It’s graduation season. I’m sure many of you probably sweated in some stands recently as the seemingly endless line of graduates walked across a stage to receive their diplomas.
Despite the seemingly interminable length of graduation ceremonies, I do admit that I love them. One of the reasons I love them so much is because they are not ceremonies about looking back, they’re all about looking forward. Hence the name.
The regular season is over and now Longhorns are commencing the most important season of them all … tournament season.
One of the Longhorns’ goals is to host a regional in the NCAA tournament. I actually give the Longhorns a better chance than many national pundits at hosting a regional. Yes, the Horns finished fifth in the conference, but they still have the best overall record in the league. They are also second in the conference in RPI (Texas is 21st and Oklahoma State is 18th), and that number will go higher because of the conference tournament games.
The Big XII conference tournament gets underway Wednesday against Oklahoma State. Texas Head Coach David Pierce admits the tournament will be key if his Horns want to play in Austin again this year.
“I think we’ve got to show well in the tournament, maybe even have to win it, I don’t know,” said Pierce. “But we’re definitely going to have to show well to have a shot at it.”
Winning the tournament won’t be easy in a very loaded Big XII. Only two games separate the one through six seeds in the Big XII’s final standings … and all six teams are going to end up making it to the NCAA tournament.
“Look at our league. We won five straight going into Oklahoma State. We didn’t play well, we get swept at home. Same thing happens to them in a two week span when they look like they’re a national seed, top five type team.”
Oklahoma State had lost five in a row before righting the ship to win Friday and Saturday against Baylor.
Two of the league’s best pitchers will battle it out Wednesday morning when Texas’ Pete Hansen squares off against Oklahoma State’s Justin Campbell. ***EDIT*** @ZachattheDisch has learned that Oklahoma State will likely start Bryce Osmond. He faced the Horns on April 30th and pitched 5 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball.
Hansen has fluctuated between being masterful and hittable. He gave up six in the first go around with Oklahoma State and then gave up four more last weekend, but still picked up the win against Kansas.
The Horns are going to need Hansen to go deep in game one because the bullpen has been very shaky. In fact, it was the bullpen that was largely responsible for two of the losses against Oklahoma State – especially the Sunday loss where the Cowboys scored all 10 of their runs in the seventh inning for a 10-8 victory.
The Texas offense, which was already the league’s best, is actually rounding into form.
The Horns have been held under five runs only once this month (game two of the Oklahoma State series). And they just got back Eric Kennedy after missing a couple of months … and he brought his stick with him.
“You guys are accustomed to seeing EK (Eric Kennedy) come to home plate and lay a drag down or an infield hit, he hit three home runs this weekend,” said Pierce after Saturday afternoon’s game
Texas’ power has been nothing short of amazing this season. The team set the record for most home runs in a season. And here’s a mind-blowing stat - they would have set the record even without Ivan Melendez’s 28 dingers (which ties the school record for individual home runs in a season).
Pierce says he likes where his team is at heading into the conference tournament.
“I feel like our kids have just continued to kind of come together and realized that every single championship run is different and we’re on a championship run right now,” Pierce said.
IVAN MELENDEZ – FUTURE GOLDEN SPIKES WINNER …
Ivan Melendez has rewritten the record books this season and it has been nothing short of breathtaking to watch.
His 28 home runs this year are more than double his total from last season when he hit 13 homers. The talented El Paso slugger struggled at times last year as fatigue wore him down. But Melendez told Orangebloods’ @Serenity Douglas , he worked all offseason to be ready for the grind.
“Just trying to keep my body in shape and healthy, I think is the biggest thing. Just constantly being in the weight room, trying to keep my body up to par and trying to maintain strength,” Melendez said. “Just because we play so many games, you can drop weight or gain weight depending on how you’re eating. I think that’s probably one of the biggest challenges throughout the season.”
The hard work has paid off. Melendez leads the nation in home runs (28), batting average (.424), Slugging (.955), and OPS (1.493). He’s also second in RBI (84 – five behind Sam Houston State’s Carlos Contreras), which puts him in position to possibly grab the triple crown when all games are said and done.
At this point, it will be almost impossible for USA Baseball to select anyone other than Melendez as the Golden Spikes award – presented to the top amateur player in the nation.
Now the only question is, how many times will some team screw up and pass over Melendez in this year’s draft? Because if this year has taught us anything, it’s that Melendez didn’t get here by accident, he put in the work to be where he is and he will put in more work to get where he’s going. That’s exactly the type of player MLB GM’s should be gambling their careers on.
UT’S SOFTBALL TEAM IS SUPER!
The softball team upset the Washington Huskies 3-2 to win regional and move on to the Super Regionals of the NCAA Women’s tournament.
The Horns rode a wave of stellar pitching throughout the weekend to win the Seattle regional.
Now, they’ll be headed to Fayetteville, Arkansas to take on the 4th seeded piggies.
GET WELL SOON, ZONK
I just wanted to end this week’s column with a get well message for Keith Moreland.
For those of you who may have missed it, Moreland is at home now recovering from open-heart surgery.
Moreland was coming off the golf course with his son Cole at Barton Creek when he couldn’t catch his breath and he collapsed.
Moreland, who is 68, told Cedric Golden and the Austin American-Statesman, “I’m very fortunate. I had no idea this was happening. I’d go and do things here and there and would get tired, but I knew my age so I thought everything was ok.”
Moreland and Greg Swindell are easily the best duo in college baseball announcing. Their love of the game, their love of the Longhorns and their love of each other come through in each and every broadcast.
Believe me when I tell you, you can’t hide your personality from the cameras. If someone comes across as likeable on-camera, then nine times out of ten, they’re likeable off-camera as well. If you can believe me about that, then you’ll know that I don’t have to personally know him to know that I would really like hanging out with Keith Moreland.
So please allow me to speak for all Longhorn baseball fans when I say, we can’t wait to see you back in the booth next year calling another season of Texas Longhorn baseball.
Despite the seemingly interminable length of graduation ceremonies, I do admit that I love them. One of the reasons I love them so much is because they are not ceremonies about looking back, they’re all about looking forward. Hence the name.
com·mence·ment
/kəˈmensmənt/
noun
a beginning or start.
The regular season is over and now Longhorns are commencing the most important season of them all … tournament season.
One of the Longhorns’ goals is to host a regional in the NCAA tournament. I actually give the Longhorns a better chance than many national pundits at hosting a regional. Yes, the Horns finished fifth in the conference, but they still have the best overall record in the league. They are also second in the conference in RPI (Texas is 21st and Oklahoma State is 18th), and that number will go higher because of the conference tournament games.
The Big XII conference tournament gets underway Wednesday against Oklahoma State. Texas Head Coach David Pierce admits the tournament will be key if his Horns want to play in Austin again this year.
“I think we’ve got to show well in the tournament, maybe even have to win it, I don’t know,” said Pierce. “But we’re definitely going to have to show well to have a shot at it.”
Winning the tournament won’t be easy in a very loaded Big XII. Only two games separate the one through six seeds in the Big XII’s final standings … and all six teams are going to end up making it to the NCAA tournament.
“Look at our league. We won five straight going into Oklahoma State. We didn’t play well, we get swept at home. Same thing happens to them in a two week span when they look like they’re a national seed, top five type team.”
Oklahoma State had lost five in a row before righting the ship to win Friday and Saturday against Baylor.
Two of the league’s best pitchers will battle it out Wednesday morning when Texas’ Pete Hansen squares off against Oklahoma State’s Justin Campbell. ***EDIT*** @ZachattheDisch has learned that Oklahoma State will likely start Bryce Osmond. He faced the Horns on April 30th and pitched 5 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball.
Hansen has fluctuated between being masterful and hittable. He gave up six in the first go around with Oklahoma State and then gave up four more last weekend, but still picked up the win against Kansas.
The Horns are going to need Hansen to go deep in game one because the bullpen has been very shaky. In fact, it was the bullpen that was largely responsible for two of the losses against Oklahoma State – especially the Sunday loss where the Cowboys scored all 10 of their runs in the seventh inning for a 10-8 victory.
The Texas offense, which was already the league’s best, is actually rounding into form.
The Horns have been held under five runs only once this month (game two of the Oklahoma State series). And they just got back Eric Kennedy after missing a couple of months … and he brought his stick with him.
“You guys are accustomed to seeing EK (Eric Kennedy) come to home plate and lay a drag down or an infield hit, he hit three home runs this weekend,” said Pierce after Saturday afternoon’s game
Texas’ power has been nothing short of amazing this season. The team set the record for most home runs in a season. And here’s a mind-blowing stat - they would have set the record even without Ivan Melendez’s 28 dingers (which ties the school record for individual home runs in a season).
Pierce says he likes where his team is at heading into the conference tournament.
“I feel like our kids have just continued to kind of come together and realized that every single championship run is different and we’re on a championship run right now,” Pierce said.
IVAN MELENDEZ – FUTURE GOLDEN SPIKES WINNER …
Ivan Melendez has rewritten the record books this season and it has been nothing short of breathtaking to watch.
His 28 home runs this year are more than double his total from last season when he hit 13 homers. The talented El Paso slugger struggled at times last year as fatigue wore him down. But Melendez told Orangebloods’ @Serenity Douglas , he worked all offseason to be ready for the grind.
“Just trying to keep my body in shape and healthy, I think is the biggest thing. Just constantly being in the weight room, trying to keep my body up to par and trying to maintain strength,” Melendez said. “Just because we play so many games, you can drop weight or gain weight depending on how you’re eating. I think that’s probably one of the biggest challenges throughout the season.”
The hard work has paid off. Melendez leads the nation in home runs (28), batting average (.424), Slugging (.955), and OPS (1.493). He’s also second in RBI (84 – five behind Sam Houston State’s Carlos Contreras), which puts him in position to possibly grab the triple crown when all games are said and done.
At this point, it will be almost impossible for USA Baseball to select anyone other than Melendez as the Golden Spikes award – presented to the top amateur player in the nation.
Now the only question is, how many times will some team screw up and pass over Melendez in this year’s draft? Because if this year has taught us anything, it’s that Melendez didn’t get here by accident, he put in the work to be where he is and he will put in more work to get where he’s going. That’s exactly the type of player MLB GM’s should be gambling their careers on.
UT’S SOFTBALL TEAM IS SUPER!
The softball team upset the Washington Huskies 3-2 to win regional and move on to the Super Regionals of the NCAA Women’s tournament.
The Horns rode a wave of stellar pitching throughout the weekend to win the Seattle regional.
Now, they’ll be headed to Fayetteville, Arkansas to take on the 4th seeded piggies.
GET WELL SOON, ZONK
I just wanted to end this week’s column with a get well message for Keith Moreland.
For those of you who may have missed it, Moreland is at home now recovering from open-heart surgery.
Moreland was coming off the golf course with his son Cole at Barton Creek when he couldn’t catch his breath and he collapsed.
Moreland, who is 68, told Cedric Golden and the Austin American-Statesman, “I’m very fortunate. I had no idea this was happening. I’d go and do things here and there and would get tired, but I knew my age so I thought everything was ok.”
Moreland and Greg Swindell are easily the best duo in college baseball announcing. Their love of the game, their love of the Longhorns and their love of each other come through in each and every broadcast.
Believe me when I tell you, you can’t hide your personality from the cameras. If someone comes across as likeable on-camera, then nine times out of ten, they’re likeable off-camera as well. If you can believe me about that, then you’ll know that I don’t have to personally know him to know that I would really like hanging out with Keith Moreland.
So please allow me to speak for all Longhorn baseball fans when I say, we can’t wait to see you back in the booth next year calling another season of Texas Longhorn baseball.
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