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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