BASEBALL WEEKEND SERIES THREAD: No. 19 Texas vs. BYU (Sat. 6:50 p.m. - Witt was awesome, but UT loses series-finale)
- Thread starter DustinMcComas
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Zubia strikes out swinging. Two down.
Melendez smacks a hard single through the right side and two runs score. It's now 10-0.
Melendez smacks a hard single through the right side and two runs score. It's now 10-0.
There’s a small but repetitive bunch who ONLY show up when things are going south.
An infield single to begin the 7th breaks up the no-hit bid for Madden...
Hell yeah! Texas Fighting! Damn I miss baseball
@DustinMcComas i know this is random but what’s up with mason bryant? I know he was one of the big name pitchers that came in a couple years ago and hasn’t pitched yet this season. Not sure he did last year either
Ty Madden's excellent night is over. He gave up just one hit (infield single), walked none, hit a batter and punched out a career-high 11. He needed just 87 pitches (63 strikes) and 86 of them were FB/SL. Was still touching 96 MPH in the 7th.
Much better start from Madden. Plus the offense looks good the last two games. Hopefully this is the start of a string of wins.
FINAL: No. 19 Texas 11, BYU 1. Texas goes for the four-game sweep tomorrow.
PACK THE HAZY3 in a row! Heading to Omaha!
Went w Spindletap tonight. Nice game by Madden. Still can’t believe Zubia would ever have an inside the park homer, I could beat him around the bases today and I’m 40.
Friday 10:45 p.m. update:
Tonight, Ty Maddden showed why he was a preseason All-American and the No. 19 Longhorns (3-3) showed why national analysts thought so highly of them heading into the 2021 season. Behind Madden’s fantastic, dominant and efficient outing, Texas cruised to an 11-1 victory over BYU (2-5). Tomorrow, the Longhorns will go for the four-game sweep at 3:00 p.m.
Madden (1-1) started strong, had a plus slider from the jump, and once the hard-throwing righty discovered better fastball command, BYU had no chance. Attacking BYU with almost an exclusive fastball-slider combo, Madden carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning when an infield single spoiled what could have been a historic night. Of the redshirt sophomore’s 87 pitches, 63 were strikes, an excellent percentage and display of control.
“I mean, it's baseball. Cam was upset and I was like, ‘Dude, you put your chest on a ball in the first inning, first at-bat of the game,” said Madden when asked if he was upset an infield single ruined his no-hit bid. “And if you don't do that, then I’m not even in that situation. I wouldn't be where I am without him and he puts it on the line for us every week at third base.”
The Longhorn bats picked up where they left off yesterday, and had their best offensive performance of the season considering they faced a talented lefty with comparable stuff to some of the arms they faced in Arlington. Lefty Cy Nielson (0-1) touched 94 MPH and flashed a swing-and-miss slider, but Texas delivered a message early with some loud contact and early runs.
Mike Antico led off with a hard single and Trey Faltine reached base with a hard single of his own. A double steal put both runners into scoring position and set the stage for what will undoubtedly be the most unlikely play of the season.
Zach Zubia, with two outs, smashed a sinking liner into center field. BYU center fielder Danny Gelalich made an aggressive break on the ball and attempted to rob Zubia with a diving catch. He came up short. Zubia, nicknamed “Big Cat” by teammates because of his improved athleticism and work at first base last season, hit the jets, which still meant he was still running slowly.
But because he hit the ball so hard, it kept rolling and rolling. As Zubia was nearing third, he began to hit the brakes, but Pierce, apparently a big fan of Steve Sarkisians, “#AllGasNoBrakes,” put every ounce of energy he could into waving his arms to send Zubia home.
“Once the ball kind of shot up the line, or, you know, made the middle guys run for it, I'm like, ‘He's either gonna score, he’s gonna get thrown out by 10 feet, or he's gonna fall flat on his face. One of the three is going to happen.’ And it was worth watching to see which one happens,” Pierce said with a grin about Zubia’s inside-the-park homer.
The throw was offline and allowed Zubia to complete the inside-the-park homer, UT’s first since Zane Gurwitz in 2015.
“I took off and I knew I knew I could get to third. And then coach started wailing his arms around like crazy,” said Zubia. “And I was like, ‘Alright, we're gonna do this,’ and I scored. And I was kind of in disbelief when he started waving his arms around. I'm not gonna lie to you. But it was a cool moment to be a part of.”
Texas didn’t know at the time the 3-0 first-inning lead would be enough, but Madden probably did. That didn’t stop Texas from immediately adding more to the run total. In the bottom of the second, Eric Kennedy hit a leadoff double thanks to his hustle and speed, Murphy Stehly walked and with two outs, Faltine walked to load the bases. Cam Williams sent a screaming liner over the head of the left fielder and into the visiting bullpen for a two-out, two-RBI ground-rule double. Zubia then walked, and Ivan Melendez scored two when he ripped a single into left field.
With a 7-0 lead, UT’s Friday night ace began to dial his stuff up even more. As Madden began to work up the ladder with his fastball, the righty began to generate some swings and misses with the pitch. His fastball moving up-and-down the zone led to an even better slider as the pitch, a power breaking ball up to 89 MPH with sharp, downward movement, played well off the four-seam fastball.
Madden touched 98 MPH in the fifth inning, and carried 96 MPH into the seventh. Although BYU tried to ambush a few heaters early and Madden’s heater can occasionally be more hittable than it should because of its spin and movement, UT’s ace adjusted immediately to change eye levels. Over 7.0 innings, Madden gave up just one hit, walked none, hit one batter and punched out a career-high 11 hitters. The changeup is something he’s been working on a lot, but, quite frankly, there was no reason to use it tonight, and thanks to his preparation, Madden barely broke a sweat on the mound.
“He's the best preparer I've ever seen - ever! - in 34 years. I mean from how he works in the offseason to his rollouts to his stretch to his yoga to his strength conditioning. I mean, he's very precise on his throwing plan. Everything that he does, has a purpose,” Pierce said about Madden. “And that's a coach's dream. I mean, I just feel like no matter what happens on Friday night, I know that that kid's gonna be ready to give us a chance to win.
Texas walked 11 times tonight and did a very impressive job of not expanding the zone particularly early in the game against good stuff. Faline, who swung the bat well the first two games of the series, worked three walks after his hard single in the first and has shaken the rust from his early-season start. Melendez is showing the plate coverage and hitting skill Pierce excitedly talked about in the fall; after pulling a hard two-RBI single early in the game, he went the other way to drive in two more runs later.
Tonight, Ty Maddden showed why he was a preseason All-American and the No. 19 Longhorns (3-3) showed why national analysts thought so highly of them heading into the 2021 season. Behind Madden’s fantastic, dominant and efficient outing, Texas cruised to an 11-1 victory over BYU (2-5). Tomorrow, the Longhorns will go for the four-game sweep at 3:00 p.m.
Madden (1-1) started strong, had a plus slider from the jump, and once the hard-throwing righty discovered better fastball command, BYU had no chance. Attacking BYU with almost an exclusive fastball-slider combo, Madden carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning when an infield single spoiled what could have been a historic night. Of the redshirt sophomore’s 87 pitches, 63 were strikes, an excellent percentage and display of control.
“I mean, it's baseball. Cam was upset and I was like, ‘Dude, you put your chest on a ball in the first inning, first at-bat of the game,” said Madden when asked if he was upset an infield single ruined his no-hit bid. “And if you don't do that, then I’m not even in that situation. I wouldn't be where I am without him and he puts it on the line for us every week at third base.”
The Longhorn bats picked up where they left off yesterday, and had their best offensive performance of the season considering they faced a talented lefty with comparable stuff to some of the arms they faced in Arlington. Lefty Cy Nielson (0-1) touched 94 MPH and flashed a swing-and-miss slider, but Texas delivered a message early with some loud contact and early runs.
Mike Antico led off with a hard single and Trey Faltine reached base with a hard single of his own. A double steal put both runners into scoring position and set the stage for what will undoubtedly be the most unlikely play of the season.
Zach Zubia, with two outs, smashed a sinking liner into center field. BYU center fielder Danny Gelalich made an aggressive break on the ball and attempted to rob Zubia with a diving catch. He came up short. Zubia, nicknamed “Big Cat” by teammates because of his improved athleticism and work at first base last season, hit the jets, which still meant he was still running slowly.
But because he hit the ball so hard, it kept rolling and rolling. As Zubia was nearing third, he began to hit the brakes, but Pierce, apparently a big fan of Steve Sarkisians, “#AllGasNoBrakes,” put every ounce of energy he could into waving his arms to send Zubia home.
“Once the ball kind of shot up the line, or, you know, made the middle guys run for it, I'm like, ‘He's either gonna score, he’s gonna get thrown out by 10 feet, or he's gonna fall flat on his face. One of the three is going to happen.’ And it was worth watching to see which one happens,” Pierce said with a grin about Zubia’s inside-the-park homer.
The throw was offline and allowed Zubia to complete the inside-the-park homer, UT’s first since Zane Gurwitz in 2015.
“I took off and I knew I knew I could get to third. And then coach started wailing his arms around like crazy,” said Zubia. “And I was like, ‘Alright, we're gonna do this,’ and I scored. And I was kind of in disbelief when he started waving his arms around. I'm not gonna lie to you. But it was a cool moment to be a part of.”
Texas didn’t know at the time the 3-0 first-inning lead would be enough, but Madden probably did. That didn’t stop Texas from immediately adding more to the run total. In the bottom of the second, Eric Kennedy hit a leadoff double thanks to his hustle and speed, Murphy Stehly walked and with two outs, Faltine walked to load the bases. Cam Williams sent a screaming liner over the head of the left fielder and into the visiting bullpen for a two-out, two-RBI ground-rule double. Zubia then walked, and Ivan Melendez scored two when he ripped a single into left field.
With a 7-0 lead, UT’s Friday night ace began to dial his stuff up even more. As Madden began to work up the ladder with his fastball, the righty began to generate some swings and misses with the pitch. His fastball moving up-and-down the zone led to an even better slider as the pitch, a power breaking ball up to 89 MPH with sharp, downward movement, played well off the four-seam fastball.
Madden touched 98 MPH in the fifth inning, and carried 96 MPH into the seventh. Although BYU tried to ambush a few heaters early and Madden’s heater can occasionally be more hittable than it should because of its spin and movement, UT’s ace adjusted immediately to change eye levels. Over 7.0 innings, Madden gave up just one hit, walked none, hit one batter and punched out a career-high 11 hitters. The changeup is something he’s been working on a lot, but, quite frankly, there was no reason to use it tonight, and thanks to his preparation, Madden barely broke a sweat on the mound.
“He's the best preparer I've ever seen - ever! - in 34 years. I mean from how he works in the offseason to his rollouts to his stretch to his yoga to his strength conditioning. I mean, he's very precise on his throwing plan. Everything that he does, has a purpose,” Pierce said about Madden. “And that's a coach's dream. I mean, I just feel like no matter what happens on Friday night, I know that that kid's gonna be ready to give us a chance to win.
Texas walked 11 times tonight and did a very impressive job of not expanding the zone particularly early in the game against good stuff. Faline, who swung the bat well the first two games of the series, worked three walks after his hard single in the first and has shaken the rust from his early-season start. Melendez is showing the plate coverage and hitting skill Pierce excitedly talked about in the fall; after pulling a hard two-RBI single early in the game, he went the other way to drive in two more runs later.
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