
• Tolentino hit into a 5-4 fielder's choice.
• Texas up 10-3.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Another 1-2-3 inning (sigh): Loy and Rupp flew out to lf; Keyes flew out to rf (at the warning track, but still out).
• Texas up 10-3.
• 7th inning, Nebraska
• 1-2-3: Collins struck out swinging (Rupp couldn't hold onto the ball so had to throw down to 1b to complete the out); Chad Christensen (pinch-hitting for Bubak) grounded out to the pitcher; Belfonte flew out to cf.
• Texas up 10-3.
• 7th inning, Texas
• In which Texas loads the bases with one out and then...nothing.
• Nebraska sent Ryan Hughes to the mound. Chirstensen stayed in at 2b and Bryan Peters went in for Kiser at 2b.
• Lusson struck out looking (1-2 count).
• Walsh doubled off the 3b bag and down the lf line.
• Moldenhauer drew a 5-pitch walk.
• The catcher misplayed the 2nd pitch to Shepherd. The ball went off his glove and all the way to the backstop on the left side. Walsh advanced to 3b on the passed ball. Moldenhauer, apparently napping at 1b since he did not advance (or maybe he just couldn't judge how far away the ball got from the catcher?), was replaced with pinch-runner Sam Stafford.
• Shepherd went on to draw a full-count walk to load the bases.
• Nebraska changed pitchers again and sent Luk Bublitz to the mound.
• Etier lined out to ss.
• Walla flew out to lf.
• Texas up 10-3.
• 8th inning, Nebraska
• Kiser was hit by a pitch.
• Bailey (with a runner aboard) singled through the right side, moving Kiser to 2b.
• Scheffert grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Kiser moved up to 3b on the play.
• Asche grounded out to 2b...with a runner in scoring position! Shocking.
• Texas up 10-3.
• 8th inning, Texas
• Loy reached on an infield single to ss.
• Rupp struck out looking (1-2 count).
• Keyes singled through the left side, moving Loy to 2b.
• Kyle Lusson went in to pinch-run for Keyes.
• Kevin Lusson drew a 5-pitch walk to load the bases.
• Walsh doubled off the wall near the 375 sign in the cf/rf gap, scoring Loy and Kyle Lusson, and moving Kevin Lusson to 3b.
• Paul Montalbano (pinch-hitting for Sam Stafford, who'd pinch-run for Moldenhauer in the 7th, if you'll recall), drew a 5-pitch walk to reload the bases.
• Nebraska sent Ryan Hander to the mound.
• Shepherd hit a sac fly to rf, scoring Kevin Lusson.
• Texas wins the game 13-3 due to the Big 12's 10-run rule on getaway day!

Whew. The Horns now face the Rice Owls at home on Tuesday in the rubber match of their 3-game series. Hook 'em, Horns!

Posted by Joanna at 2:50 PM | Permalink

Saturday - March 20, 2010

Game 19: Nebraska at Texas

The Horns lost 3-5 on a miserably cold day. Ugh.

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

UPDATE. It was terribly miserably cold today at Disch-Falk. Terribly. And, miserably. It was 41 °F with a very strong wind from the northwest blowing throughout the entire game. I knew it would be cold so I bundled up to the max. And, still froze out there. Brrrr...

The game seemed a bit like a replay (albeit a very cold one) of the first game of the series...only, without the final-inning heroics.

The line:

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

Note that Nebraska did not score in the first inning. That seemed, at the time, like an improvement. Alas...

Cole Green started for the Horns. He was not sporting the high-socks look today. Due to the cold? Dunno. The score was tied 3-3 when he left so he got a no-decision. His numbers (by my count): 5.2 innings, 3 runs given up (all earned), 100 pitches thrown (59 strikes), 25 batters faced, 1 hit batter, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 6 hits (2 homeruns, 4 singles). He left the game in the 6th with runners at the corners and 2 out. Andrew McKirahan (lefty) went in to face a left-handed batter. Nebraska promptly sent a right-handed batter to the plate. He, kindly hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice. In the 7th, McKirahan got a quick ground out and then gave up back-to-back singles. The runners advanced on the first pitch to the next batter (a wild pitch). The batter at the plate was Adam Bailey who'd already hit two homeruns against the Horns (one yesterday and one in the 4th inning of today's game) so they went ahead and intentionally walked him. The next batter hit a sac fly to rf, scoring the runner from 3b and moving the runner from 2b to 3b. The next batter singled, scoring the second run of the inning and putting runners at 1b and 2b. At that point, Stayton Thomas went into the game and he got the next batter to fly out to cf. McKirahan's final numbers: 1 inning, 2 runs given up (both earned), 19 pitches thrown (10 strikes), 7 batters faced, 1 wild pitch, 1 walk, and 3 hits (all singles). He was also saddled with the loss, moving his record to 1-1.

Stayton Thomas, Hoby Milner, and Chance Ruffin closed out the game without giving up any further runs. Their numbers...

• Thomas: 1 inning, 18 pitches thrown (11 strikes), 4 batters faced, and 1 hit (a double).
• Milner: 1 inning, 22 pitches (13 strikes), 6 batters faced, 1 hit batter, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, and no hits.
• Ruffin: 0.1 innings, 6 pitches (4 strikes), 1 batter faced, and no hits.

On the offensive side of things, the Horns hit a couple of homeruns for all of their scores. They didn't get very many chances beyond those to score but did squander a couple of good ones. Sadly.

Here's how things went down offensively...

• 1st inning
• Pop-up to ss, ground out to 2b, ground out to 3b
• 2nd inning
• Cameron Rupp doubled to the cf/rf gap on a line drive over the center fielder's head.
• Jonathan Walsh hit his first homerun as a Longhorn over the rf fence.
• Brandon Loy flew out to lf.
• Kevin Lusson grounded out to 2b.
• Russell Moldenhauer lined into rf for a single.
• Cohl Walla reached on a slow bouncing infield single to 2b, moving Moldenhauer to 2b.
• The runners advanced to 2b and 3b on a passed ball with Tant Shepherd at the plate.
• Shepherd walked to load the bases.
• Jordan Etier hit a hard ground ball toward ss. Sadly, it hit Walla, who tried very hard to avoid the ball, for the 3rd out of the inning.
• 3rd inning
• Strikeout swinging, reach on error, pop out to 2b, ground into fielder's choice.
• 4th inning
• Lusson started things off with a homerun over the rf fence that actually landed on the other side of Comal. Wow.
• Moldenhauer doubled through the left side.
• Walla grounded out to 2b, moving Moldenhauer to 3b.
• Shepherd drew a 4-pitch walk, putting runners at the corners with one out.
• Etier struck out looking.
• Kevin Keyes struck out swinging.
• 5th inning
• Strikeout swinging, ground out to 2b, reach on error, ground out to 1b.
• 6th inning
• Ground out to ss, strikeout swinging, ground out to 3b.
• 7th inning
• Etier was hit by a pitch (0-1 count).
• Keyes worked the count full, then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. If Etier had been off with the pitch, he would've probably been safe. Alas...
• Rupp singled into cf.
• Walsh drew a full-count walk.
• Loy flew out to rf.
• 8th inning
• Lusson drew an 8-pitch full-count walk.
• Nebraska finally replaced their starter (who threw 130 pitches by my count) and sent in a lefty to face Moldenhauer.
• Texas did not respond with a right-handed batter. Moldenhauer struck out looking.
• Nebraska changed pitchers again...went back to a righty.
• Tim Maitland (pinch-hitting for Walla) flew out to cf.
• Shepherd struck out swinging.
• 9th inning
• Jordan Weymouth (pinch-hitting for Etier...Texas went with the left-handed pinch-hitter as they did last night) struck out swinging.
• Keyes struck out looking.
• Rupp flew out to deep cf.
• Game over.

Not pretty. And, miserably cold. Did I mention that?

Rubber match tomorrow at noon. The weather should be about 20 degrees warmer. A vast improvement. And, if you have access to Fox College Sports, you can watch the game on TV.

Go Horns!

Posted by Joanna at 6:00 PM | Permalink

Friday - March 19, 2010

Game 18: Nebraska at Texas

Texas wins 6-5 on a 2-out walk-off homer by Cameron Rupp. Wow.

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

UPDATE. I failed to mention that the walk-off homer was a 3-run homerun. First pitch. Just barely fair down the rf line. Again, I say: wow.

First, the line:

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

Yep...they gave up another 1st-inning run. 'Twas a solo shot to lf just inside the Nebraska bullpen by Adam Bailey who went 3-for-4 on the day with the homerun, a strikeout, a double, and a single. Good day for him, eh?

Dunno why but I feel like doing a full-game rundown this evening. So...here you go:

• 1st inning, Nebraska
• DJ Belfonte (cf) grounded out to the pitcher.
• Kale Kiser (2b) grounded out to ss.
• Adam Bailey (rf) homered into the Nebraska bullpen...ball aided a bit by strong wind from the south.
• Josh Scheffert (dh) grounded out to ss.
• Texas down 0-1.
• 1st inning, Texas
• Tant Shepherd (1b) grounded out to 1b (3-1, p covered bag).
• Jordan Etier saw 7 pitches (with 3 foul balls) before he struck out looking (full count).
• Kevin Keyes struck out swinging. The catcher couldn't hold onto the ball so tagged Keyes to complete the out.
• Texas down 0-1.
• 2nd inning, Nebraska
• Cody Asche (3b) lined a double into lf...off the wall.
• Tyler Farst (1b) flew out to cf. Asche tagged-up and advanced to 3b on the play.
• Patric Tolention (c, son of Former Longhorn first baseman Jose Tolentino...who played at UT when I was a UT student...so, yes, a long time ago) grounded out to ss. Loy did a nice job of looking the runner at 3b back to 3b before throwing to 1b for the out.
• Khiry Cooper (lf) fouled off 42 pitches or so before finally striking out swinging. Actually, by my records his at bat went: strike (looking), strike (swinging), foul ball, ball, 4 foul balls, strike (swinging). Whew.
• Texas down 0-1.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Cameron Rupp (c) singled up the middle.
• Jonathan Walsh (lf) flew out to lf.
• Brandon Loy (ss) flew out to rf.
• Kevin Lusson singled through the right side, moving Rupp to 3b.
• Russell Moldenhauer (dh) singled up the middle on a sharply hit ground ball, scoring Rupp and moving Lusson to 3b. Which prompted a visit to the mound for Nebraska.
• Cohl Walla (cf) flew out to lf.
• Game tied 1-1.
• 3rd inning, Nebraska
• Kyle Bubak (ss) grounded out to the pitcher.
• Belfonte singled up the middle.
• Kiser grounded into a 3-6-1 double play! Beautifully played by Texas.
• Game tied 1-1.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Shepherd struck out swinging.
• Etier grounded out to ss.
• Keyes doubled off the wall just right of the Green Monster in cf (first pitch).
• Rupp lined out to rf. The Nebraska right fielder made a very nice charging catch on the ball that I really thought was gonna drop in for a single.
• Game tied 1-1.
• 4th inning, Nebraska
• Bailey struck out swinging. Rupp couldn't hold onto the ball, though, so had to throw down to 1b to complete the out.
• Sheffert grounded out to 2b. Etier made a nice play on the high-bouncer to make the catch and throw for the out at 1b.
• Asche grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• First 1-2-3 inning of the day for the Horns.
• Game tied 1-1.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Walsh grounded out to 1b (p covered bag).
• Loy lined into cf for a single.
• Lusson popped out to ss (near the foul line in shallow lf.
• Moldenhauer reached on an unusual catcher's interference play...unusual in that you rarely see that sort of thing happen.
• Walla hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice to end the inning.
• Game tied 1-1.
• 5th inning, Nebraska
• Jungmann struck out the side. Purty!
• Game tied 1-1.
• 5th inning, Texas
• Shepherd struck out swinging.
• Etier struck out swinging.
• Keyes stru...er...drew a full-count walk.
• Rupp grounded out to 3b.
• Game tied 1-1.
• 6th inning, Nebraska
• In which, things don't go well for our side.
• Bubak struck out looking. Actually, that was a nice start for our side.
• Belfonte was hit by the first pitch...looked like a pretty solid HBP just above his right knee.
• With Kiser at the plate, Belfonte stole 2b (Rupp couldn't get handle on the ball to make throw to 2b) and then moved to 3b a few pitches later on a passed ball (the ball rolled through Rupp's legs and then ump's legs and Rupp couldn't find it).
• Kiser went on to draw a 9-pitch full-count walk, putting runners at the corners.
• Bailey (sigh) doubled into rf, scoring Belfonte and moving Kiser to 3b.
• Which prompted a visit to the mound.
• Scheffert struck out swinging. Yes.
• Asche singled through the left side, scoring Kiser and Bailey.
• Farst was hit by a pitch ('looked like he swung at it to me but I didn't get a vote), putting runners at 1b and 2b.
• Tolentino grounded into a 6-4 fielder's choice.
• Three runs across. Texas down 1-4.
• 6th inning, Texas
• In which Texas answers.
• Walsh singled up the middle.
• Loy reached on a 5-4 fielder's choice.
• Lusson doubled to the cf/rf gap, scoring Loy.
• Moldenhauer grounded out to ss, moving Lusson to 3b. It was a very close play at 1b. Moldenhauer almost beat out the throw from ss on the slow bouncer.
• Walla singled through the left side, scoring Lusson.
• Shepherd grounded into a 6-4 fielder's choice to end the inning.
• Texas down 3-4.
• 7th inning, Nebraska
• Cooper struck out swinging. Rupp wasn't able to hold onto the ball so he tagged Cooper to complete the out.
• Bubak grounded out to the pitcher (first pitch).
• Belfonte drew a fulll-count walk.
• Kiser grounded out to the pitcher.
• Texas down 3-4.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Nebraska sent Kurt Giller to the mound, replacing Hauptman.
• Etier Struck out swinging.
• Keyes grounded out to ss.
• Rupp drew a full-count walk.
• Walsh fought off a few pitches but went down swinging.
• Texas down 3-4.
• 8th inning, Nebraska
• Bailey singled through the right side.
• Boomer Collins (pinch-hitting for Scheffert) had an interesting at-bat. He was clearly brought in to sac-bunt Bailey over. He squared to bunt for every pitch and then squared again with a 2-2 count. Very surprising. He finally connected with the ball but hit it too sharply on the 1b side of the mound. Jungmann fielded and threw Bailey out at 2b. Collins safe at 1b.
• Asche, sadly, doubled to the lf/cf gap, scoring Collins.
• Texas sent Chance Ruffin to the mound, replacing Jungmann.
• By my count, Jungmann went 7.1 innings. He threw 108 pitches (70 strikes) and faced 22 batters. He hit two batters, walked 2, struck out 8, gave up 7 hits, and 5 runs (all earned).
• Farst flew out to cf. Asche tagged up and advanced to 3b on the play.
• Tolentino then flew out to 2b on a little bloop pop-up.
• Texas down 3-5.
• 8th inning, Texas
• In which Texas goes down quietly.
• Loy struck out swinging.
• Lusson flew out to cf.
• Moldenhauer flew out to lf.
• Texas down 3-5.
• 9th inning, Nebraska
• In which, Nebraska returns the favor.
• Cooper grounded out to ss.
• Bubak struck out swinging. Rupp couldn't get a handle on the ball so had to throw down to 1b to complete the out.
• Belfonte struck out looking.
• Texas down 3-5.
• 9th inning, Texas
• Paul Montalbano (pinch-hitting for Walla) grounded out weakly to 2b.
• Tim Maitland (pinch-hitting for Shepherd) also grounded out weakly to 2b.
• Jordan Weymouth (pinch-hitting for Etier) hit a hard ground ball just a couple of feet fair down the lf line for a double!
• Keyes drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Rupp hit a shot. First pitch. Sky high. Down the rf line. Just barely fair. O. M. G. Texas wins on a 3-run, 2-out, first-pitch, walk-off homerun by Cameron Rupp. Wow. Amazing.
• Texas wins 6-5!
• Shades of the '09 Horns?

Chance Ruffin earned his 3rd win of the year. His numbers (by my count): 1.2 innings, 15 pitches (13 strikes), 5 batters faced, and 2 strikeouts. Very nicely done.

'Twas a fun evening for me as my favorite nephew was in town visiting from Kentucky and went to the game with us. Was he the good luck charm? Heh. Actually, it was a rather frustrating evening for me but it ended very, very well. So, let's just gloss over the frustrating part, shall we? Yes, we shall.

The Horns face Nebraska again tomorrow. Game time has been pushed back to 3 o'clock. They're expecting rain through at least noon and are hoping conditions will be good enough to play at 3. Sadly, the current forecast predicts a temperature of 44 °F at 3 pm. With wind. And, it'll be wet. Brrrrr. Bring your blankets!

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 8:52 PM | Permalink

Wednesday - March 17, 2010

Game 17: Texas at Rice

I was not able to listen to most of the game last night. After a long and very frustrating day at work, I hung out with friends and just watched for game updates on Twitter. All-in-all, it did not seem like a good day. The line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Texas	0	2	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	6	12	1
Rice	2	0	3	0	1	2	1	1	x	10	13	1

So, on the one hand...12 hits. Nice. Jordan Etier hit his 4th homerun in...I dunno...something like 9 days. Pretty cool. But, on the other hand, the Horns gave up 13 hits...and, more importantly, 10 runs. Sigh...

A couple of links:

• No. 2 Baseball falls to No. 14 Rice, 10-6 - from TexasSports.com
• Horns pitching doesn't hold up in loss to Rice - by Alan Trubow, Statesman

Hopefully, they'll get back on track this weekend as they host Nebraska. Sunday's game, by the way, will be on TV...on something called Fox College Sports. Enjoy it if you've got it!

And, hook 'em, Horns!

Posted by Joanna at 12:29 PM | Permalink

Tuesday - March 16, 2010

Admin note

I skipped game 12 or 13 (can't remember which now) when I was going along and then messed up some of the underlying URLs when I went back to fix things. 'Just noticed the problem and fixed it. If you use a newsreader, things may look a bit off. Sorry 'bout that.

Posted by Joanna at 5:15 PM | Permalink

Sunday - March 14, 2010

Game 16 photos

It was a beautiful day at the park today...sunny and high 70s. Great picture-taking weather. Good thing I had my camera with me.

First, the pitchers...

Hoby Milner:

Stayton Thomas:

Sam Stafford:

Kendal Carrillo:

Very sadly, it appears that I did not take any photos of Josh Urban. Kicking myself as I type. Sigh...so sorry. 'Hope I get another chance soon.

And, the rest of the guys...in batting order...

Tant Shepherd, taking a swing at a pitch early in the game:

Jordan Etier, rounding 3rd after his homer in the 1st:

Kevin Keyes, stealing 2b in the 7th (before all hell broke loose; he hit a homer when he came around to bat again later in the inning):

Cameron Rupp, at 2b in the 7th:

Brandon Loy, in the 5th:

Kevin Lusson, curtain call after his homer in the 7th:

Cohl Walla, curtain call after his homer in the 8th:

And, then something a little unusual. I actually got a shot of the field as Walla hit his homer. You can just see the ball about three-fourth's of the way across the photo from the left side. It looks kinda like a spec of lint at this small size but it's there. I almost never take wide-angle photos during a game. Cool that I snapped the shutter at just the right time on this one, eh? Here you go:

Connor Rowe, rounding 3b after his homerun in the 4th:

Jonathan Walsh, taking a swing early in the game:

And, with that I'm off for the night. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 11:35 PM | Permalink

Game 16: Iowa at Texas

Texas beat Iowa 18-0 today. Wow. I think Stayton Thomas got the win. Several players hit homeruns. Does this mean the hitters have turned the corner or did the Iowa pitching just collapse? I don't think it matters. I think having a good day at the plate will be a good thing, regardless of the circumstances. 16 hits on the day. Yay!

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

UPDATE: Much to my pleasure, Iowa did not score a run in the first inning of today's game. In fact, Hoby Milner (getting his 2nd start of the season) sat the Hawkeyes down in order in the 1st. Nice.

Today's game was just crazy. It ended over 6 hours ago as I type and I still can't get over all the hitting. The Horns hit five (5!) homeruns today. That apparently ties a single-game record for Disch-Falk Field. Wow. Jordan Etier hit the first dinger of the day in the bottom of the first...a solo shot that gave the Horns the lead. Connor Rowe hit the second...a 2-run shot in the 4th. Kevin Lusson and Kevin Keyes hit 2-run homers in the 7th. And, Cohl Walla hit a 3-run homer in the 8th. Amazing.

The line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Iowa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4
Texas	1	1	1	2	1	0	8	4	-	18	16	0

As I mentioned Hoby Milner got his second start of the year and did a good job. Three other pitchers (Sam Stafford, Kendal Carrillo, and Josh Urban) saw their first action of the year. The pitching numbers (by my count, of course):

• Hoby Milner: 4.1 innigs, 83 pitches (48 strikes), 20 batters faced, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts, 4 hits (all singles), and no runs.
• Stayton Thomas: 1.2 innings, 22 pitches (22 strikes), 5 batters faced, 0 walks 4 strikeouts (!), no runs, and the win (improving his record to 2-0).
• Sam Stafford: 1 inning, 9 pitches (4 strikes), 3 batters faced, 1 walk, and no runs.
• Kendal Carrillo: 1 inning, 5 pitches (4 strikes), 3 batters faced, and no runs.
• Josh Urban: 1 inning, 16 pitches (11 strikes), 3 batters faced, 1 walk, and no runs.

Double-plays in the 7th and 9th meant that the relievers combined to face the minimum number of batters once they took over. And, they didn't allow a single hit. Very cool.

Offensively, the numbers went like so:

• Tant Shepherd (1b): 3-for-6 (single, 2 doubles), 2 runs scored, 2 rbi, 1 strikeout.
• Jordan Etier (2b): 2-for-6 (single, homerun), 1 run scored, 1 rbi, 2 strikeouts.
• Kevin Keyes (rf): 2-for-5 (single, homerun), 2 runs scored, 2 rbi, 1 strikeout.
• Kyle Lusson (rf, went in for Keyes in the top of the 8th): 0-for-1.
• Cameron Rupp (c): 0-for-5 (uh-oh), reached on an error, 1 run scored, 2 strikeouts.
• Brandon Loy (ss): 1-for-3 (single), reached on an error, 4 runs scored, 2 rbi, 2 walks.
• Kevin Lusson (3b): 2-for-2 (single, homerun), 3 runs scored, 2 rbi, 2 walks, 1 sac bunt.
• Cohl Walla (lf): 3-for-4 (2 singles, homerun), 1 run scored, 5 rbi, 1 sac bunt.
• Connor Rowe (cf): 1-for-4 (homerun), reached on an error, 3 runs scored, 2 rbi, 1 walk, 1 strikeout.
• Jonathan Walsh (dh): 2-for-5 (single, double), 1 run scored, 1 rbi, 1 strikeout.

Whew. That was a lot of offense. There were 3 errors and 2 homeruns hit in the 7th. It was chaos out there. Texas sent 11 batters to the plate in that inning. And, 8 in the 8th. It was ugly and I was wishing for a 10-run rule. But, apparently, no such luck. It did give a couple of Texas pitchers a chance to show us their stuff, though, so I was glad of that.

I took my camera today so photos to come. I know some of you only come here for the photos and I haven't taken many this year. 'Been concentrating on learning my new scoring app and didn't want the distraction. Check back for a photo post soon.

And, the Horns now travel back to Houston to face Rice on their home field on Tuesday. Austin Dicharry is due to take the mound for Texas. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 3:48 PM | Permalink

Saturday - March 13, 2010

Game 15: Iowa at Texas

The Horns won the "nightcap" 5-2. Nice game all around. Workman gets the win.

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

The line:

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

As you can see, the Horns gave up runs in the first inning again. But, as in the first two games of the series, they blanked the Hawkeyes for the rest of the game. Thankfully. They also matched their combined number of runs from the first two games. The hitting still looks shaky, though. I know not what to say about that. Shrug.

Like the first game, the Horns played with the lineup again. The lineup for the Horns: Tant Shepherd (1b), Jordan Etier (2b), Cameron Rupp (c), Kevin Keyes (rf), Nick DeSantiago (dh), Brandon Loy (ss), Cohl Walla (cf), Tim Maitland (lf), Jordan Weymouth (3b). DeSantiago and Weymouth got their first starts of the year; Montalbano and Maitland got their 2nd.

A summary of the Texas scoring:

• 1st inning:
• Shepherd reached on a 4-pitch walk.
• Etier struck out swinging. Shepherd stole 2b on the strikeout and moved up to 3b on a throwing error by the catcher (the ball sailed into cf).
• Rupp grounded out to ss, scoring Shepherd.
• Keyes singled up the middle and stole 2b with DeSantiago at the plate.
• DeSantiago struck out swinging.
• 2nd inning:
• Loy hit a line drive over the left fielder for a double.
• With Walla at the plate (and squaring to bunt), Loy stole 3b.
• Walla then hit a sac fly to cf, scoring Loy.
• Maitland flew out to the rf/cf gap. The right fielder made a spectacular long run and diving catch to rob Maitland of a double...if not a triple. Very nice play.
• Weymouth drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Shepherd doubled through the left side, moving Weymouth to 3b.
• Then 2 throwing errors in a row.
• Etier hit a dribbler on the 3b side. The pitcher fielded and then threw wide to 1b, nearly hitting Etier. Weymouth and Shepherd both scored. Etier stayed at 1b.
• On another ball hit down the 3b line (this one harder), the third baseman threw wide of 1b. Etier made it easily to 3b and tried to reach home but was thrown out at the plate on a great throw from the first baseman from way down the 1b line to the catcher. Fantastic throw.
• Inning over. Three runs across. Whew.
• 6th inning:
• Loy doubled to the cf/rf gap.
• Walla tried to bunt Loy to 3b but could not get the bunt down. He ended up striking out.
• Maitland then popped out to 3b.
• Loy stole 3b with Weymouth at the plate. Weymouth went on to draw a full-count walk, putting runners at the corners.
• Which chased the starting pitcher.
• Shepherd then singled through the left side, scoring Loy and moving Weymouth to 2b.
• Etier then lined out to 3b.

And, that's about all she wrote. Brandon Workman got the win, improving his record to 2-1 and Chance Ruffin earned his 5th save of the season. The numbers for the pitchers (all by my count, of course):

• Brandon Workman: 6.2 innings, 109 pitches (78 strikes), 1 wild pitch, 31 batters faced, 1 hit batter, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts, 7 hits (6 singles, 1 triple), 2 runs (both earned).
• Andrew McKirahan: 0.2 innings, 10 pitches (7 strikes), 4 batters faced, 1 hit batter, 1 hit (a single). McKirahan went in with bases loaded and 2 out to face a left-handed batter. Iowa promptly pinch-hit with a righty who grounded out to 3b to end the threat.
• Stayton Thomas: 0.2 innings, 7 pitches (5 strikes), 4 batters faced, 1 hit batter, 2 hits (singles). Thomas went in with 1 out and batters at 1b and 2b. He hit the first batter he faced with the first pitch he threw (!) to load the bases. Uh-oh. He got the next batter to hit into a double play, though. Whew.
• Chance Ruffin: 1 inning, 15 pitches (10 strikes), 3 batters faced, 1 strikeout. Ruffin went in after Thomas gave up back-to-back singles (on the first one, Walla made a great play in lf to limit the batter to a single). The three batters Ruffin faced went down like so: ground out to 1b, pop out to 2b, strikeout swinging. Game over.

All-in-all, a nice game. I'm still looking for more hitting, though. The Horns go for the sweep tomorrow at 1. Be there or be square!

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 6:09 PM | Permalink

Game 14: Iowa at Texas

Texas beat Iowa 3-1 in the opener of today's double-header. Cole Green got the complete-game victory and even managed to hit a single! So much fun. Kevin Lusson homered in the 2nd and the Horns put single runs across in the 4th and 5th. Nice game.

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

UPDATE. The first game of today's double-header went 7 innings. The Horns played with the lineup in both games today. Jonathan Walsh got his first start of the year behind the plate in the first game. It looked like he might've been a wee bit excited at the beginning (he had a couple of bad throws to 2b) but settled down nicely (caught a batter stealing on his 3rd throw to 2b).

As I mentioned in my brief update from the field, Cole Green pitched a complete game. By my count, he threw 106 pitches (67 strikes), faced 27 batters, hit 2 (yikes!), walked 1, struck out 9, gave up 4 hits, and the one run (unearned). He also ended up getting a plate appearance in which he hit a single through the right side. He almost hit a double down the lf line on the previous pitch but he was about a foot foul. Pretty cool. He's now had 3 plate appearances in his Texas career and is batting 1.000 with two singles and a sac bunt. Ha! Gotta love it.

Texas made me a bit unhappy, though, when they...once again...gave up a run in the first inning. Green struck out the side. But. It went like so...

• Kurtis Muller (cf) struck out swinging (2-1 count).
• Mike McQuillan (2b) singled up the middle (0-1 count). The ball went between Green's legs! Yikes.
• With Ryan Durant (rf) at the plate, McQuillan stole 2b. Walsh's throw was very high.
• Durant struck out looking (full count).
• With Dallas Burke (dh) at the plate, McQuillan easily stole 3b.
• Burke then reached on an error by 3b, scoring McQuillan. On the play, Kevin Lusson fielded the ball and then appeared to get his cleat stuck in the turf as he was trying to transfer the ball to his throwing hand. No throw. E5. Kinda bizarre.
• With Sean Flanagan (1b) at the plate, Burke stole 2b. The throw from Walsh was way over the 2b head and off-line. It sailed into cf and Burke made it to 3b on the second error of the inning. Ouch.
• Flanagan went on to strike out swinging (2-1 count). Whew.

The Hawkeyes got a runner to 3b in the 2nd (single, sac bunt, groundout advance) but stranded him there. The got 2 aboard in the 3rd via hit batsmen but the first was caught stealing (!) and the second was forced out at 2nd on a double play. They went down in order in the 4th and 5th. With 2 out (via strikeouts) in the 6th, they threatened again...this time, hitting back-to-back singles, but the next batter struck out. The second batter of the 7th drew the only walk of the day but the next two batters went down swinging. Sweet.

Offensively, the Horns continued to struggle at the plate but got timely hitting when they needed it. They stranded the lead-off batter at 3b in the 1st (tsk tsk). Kevin Lusson hit a solo homerun into the street over the rf fence in the 2nd to tie the game. They went down in order in the 3rd. And, scored the go-ahead run in the 4th:

• Kevin Keyes doubled to the lf/cf gap to lead things off.
• Paul Montalbano grounded out to 2b, moving Keyes to 3b.
• Kevin Lusson drew a full-count walk to put runners at the corners.
• Cohl Walla reached on an infield single to ss, scoring Keyes and moving Lusson to 2b. I think the play was initially ruled an error but was changed to a hit (high throw from ss seemed to pull the first baseman off the bag but they ended up going with an infield hit).
• Jonathan Walsh flew out to lf.
• Jordan Etier struck out swinging.

Texas scored a second run in the 5th:

• Tant Shepherd was hit by a pitch.
• Brandon Loy tried to bunt Shepherd to 2b but ended up drawing a 4-pitch walk.
• Cameron Rupp hit a nice sac bunt on the 3b side to advance the runners to 2b and 3b.
• Kevin Keyes grounded out to ss (very hard-hit ball), scoring Shepherd. Loy had to hold up at 2b.
• Paul Montalbano flew out to shallow lf.

Rupp, who started at dh, moved to c for the top of the 6th. Since he'd been the dh, that necessitated the move of Cole Green into the lineup (taking Walsh's #8 spot). Green came up to bat in the bottom of the 6th with Kevin Lusson at 1b (who'd reached on an error when the ss dropped a sky-high pop-up that, I guess, he lost in the sun) and one out. He watched a strike and a then ripped a ball just barely foul down the lf line, almost got hit by the 3rd pitch, and then hit a beauty of a single through the right side, moving Lusson to 2b. That single chased the starter out of the game. Heh. Etier then flew out and Shepherd hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

The line...

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Iowa	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	2
Texas	0	1	0	1	1	0	-	3	5	2

I didn't time the break between games but think it was about 30 minutes. The report on the second game coming up shortly...

Posted by Joanna at 2:54 PM | Permalink

Friday - March 12, 2010

Game 13: Iowa at Texas

Yet another nail biter! The Horns really need to get those bats going. I don't think our pitchers (not to mention those of us in the stands) can take much more of this. Taylor Jungmann pitched a whale of a game. He went 7.1 innings, threw 122 pitches by my count (89 strikes), faced 29 batters, gave up 5 hits, and 1 run (earned). He threw 3 wild pitches, walked 1, and struck out 17 batters. Seventeen! And, for all that? No decision. That's practically criminal.

Iowa scored 1 in the 1st. With 2 out, Ryan Durant singled (1-2 pitch) through the right side...and then stole 2b. Dallas Burke then doubled (1-2 pitch, again) down the lf line. Ouch. Sean Flanagan then struck out...first strikeout of the game for Jungmann. Jungmann struck out the side in the 2nd. He got another strikeout to start the 3rd, then a groundout, then gave up another 1-2 hit...this time a single, before striking out his 6th batter of the game. In the fourth: groundout, strikeout, groundout. In the 5th: 3 Ks. In the 6th: strikeout, single (1-1 count this time), fly out, strikeout. In the 7th: a leadoff single (1-0 count) followed by 3 Ks.

And, then the interesting 8th. First batter struck out swinging at a wild pitch and made it safely to 1b as the ball went all the way to the backstop. He was caught stealing on the first pitch to the second batter. Second batter reached base exactly the same way...wild-pitch strikeout that went all the way to the backstop! Bizarro. Jungmann then gave up a 5-pitch walk to the next batter (aside: his only walk of the game; he only went to 3 balls against 2 other batters...both of whom went on to strikeout) and, after throwing 122 pitches and striking out 17 batters, he was lifted for Stayton Thomas...who threw 2 pitches. Durant (he of the lone run scored in the first) grounded the 2nd pitch he saw from Thomas into a lovely 6-4-3 double play...the tail end of which, Tant Shepherd did a great job of scooping off the turf and just barely hanging onto. Whew. Chance Ruffin went in for the 9th: strikeout, fly out, strikeout. In the 10th: pop out (foul), line out to cf, strikeout. By my count, he threw 26 pitches (21 strikes...his first 9 pitches were all strikes), faced 6 batters, and struck out 3. And, got his 2nd win of the year.

On the offensive side, I have very little to report. In the 1st, Brandon Loy hit a 1-out single to lf and tried to stretch it into a double but was, sadly, thrown out 7-4 on a very nice play by the Iowa left fielder. Cohl Walla reached on an error in the 2nd...debatable play. A high throw from the ss pulled the first baseman off the bag but it looked like he might've tagged Walla as he was coming down. But, the first base ump was screened from the play and, really, Walla might have been stepping on the bag at the same time and the tie goes to the runner, right? Shrug. Kevin Lusson then hit into a 6-4-3 double play so...no matter. Paul Montalbano led off the bottom of the 3rd with a 5-pitch walk. After Connor Rowe and Jordan Etier struck out, Tant Shepherd was hit by a pitch. Brandon Loy then hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice. Kevin Keyes reached on a 1-out full-count walk in the 4th. He stole 2b and moved up to 3b on an error (the catcher's throw on the sb went into cf) but he was stranded at 3b. The horns went 3-up/3-down in the 5th and 6th. Kevin Lusson reached on a 2-out full-count walk in the 7th but was stranded at 1b. With 1 out in the 8th, Texas finally got their second hit of the game when Jordan Etier hit a homerun that just cleared the rf fence and fell into the Texas bullpen. Yes! Tant Shepherd then grounded out and Brandon Loy singled over the ss but was then forced out on a fielder's choice.

In the bottom of the 9th, things got rather interesting. Kevin Keyes singled on a little blooper over the shortstop. The Horns sent Tim Maitland in to pinch run for Keyes. Cohl Walla then hit a couple of bunt attempts foul before hitting a single through the right side. Maitland held up at 2b. Iowa had a visit to the mound but stayed with their starter. Kevin Lusson up. He squared to bunt and watched a strike go by. On the next pitch (a ball), the catcher almost threw Maitland out at 2b. Whew. Lusson advanced the batters on the next pitch, though, with a beautiful sac bunt (5-4) down the 3b line. Iowa finally replaced their starter. Jarred Hippen went 8.1 innings and gave up an earned run. He faced 33 batters, threw 105 pitches (71 strikes), gave up 5 hits, walked 3, and struck out 8. Great game. Wow. Nick Brown replaced him on the mound. Kyle Lusson (pinch-hitting for Montalbano) went down swinging. Russell Moldenhauer (pinch-hitting for Connor Rowe) also went down swinging. Damn. Two runners in scoring (ahem...winning) position with 1 out...and the Horns fail to score. Not pretty. Sigh...

The 10th started out the same way as Jordan Etier struck out, looking this time. But, then...magic. Tant Shepherd hit a towering homerun (first pitch) over the Texas bullpen to win the game. Wow!

The line...

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

Geesh. This is too much stress. Sigh...

The Horns are now up for a double-header against Iowa tomorrow. The first game is scheduled for 7 innings and the second for 9. If the first game goes long, they'll switch and the second game will be a 7-inning affair. 'Hope the bats have more life tomorrow.

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 10:24 PM | Permalink

Tuesday - March 9, 2010

Game 12: Texas State at Texas

That was a bit of a nail biter! Wow. First, the line:

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

See what I mean? Whew. The Texas State starter went 7 innings. In the first 6 innings, he struck out 7 batters and only 4 batters even reached base (one each in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th). Yowza.

Austin Dicharry got the start for the Horns and went 7+ innings. By my count, he faced 26 batters and threw 87 pitches (58 strikes), had 1 wild pitch, 4 strikeouts, gave up 5 hits, and all 3 runs (1 unearned). Stayton Thomas relieved Dicharry in the 8th after he gave up a lead-off double to the cf/rf gap. Thomas went .2 innings. He faced 2 batters and threw 9 pitches (6 strikes). Both batters grounded out. Andrew McKirahan faced the final batter of the 8th (a lefty) and got him to ground out back to the mound. McKirahan threw 6 pitches (only 1 ball)...but that was enough to earn his first victory of the year. Sweet. Chance Ruffin threw the 9th for his 4th save of the year. He faced 4 batters and threw 19 pitches (10 strikes), walked 1 batter, and threw 1 strikeout. The first two batters he faced managed to work the count full. Nice job of getting out of the inning.

Offensively, the Horns did struggle early in the game. Kevin Keyes reached on an 1-out infield-single to 3b in the 2nd. He really did a great job to beat the throw from 3b. Alas, he was stranded at 2b. In the 3rd, Tant Shepherd reached on a 2-out single through the right side but, again, stranded. In the 4th, Russell Moldenhauer worked his way aboard on a 1-out full-count walk. Alas, the next two batters went down swinging. In the 5th, Jordan Etier reached on a 2-out error by the ss. I would've ruled it an infield single since I really do think he beat the throw to the bag but the throw was high and the official scorer ruled it an error...even though Etier did not advance to 2b. Ah well. He stole 2b on the first pitch to Shepherd and then moved to 3b on a wild pitch. Alas, he was stranded there when Shepherd struck out swinging.

They finally scored a run in the 7th:

• Kevin Keyes reached on another infield single to 3b. Another great job of hustling down the line as the 3rd baseman charged a weakly hit ground ball. Nice.
• Keyes moved to 2b on a sac bunt down the 1b line (3-unassisted) by Kyle Lusson.
• Kevin Lusson doubled to the lf/cf gap, scoring Keyes.
• Paul Montalbano, pinch-hitting for Connor Rowe, hit a high bouncer off the plate on the 3rd base side of the mound for a single, moving Lusson to 3b.
• Texas then put the squeeze on. Jordan Etier watched three balls go by...squaring to bunt each time. The forth pitch (again, squared to bunt) was called a strike. He got the 5th pitch down...and down the 1b line. The first baseman fielded, almost tagged Etier, and threw home. Lusson slid hard into the plate and knocked down the home plate ump (flat on his face...ouch). The ump lay flat on the ground for a couple of seconds and then pulled himself up enough to call Lusson out. I don't really think the catcher got the tag down but whatcha gonna do? The first baseman nearly got a double play out of the thing. Anyway, runners at 1b and 2b, 2 out.
• Tant Shepherd swung at a couple of pitches and then went down looking. So sad.

Montalbano stayed in the game in lf and Kyle Lusson moved to cf for the top of the 8th. Texas State scored in the 8th: lead-off double, ground out to 3b (runner stayed at 2b), ground out to 2b (runner moved to 3b), passed ball scored run. Ouch.

The bottom of the 8th was quite the exciting inning:

• The Bobcats finally replaced their starting pitcher. They sent Mitchell Pitts in for Carson Smith.
• Brandon Loy led things off with a single up the middle. And, now I insert a note about Loy hurting himself in the 3rd. He fouled the third pitch he saw in the 3rd off his left foot and immediately fell to the ground in a lot of pain. He got up and walked around very tenderly for 2 or 3 minutes, visited with a trainer and Coach Garrido, and eventually stayed at the plate. He grounded out to the ss a couple of pitches later. He limped quite a bit going down the line on the play. But, he stayed in the game. He was not 100%, though, clearly. When he got the lead-off hit in the 8th, I was sure Texas would send in a pinch runner. But, nope. They left Loy at 1b.
• Cameron Rupp worked the count full and then hit another hard ground ball up the middle. Loy, on his hurt let, did not even think about reaching for 3b.
• With runners at 1b and 2b and nobody, out, the Horns left Loy in the game. What?
• First pitch to Moldenhauer...who squared to bunt????...was a ball. And, Texas sent Tim Maitland in to pinch-run for Loy. Finally!
• Moldenhauer again squared to bunt and, sadly, got the bunt down. The ball did not stay close enough to the line and the pitcher was able to field and throw to 3b to get the lead runner out. The healthy wheels ended up making no difference! You just never know. Runners at 1b and 2b, one out.
• The Bobcats sent Garret Carruth to the mound and Texas sent Jonathan Walsh in to pinch run for Moldenhauer. Walsh's first action in a Texas uniform.
• Keyes drew a 5-pitch walk to load the bases. The Horns sent Cohl Walla in to pinch-run for Keyes.
• Kyle Lusson reached on a 6-4 fielder's choice, scoring Rupp and moving Walsh to 3b.
• Kevin Lusson then drew a full-count walk to re-load the bases.
• Paul Montalbano hit a soft line drive into cf, scoring Walsh and Kyle Lusson! Kevin Lusson moved to 2b.
• Jordan Etier was hit by a full-count pitch to load the bases yet again.
• Which prompted Texas State to change pitchers again. They sent Jeff McVaney to the mound.
• Shepherd then hit into a 6-unassisted fielder's choice to end the inning.

Oh. My. Such stress! But, Horns win! Horns win! And, that's what matters most. Yes!

By the way, defensively in the 9th, Texas moved Jordan Etier over to ss and sent Jordan Weymouth in at 2b. Weymouth seemed very excited to be out there...another Longhorn player seeing his first action of the year. Kyle Lusson moved over to rf, and Cohl Walla stayed in the game in cf.

The Horns play host to Iowa this weekend in a 4-game series, including a double-header on Saturday. I suspect the double header will be a scheduled 7-inning game followed by a 9-inning game but I'm not sure about that.

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 11:18 PM | Permalink

Sunday - March 7, 2010

Game 11: Missouri at Texas (Houston College Classic)

I was messing around this morning and forgot about the game until almost 11:30. Oh my! I turned in just in time for the start of the 3rd inning to find Texas behind 0-2. The Missouri runs were scored on a 2-run homer in the 2nd. GameTracker wasn't working today so it took me awhile to catch up on the action.

The details, from that point on...

• Mizzou, top of the 3rd
• Cole Green on the mound for Texas.
• Michael Liberto (ss) struck out swinging.
• Russell LaFleur (cf) struck out swinging.
• Eric Garcia (2b) singled through the left side.
• Garcia took off on a hit and run as Aaron Senne (1b) hit a ball right at the spot Loy had vacated as he went to cover 2b. Sigh. Garcia moved up to 3b, Senne safe at 1b.
• Brett Nicholas (3b) singled through the right side, scoring Garcia and moving Senne to 3b.
• Skip Johnson made a visit to the mound. 2 out, runners at the corners, a run in.
• Dane Opel (rf) grounded into a 4-unassisted fielder's choice. Jordan Etier fielded a ground ball and stepped on 2b in stride for the force out.
• Texas down 0-3.
• Texas, bottom of the 3rd
• Aaron Blunt on the mound for Mizzou.
• Jordan Etier (2b) reached on a full-count walk.
• Tant Shepherd (1b) singled through the left side, moving Etier to 2b. Yes.
• Mizzou made a pitching change, calling Ryan Clubb in to replace Blunt on the mound.
• Brandon Loy (ss) squared to bunt. The first bunt went off his foot and the second went foul quickly...both to the left side. He then flew out to rf shallow in the cf/rf gap. No chance for Etier to advance.
• Cameron Rupp (c) popped up to 1b on the foul line about 40 or 50 feet past 1b. Nice play by the first baseman.
• Kevin Keyes (dh, interesting) lined into cf for a single. Etier was on the move with the pitch and scored easily. Yes! Shepherd moved to 2b.
• Cohl Walla (lf, getting his first start of the year) grounded into a 4-6 fielder's choice.
• Texas down 1-3.
• Mizzou, top of the 4th
• Jonah Schmidt (dh), who hit the homer earlier in the game, struck out swinging. Rupp dropped the ball so had to throw down to 1b to complete the out.
• Kale Gaden (lf) singled past 1b into rf.
• Ryan Ampleman (c) grounded into a 1-3 fielder's choice. It was a hit & run but he did not get much on the ball.
• Liberto flew out to right-cf. Rowe, who was shaded to left had to make a long run to get to the ball. Very nicely done.
• Texas down 1-3.
• Texas, bottom of the 4th
• Connor Rowe (cf) flew out to cf...just short of the warning track.
• Kyle Lusson (rf) grounded out to 3b.
• Kevin Lusson (3b) singled through the right side.
• Etier was hit by a 2-2 pitch. Lusson moved up to 2b.
• Shepherd popped up to rf near the line. Sigh...
• Texas down 1-3.
• Mizzou, top of the 5th
• LaFleur struck out swinging.
• Garcia grounded out to 2b.
• Senne reached on an error by 1b. Shepherd misplayed the ground ball as he appeared to look up to see if he should throw or run to 1b.
• Nicholas flew out to lf.
• Texas down 1-3.
• Texas, bottom of the 5th
• Mizzou sent Zack Hardoin to the mound, replacing Clubb.
• Loy walked his way aboard (on 4 pitches, I think).
• Rupp singled past 3b into lf, moving Loy to 2b.
• Keyes lined off the pitcher's thigh to load the bases. Ouch. The ball hit his left thigh and then dribbled all the way to the foul line between 3b and the plate. Ouch. That's gonna leave a nasty bruise.
• Pitching change. Brad Buehler sent to the mound, replacing Hardoin.
• Paul Montalbano (pinch-hitting for Walla) reached on a 5-pitch walk, scoring Loy!
• Rowe struck out swinging.
• Kyle Lusson flew out to rf. Sac fly scored Rupp. Keyes did not advance. Runners at 1b and 2b with 2 out.
• Kevin Lusson walked to re-load the bases.
• Etier singled to lf, scoring Keyes and Montalbano! Lusson moved up to 2b.
• Mizzou sent Jeff Scardino to the mound, replacing Buehler.
• Shepherd doubled off the wall in lf, scoring Lusson.
• Loy grounded out to 3b.
• Best inning of the year for the Horns!
• Texas up 7-3.
• Mizzou, top of the 6th
• Montalbano stayed in the game in lf for the Horns.
• Opel flew out to lf.
• Schmidt grounded out to 2b.
• Gaden also grounded out to 2b...almost the same spot.
• Texas up 7-3.
• Texas, bottom of the 6th
• Rupp flew out to rf in foul territory. Nice long run by the right fielder.
• Keyes flew out to rf at the wall.
• Montalbano grounded out (hard-hit ball) to the pitcher.
• Texas up 7-3.
• Mizzou, top of the 7th
• Ampleman flew out to lf in foul territory. Nice play by Montalbano.
• Liberto grounded out to 3b.
• LaFleur singled through the left side.
• Garcia grounded out to 2b.
• Texas up 7-3.
• Texas, bottom of the 7th
• Rowe flew out to straightaway cf about 10 feet shy of the warning track.
• Kyle Lusson grounded out to ss.
• Kevin Lusson flew out to lf.
• Texas up 7-3.
• Mizzou, top of the 8th
• Senne grounded out to 2b. Etier struggled to gather the ball up and just barely nipped the batter out at 1b. Whew.
• Nicholas doubled down the lf line.
• Opel drew a full-count walk.
• Texas sent Chance Ruffin to the mound, replacing Green.
• Schmidt drew a 5-pitch walk to load the bases. Texas trying to be very careful with Schmidt (who homered in the 2nd) but...yikes.
• Gaden singled up the middle, scoring Nicholas. Bases still loaded.
• Ampleman reached on a 6-4 fielder's choice. Opel scored. Schmidt moved up to 3b. Loy had to dive and knock the ball (headed into cf) down. He just managed to get the ball to Etier covering 2b. No chance at a double play. Good job by Loy to keep the ball in the infield.
• Liberto struck out swinging. Whew.
• Texas up 7-5.
• Texas, bottom of the 8th
• Etier hit his first homerun of the year to lf! Full-count pitch. Nice.
• Shepherd singled over 2b into rf.
• Pitching change. Mizzou sent Jeff Emens to the mound, replacing Scardino.
• Loy moved Shepherd to 2b with a 1-3 sac bunt.
• Rupp grounded out to ss deep in the hole. Shepherd had to hold at 2b.
• Keyes flew out to lf.
• Texas up 8-5.
• Mizzou, top of the 9th
• LaFleur struck out swinging on 3 pitches. Nice.
• Garcia grounded out to 3b.
• Senne singled into lf and then moved up to 2b on defensive indifference with Nicholas at the plate. Texas made no attempt to hold Senne at 1b and made no throw to 2b as he took off on the first pitch.
• Nicholas struck out swinging. Whew.
• Texas wins 8-3.

The line:

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

Very nicely done. It was great to see the Horns hitting the ball today. Texas shuffled their line-up a bit, expecting left-handed pitching from Missouri. Walla got his first start of the year in lf. Kyle Lusson moved to rf. And, Keyes went to work at dh...taking Russell Moldenhauer's customary spot. It seemed to work out rather well. I'm curious to see how things continue to develop as the season progresses.

Green earned his 3rd win of the year to improve his record to 3-0. And, I think Ruffin earned his 3rd save of the year.

The Horns come back to town and play Texas State on Tuesday evening. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 1:52 PM | Permalink

Saturday - March 6, 2010

Game 10: Texas at Houston (Houston College Classic)

I wasn't able to watch most of today's game. I had to pick a friend up at the airport so the detailed game report only goes through the top of the 3rd. The game started 30 minutes late due to the previous game going into extra innings so I got to see even less of the game than I was hoping to see. 'Course it turned out that the game was over by the second pitch of the bottom of the first inning. I couldn't know that as I left for the airport, though!

The Astros were, once again, streaming the game so I did get to watch 'til I had to leave my folks' house for the airport. It turned out to be a heck of a pitching duel with Houston getting the better end of the deal as Texas lost 0-1.

The details, through the top of the third...

• Texas, Top of the 1st
• Michael Goodnight pitching for Houston.
• Tant Shepherd (1b) struck out swinging.
• Brandon Loy (ss) struck out looking.
• Cameron Rupp (c) drew a 5-pitch walk.
• Russell Moldenhauer (dh) singled up the middle, moving Rupp to 2b.
• Kevin Keyes (rf) struck out swinging. Too bad.
• Houston, Bottom of the 1st
• Brandon Workman pitching for Texas.
• Blake Kelso (ss) tripled to the cf/rf gap (1st pitch). Ouch.
• Then he scored on a wild pitch...first pitch to the next batter. The ball was down in the dirt and careened away from Rupp on the 1b side. He got to it and threw back to Workman covering the plate but just a little bit too late. Double ouch.
• Joel Ansley (cf) grounded out to ss.
• Matt Creel (rf) struck out looking.
• Caleb Ramsey (lf) grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Texas down 0-1.
• Texas, Top of the 2nd
• Connor Rowe (cf) flew out to lf (at the wall, toward the cf gap).
• Kevin Lusson (3b) drew a walk (full count, I think). And, was then picked off (1-3) with Kyle Lusson at the plate. Sigh. How many pick-offs is that on Texas baserunners this year?
• Kyle Lusson (lf) drew a walk. Full count, I think. He then moved to 2b on a balk with Etier at the plate.
• Jordan Etier (2b) struck out swinging.
• Texas down 0-1.
• Houston, Bottom of the 2nd
• M.P. Cokinos (dh) grounded out to 3b. Nice play by Lusson at 3b to dive and stop the ball before jumping up to throw to 1b.
• Chris Wallace (c) grounded out to ss (1-6-3) off Workman's glove.
• Matt Murphy (1b) grounded out to 2b.
• Very nice and quick 1-2-3 for the Horns.
• Texas down 0-1.
• Texas, Top of the 3rd
• Shepherd flew out to lf.
• Loy singled up the middle and advanced to 2b on a balk with Rupp at the plate.
• Rupp struck out looking.
• Moldenhauer drew a full-count walk.
• Keyes flew out to straightaway cf at the warning track.
• Texas down 0-1.
• And, then I left for the airport.

I was actually able to listen to most of the rest of the game on the radio. And, not a whole lot happened. Here's the line:

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

Look at that. The teams combined for 7 hits. Amazing. Brandon Workman pitched a complete game, taking the loss for Texas. According to the Texas boxscore, he faced 27 batters, threw 93 pitches, gave up the 4 hits and 1 run (earned), walked 1, and struck out 7. There's no way Workman should be saddled with that loss. What he accomplished today really should be a lot more than a team needs out of their pitcher to win a game, doncha think? I hope the hitting comes around soon for the Horns. As a team, they're only batting .237. Opponents are batting .220, though, which is why they've got a 7-3 record. Scary stuff.

Ah well. The Horns play Missouri tomorrow at 11. The game will not count toward Big 12 totals. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 11:52 PM | Permalink

Friday - March 5, 2010

Game 9: Rice at Texas (Houston College Classic)

'Was driving home during the first inning and listened to the game on the radio. Then, when I got into the house, I couldn't find a radio that would work! Ack. I finally found the radio I use at the games and tuned back in. Then, sometime during the top of the 3rd inning, I saw a post on the TexasSports.com page noting that the game was being streamed online courtesy of the Astros. So, I pulled that right up. Yes! Nice video with the Craig Way/Bill Little audio from KVET. Excellent!

Nothing much had happened to that point. Connor Rowe apparently made a nice catch at the wall in the lf/cf gap to keep one of the Rice batters from hitting a double (or possibly a triple) in the 2nd. He made another nice catch to deep cf in the 3rd. Each team had a hit under its belt at this point. Scoreless game going into the bottom of the 3rd...

• Texas, Bottom of the 3rd
• Taylor Wall on the mound for Rice.
• Kyle Lusson (lf) lined out to rf.
• Jordan Etier (2b) struck out swinging.
• Tant Shepherd (1b) struck out swinging.
• Rice, Top of the 4th
• Taylor Jungmann on the mound for the Horns.
• Anthony Rendon (3b) grounded out to 3b.
• Chase McDowell (dh) struck out swinging (full count).
• Rick Hague (ss) struck out looking. Nice. Sixth strikeout for Jungmann.
• Texas, Bottom of the 4th
• Brandon Loy (ss) lined out to cf.
• Cameron Rupp (c) flew out to cf.
• Kevin Keyes (rf) singled up the middle (ball ripped hard off the mound).
• Russell Moldenhauer (dh) struck out looking. Shucks. Fifth strikeout for Wall.
• Rice, Top of the 5th
• Craig Manuel (c) out at 2b. On a weird play. He hit a line drive to lf that Kyle Lusson charged hard in an attempt to catch. He misjudged it a bit and it ricocheted off his shoulder. Loy, ran out to get the ball and threw quickly to Etier at 2b to get Manuel out at 2b! Wow. Single plus 6-4 on the out. Amazing.
• Jeremy Rathjen (cf) struck out swinging.
• Jimmy Comerota (1b) flew out to rf.
• Texas, Bottom of the 5th
• Connor Rowe (cf) flew out to cf.
• Kevin Lusson (3b) struck out swinging (I think).
• Kyle Lusson flew out to cf. The center fielder charged hard after a shallow flare out to cf and made a nice diving catch to rob Kyle of a single.
• Rice, Top of the 6th
• Michael Ratterree (2b) grounded out to ss.
• Chad Mozingo (rf) grounded out to ss. Loy made a great play as he juggled the ball a little bit before he managed to get his throwing hand on it and gun the ball to 1b in time for the out. Wow.
• Michael Fuda (lf) struck out looking!
• Texas, Bottom of the 6th
• Etier singled into shallow rf near the line.
• Shepherd reached on a fielder's choice (1-6). He bunted down the right side but too hard and too close to the mound. The pitcher fielded and just managed to nip Etier at 2b.
• Shepherd stole 2b with Loy at the plate. The pitcher had thrown to 1b several times during the at-bat. Nice steal.
• Loy grounded out to 3b. Sadly, Shepherd was unable to advance on the play.
• Rupp singled up the middle, scoring Shepherd!!
• Rupp advanced to 2b on a wild pitch with Keyes at the plate.
• The Owls went on to intentionally walk Keyes. Hmmm...Moldenhauer on deck. Rice going for the lefty-lefty match-up. Moldenhauer's hr last weekend was against a lefty.
• Moldenhauer, sadly, struck out swinging.
• Texas up 1-0.
• Rice, Top of the 7th
• Rendon flew out to Loy (ss) in shallow cf behind 2b.
• McDowell grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Hague flew out to cf.
• Texas up 1-0.
• Texas, Bottom of the 7th
• Rowe walked but was then picked off (after several throws to 1b) with Kevin Lusson at the plate.
• Kevin Lusson went on to strike out.
• Kyle Lusson flew out to rf at the wall. So sad.
• Rice, Top of the 8th
• Jungmann, with 102 pitches, still on the mound. Wow.
• Manuel lined into lf for a single.
• Rice sent Daniel Gonzales-Luna in to pinch run for Manuel.
• Rathjen moved Gonzales-Luna to 2b on a 5-3 sac bunt.
• Abel Gonzales was sent in to pinch-hit for Comerota.
• Skip Johnson made a visit to the mound. No pitching change, however.
• Gonzales singled down the lf line, scoring Gonzales-Luna. He tried to stretch it into a double but was tagged out (7-4?) at 2b.
• Texas sent Chance Ruffin to the mound, replacing Jungmann on the mound.
• Ratterree doubled off the wall in lf. It was just a couple of feet short of clearing the wall. Whew. Good thing Gonzales was tagged out at 2b earlier, eh?
• It looked like Texas was going to intentionally walk Mozingo. The first pitch to him was an intentional ball...with Rupp standing, catching arm extended. But, then they buckled down and pitched to him. And, he flew out to deep cf. Rowe made a great running catch on that goofy hill in Minute Maid park to make the 3rd out. Wow.
• Game tied 1-1.
• Texas, Bottom of the 8th
• Taylor Wall, with 101 pitches, still on the mound for Rice.
• Etier struck out swinging.
• Shepherd drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Wayne Graham made a visit to the mound. Like Texas...no pitching change. 'Hope Texas gets a hit the way Rice did after the mound visit in the top half of the inning!
• Loy doubled off the wall in the lf/cf gap, scoring Shepherd! Yes!
• Rice sent Tyler Duffey to the mound, replacing Wall.
• Rupp flew out to the warning track in cf. Loy tagged and moved up to 3b.
• Keyes grounded out to 2b.
• Texas back on top, 2-1.
• Rice, Top of the 9th
• Texas made their now customary changes in the outfield in the top of the 9th. They moved Kyle Lusson over to rf and sent Cohl Walla into lf (taking Keyes' spot in the lineup).
• Fuda struck out looking. Purty.
• Rendon struck out swinging!
• McDowell stuck out swinging! Yes!
• Texas wins 2-1!

Chance Ruffin gets the win and Taylor Wall gets the tough-luck loss.

Beautiful. That's pretty much all. Thanks so much to the Astros for streaming the game. 'Much prefer watching the game to just listening. Texas faces Houston tomorrow afternoon at about 3:30.

Posted by Joanna at 9:57 PM | Permalink

Tuesday - March 2, 2010

Game 8: UT-Pan American at Texas

Texas beat UT-Pan American 3-2 this evening to improve their record to 6-2. 'Twas a bit of a scary game as the offense barely showed up. Kyle Kotchie pitched a great game for UTPA. It was his first appearance of the year and he went 7 innings, faced 30 Texas batters, and threw (by my count) 131 pitches. He walked 4, struck out 11 (ouch!), and gave up 3 hits (2 singles and 1 homerun). He allowed all 3 runs (1 unearned). What killed his outing, surprisingly, were 2 bases-loaded balks. Poor guy. Ah well...we're all about the Longhorns here so, on to that story!

Texas scored single runs in the 2nd, 4th, and 5th...which proved just enough to win the game. After going 1-2-3 in the 1st, the 2nd went like so:

• Russell Moldenhauer struck out looking.
• Kevin Keyes grounded out to 2b.
• Connor Rowe reached on a throwing error by 3b and then stole 2b with Kevin Lusson at the plate.
• Kevin Lusson drew a full-count walk.
• Kyle Lusson drew a 5-pitch walk to load the bases.
• Kotchie balked on his first pitch to Jordan Etier to put the first run of the game across.
• Etier went on to strike out swinging.

The Horns went down in order again in the 3rd. And, then they finally got a hit in the 4th:

• Moldenhauer singled on a hard ground ball off the second baseman. The ball careened off his glove toward the ss behind 2b. The shortstop almost managed to get Moldenhauer out at 1b. Whew.
• Keyes and Rowe then struck out.
• The Lusson brothers repeated their walk performances of the 2nd inning to load the bases.
• Kotchie balked again (2-2 count to Etier) to push another run across. Wow.
• Etier struck out (looking this time) on the next pitch.

And, the 5th:

• Tant Shepherd flew out to lf.
• Brandon Loy popped out to shallow lf.
• Cameron Rupp hit his first homerun of the year to the cf/rf gap. Nice. That was only the 2nd hit on the day for the Horns, by the way.
• Moldenhauer was hit by a pitch.
• Keyes struck out swinging.

Note how all three runs were scored with 2 outs. Those Longhorns were making me nervous today!

They got two more hits on the day. Kyle Lusson reached on on a 2-out single in the 6th and stole 2b but was stranded there. Kevin Keyes hit a 1-out ground-rule double in the 8th. I think that was the first ground-rule double hit on the new turf at Disch-Falk. It was a hiiiiiiiiiigh flying ball that went all the way to the warning track by the Texas bullpen. I could not believe it when it dropped in a couple of feet shy of the wall and then bounced over...and into the corner of the bullpen. We used to see ground-rule doubles hit on the old turf all the time. But, the new field turf just isn't as bouncy. Anyway, Cohl Walla went in to pinch-run for Keyes...but turned into the 3rd out on a fielder's choice a few batters later.

Hoby Milner saw his first action as a Longhorn today, getting the start. He went 4.1 innings, threw 74 pitches (45 strikes), faced 21 batters, gave up 2 walks, threw 2 strikeouts, gave up 6 hits, and one run (by my reckoning...more on that in a moment). Stayton Thomas relieved Milner with 1 on (via walk) and one out in the 5th. The first batter Thomas faced (Mejia) reached on a 5-4 fielder's choice, advanced to 2b on a wild pitch, and scored on a single. Weirdly, both iScore and the official boxscore charged the run scored by Mejia to Milner. I'm completely puzzled by this. Anyone with some insight on this? Regardless...by my count, Thomas pitched 1 inning, threw 16 pitches (6 strikes), faced 6 batters, threw 1 wild pitch, hit one batter, walked one, gave up 1 hit, and one run (or so I think). He also managed to get his first win of the year. Andrew McKirahan replaced Thomas in the 6th. He went into the game with 1 out and runners at 1b and 2b. He gave up a 7-pitch full-count single up the middle. The runner from 2b tried to score but a perfect throw from Connor Rowe in cf caught him easily at the plate. Excellent play! The next batter grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning. McKirahan threw a 1-2-3 seventh. His totals: 1.2 innings, 24 pitches (15 strikes), 5 batters, 2 strikeouts, and 1 hit. Chance Ruffin threw the final 2 innings and faced the minimum to earn his 2nd save of the year. His totals: 2 innings, 25 pitches (18 strikes), 6 batters, and 2 strikeouts. Purty.

Here's the line:

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
UT-Pan American	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	8	1
Texas	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	x	3	4	2

Kind of a weird game. I'm not complaining, though, 'cause the Horns came away with a win! They head off to Houston this weekend. 'Hope the winning ways continue. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 10:58 PM | Permalink

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