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Saturday - May 22, 2010

Game 53: Texas at Missouri

Another road game. Another game report based on the radio broadcast (Craig Way and Bill Little with the call). 'Got a look at the Texas line-up early (thanks to the Texas Baseball twitter feed) and am surprised to see Brandon Loy's not starting today. Things that make you go hmmm...

I also see that Mizzou's throwing a lefty (Kelly Fick) at the Horns. It'll be interesting to see how that goes. His ERA is 3.23 and he's 2-1 on the season with 21 appearances and only 1 start. I guess we'll see.

Looking at the line-up a little more closely, I do think Texas is responding to the lefty on the mound. With Loy out, we'll see Freshman Jordan Weymouth getting his 2nd start of the year at 2b (moving Etier over to ss). Weymouth is also taking Loy's #2 spot in the line-up. Also of note, Connor Rowe is starting in cf, moving Walla back to lf. And, Kyle Lusson is in the dh spot for today's game.

Back with more after the game...

UPDATE #1. In the pre-game show, Coach Garrido said Brandon Loy is suffering from a nagging injury (in his scapula?) that makes it difficult to catch any ball that is over his shoulder. He'll be out of the lineup for a couple of days until they can get him to a doctor and find out what his rehab needs to be. They hope to have him back in time for the tournament. Coach Garrido also commented that Connor Rowe and Kyle Lusson are doing well against left-handed pitching so they're starting today. They also changed the lineup from that posted originally on the twitter feed, moving Weymouth to the #9 spot and Etier up to #2. More after the game.

UPDATE #2. And, here's the game report.

The line...

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

And, here's how things played out...

• 1st inning, Texas
• Kelly Fick (lhp) on the mound for Missouri.
• Cohl Walla (lf) led things off with a double off the wall in lf.
• Jordan Etier (ss) grounded out to ss. Great play by ss to grab ball in the hole and throw Etier out. No chance to advance for Walla.
• Hmmm...note from Texas Baseball twitter feed that Tommy Nicholson is coaching 3b and Travis Tucker at 1b. Tommy Harmon not coaching. No reason noted for the change. Also, no comment on this situation from the radio guys. When asked, Texas Baseball twitter replied: "Not sure if it's recruitng or personal."
• Tant Shepherd (1b) drew a 5-pitch walk. Got on base today!
• Kevin Keyes (rf) hit into a 5-4-3 double play, sadly.
• 1st inning, Mizzou
• Cole Green (rhp) on the mound for Texas.
• Dane Opel (cf) flew out to cf.
• Conner Mach (2b) struck out swinging. He tried to check his swing and then argued the call with the home plate ump. He didn't get tossed, though.
• Aaron Senne (1b) grounded out to 2b.
• 1-2-3. Nice start.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Cameron Rupp (c) struck out swinging. The catcher couldn't hang onto the ball so had to throw down to 1b to complete the out.
• Kyle Lusson (dh) lined a singled into lf.
• Connor Rowe (cf) grounded out to 2b, moving Lusson to 2b.
• Kevin Lusson (3b) drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Jordan Weymouth (2b) singled through the right side, scoring Kyle Lusson and moving Kevin Lusson up to 3b.
• Walla hit into a 6-4 fielder's choice.
• Texas up 1-0.
• 2nd inning, Mizzou
• Brett Nicholas (c) grounded out to 3b.
• Eric Garcia (ss) grounded out to ss.
• Jonah Schmidt (rf) grounded out to 2b.
• Another 1-2-3 inning. Horns making me happy!
• Texas up 1-0.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Etier struck out swinging.
• Shepherd reached on a pop-up single over 2b (who lost the ball in the sun) and then was tagged out (4-6 according to GameTracker) as he tried to stretch the single into a double. Too bad.
• Keyes reached on a bloop single to rf.
• Rupp reached on an infield single to ss, moving Keyes to 2b.
• Kyle Lusson struck out looking.
• Hmmm...defense making me happier than offense. Heh.
• Texas up 1-0.
• 3rd inning, Mizzou
• Garrison McLagan (dh) popped out to 3b foul. Great play by Kevin Lusson to catch ball as he fought the sun and leaned over dugout rail to make the catch.
• Jesse Santo (3b) grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Ryan Gebhart (lf) singled through the right side. Weymouth dove for ball but couldn't quite get there.
• First baserunner for Tigers.
• Opel, very sadly, doubled down the lf line, scoring Gebhart.
• Mach lined a single into cf, scoring Opel.
• Skip Johnson made a visit to the mound.
• Senne singled through the right side, moving Mach to 3b.
• Yikes...four 2-out hits in-a-row. Ouch.
• Nicholas, thankfully, grounded out to the pitcher.
• Texas down 1-2.
• 4th inning, Texas
• Rowe homered over the lf wall!!
• Kevin Lusson singled through the left side.
• Weymouth reached on a 1-6 fielder's choice (bunted the ball a bit too hard toward the mound).
• Walla popped out to 1b.
• Etier stuck out swinging.
• Game tied 2-2.
• 4th inning, Mizzou
• Garcia grounded out to 2b.
• Schmidt grounded out to the pitcher.
• McLagan singled into the lf/cf gap.
• Santo reached on a full-count walk.
• First walk of the day for Green.
• Gebhart struck out looking. Yes!
• Game tied 2-2.
• 5th inning, Texas
• Shepherd doubled down the rf line. Close play at 2b. Heh.
• Keyes popped out to 1b down the line. Great play by Senne who was running hard and caught the ball over his head as he was running away from the infield. Shepherd tagged and moved up to 3b on the play.
• Rupp singled up the middle, scoring Shepherd.
• Kyle Lusson reached on a fielding error by 2b. Way and Little both thought it should've been ruled an infield single. Rupp moved to 2b on the play.
• Mizzou sent Brad Buehler (rhp) to the mound, replacing Fick.
• Rowe lined out to cf.
• With Kevin Lusson at the plate, Rupp moved up to 3b on a wild pitch. Kyle Lusson had to hold up at 1b.
• Kevin Lusson struck out swinging.
• Texas up 3-2.
• 5th inning, Mizzou
• Radio guys announced that Tommy Harmon is absent today due to his son's graduation from law school.
• Opel doubled off the wall in rf.
• Mach struck out looking.
• Senne grounded out to 1b (unassisted), moving Opel to 3b.
• Nicholas hit a 2-run homer over the lf fence. Sigh...
• Garcia flew out to cf.
• Texas down 3-4.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Weymouth was hit by a pitch.
• Walla flew out to lf after being unable to bunt Weymouth over to 2b.
• Etier struck out swinging. Not a good day at the plate for Etier, eh?
• Weymouth was caught stealing (2-6) on the 8th pitch to Shepherd.
• Texas down 3-4.
• 6th inning, Mizzou
• Schmidt grounded out to ss. Etier slipped but still managed to get the throw to 1b in time to make the out.
• McLagan fell behind 0-2, worked the count full, and then singled into cf. Radio guys thought Green's 3rd pitch was a strike.
• McLagan moved to 2b on a wild pitch with Santo at the plate (2nd pitch). Which prompted a visit to the mound by Skip Johnson.
• Santo grounded out to ss on a high chopper over the pitcher, moving McLagan to 3b.
• Texas sent Andrew McKirahan (lhp) to the mound, replacing Green.
• Gebhart flew out to cf.
• Texas down 3-4.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Shepherd drew a full-count 7-pitch walk.
• Keyes flew out to rf.
• Rupp worked the count full but struck out swinging.
• Russell Moldenhauer (pinch-hitting for Kyle Lusson) drew a 5-pitch walk, moving Shepherd to 2b.
• Rowe, like Rupp, worked the count full but then struck out swinging.
• That's 10 stranded for the Horns to this point...5 in scoring position.
• Texas down 3-4.
• 7th inning, Mizzou
• Opel flew out to cf.
• Mach also flew out to cf.
• Senne also flew out to cf. Heh. That makes 4 outs in-a-row to cf going back to the 6th inning.
• Texas down 3-4.
• 8th inning, Texas
• Kevin Lusson drew a full-count 7-pitch walk.
• Weymouth moved Lusson to 2b on a 1-3 sac bunt.
• Walla doubled into the lf corner, scoring Lusson.
• First hit for the Horns since the 5th.
• Which prompted a pitching change for Mizzou. They sent Tyler Clark (rhp) to the mound, replacing Buehler.
• Etier was hit by a pitch.
• Shepherd flew out to cf. Nice diving catch by Opel in cf. Runners were off with the swing so had to return to bags and could not advance on the out.
• Keyes grounded into a 6-unassisted fielder's choice.
• Game tied 4-4.
• 8th inning, Mizzou
• Nicholas tried to call time on the second pitch but was not granted time. The pitch was called a strike and the batter walked off in disgust. Coach Jamieson went out to argue the call and was promptly ejected from the game. Heh. Note: Texas Baseball twitter reported later that an unidentified player was ejected...not Jamieson. Hmmm...
• Nicholas was then hit by the next pitch. Sigh.
• Garcia tried to bunt the runner over but did not succeed. McKirahan fielded and threw to 2b (ss covering) to force the lead runner.
• Schmidt drew a 5-pitch walk.
• Andreas Plackis was announced as a pinch-hitter for McLagan. Texas countered by sending Chance Ruffin (rhp) to the mound, replacing McKirahan.
• Plackis grounded out to 1b (3-1, p covered bag), moving Garcia to 3b and Schmidt to 2b.
• Santo struck out swinging!
• Game tied 4-4.
• 9th inning, Texas
• Rupp reached on an error by rf who dropped a fly ball...trouble with the wind and/or sun. Maybe. Wow.
• Moldenhauer drew a 5-pitch walk.
• Rowe advanced the batters on a 5-3 sac bunt. Radio guys commented that Rowe seemed to be limping a bit as he left the field.
• Insert visit to mound by Mizzou.
• Rupp scored and Moldenhauer moved up to 3b on a wild pitch with Lusson at the plate.
• Kevin Lusson (with the infield pulled way in) hit a sac fly to lf, scoring Moldenhauer.
• Mizzou sent Phil McCormick (lhp) to the mound, replacing Clark.
• Weymouth struck out swinging.
• Two runs scored without benefit of a hit. Lordy.
• Texas up 6-4!
• 9th inning, Mizzou
• Gebhart struck out looking.
• Opel popped out to ss in foul ground.
• Mach flew out to lf.
• Texas wins 6-4!

That was not a pretty win but I will take it! With the series win, Texas has managed to win all of their Big 12 series this year which is a first for Texas and a first for the Big 12. Excellent.

Ruffin gets the win and improves his record to 6-1. Cole Green ends the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record since he did not figure into the decision. And, hey...nice bit of relief pitching by McKirahan, eh?

Don't forget...the start time for tomorrow's game has been moved to noon. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 12:34 PM