FRIDAY RECAP
FRIDAY BOX SCORE
SATURDAY RECAP
SATURDAY BOX SCORE
SUNDAY BOX SCORE
SERIES SUMMARY
“We found a way to win. It’s that simple, we just found a way to win.” David Pierce hit the nail on the head with his recap of the 7-3 victory over TCU on Sunday. UT got a solid outing from Lucas Gordon, the bullpen was good enough, and the offense picked up some timely hits in the series clincher. Texas took the lead in the sixth thanks to an RBI single up the middle from Austin Todd who was 3-4 at the plate on Sunday. Douglas Hodo, Ivan Melendez, Skyler Messinger, and Trey Faltine each drove in a run late in the game as Texas extended the lead to 7-3. The four-run lead was more than enough for Coy Cobb who was able to close the door with a scoreless ninth. A series loss at home would have been devastating for the Horns after the brilliant outing from Pete Hansen on Friday night, and Texas really fought on Sunday to make sure that would not be the case. For complete breakdowns of the first two games, check out the links above.
INDIVIDUAL STANDOUTS
Silas Ardoin has his batting average up to .306 after a 3-3 day on Sunday. Peak Ardoin was on display in the rubber match. The sophomore catcher stayed within himself and calmly laced line drives all over the park. Ardoin remains an important part of this lineup due to the fact he bats behind Melendez and Stehly. A level-headed hitter with a simple approach is the perfect guy for that role and that is what David Pierce has with Silas Ardoin. “His approach is so solid and he understands himself and how to stay in the middle (of the field).” Safe to say Coach Pierce feels comfortable with Silas protecting his Golden Spikes candidates in the lineup.
THE ROTATION
Pete Hansen did everything that UT could have wanted on Friday. He threw the first complete-game shutout of his career and struck out 12 batters. Hansen is living up to the preseason hype and is absolutely rolling in conference play. The soon-to-be Big 12 Pitcher of the Week is now 6-0 with a 2.08 ERA.
It was a different story for Tristan Stevens on Saturday. For the second time in three weeks, Tristan struggled to establish the bottom of the zone and couldn’t get a good feel for his slider. With Tanner Witt out for the year and the bullpen being a work in progress, Texas can’t afford to have any more short outings from Stevens. It will be critical for Tristan to show the ability to work deep into games as he has done throughout his career in the burnt orange.
Lucas Gordon didn’t steal the show on Sunday but he did what he needed to do. The lefty from California grinded his way through 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs. Gordon has said in the past that the goal is always to give his team a chance to win and he accomplished his goal against TCU. This is the type of gritty start that the Horns will need from Gordon down the stretch of conference play.
THE BULLPEN
On Friday the bullpen was phenomenal. Every reliever on the pitching staff did a fantastic job cheering on Pete Hansen who gave the bullpen a night off of work. They clapped, celebrated each of his 12 strikeouts, and gave him lots of high fives! The bullpen absolutely did not have the day off on Saturday as Aaron Nixon entered in the third and was the first of four UT relievers to toe the rubber in game two. Nixon struggled once again with fastball command, especially in the fourth when he walked back-to-back hitters on nothing but fastballs that were allergic to the zone. Olivarez, Harrison, and Southard were impressive throughout the rest of the game, combining for 6 innings of one-run relief. Travis Sthele, Justin Eckhardt, and Coy Cobb finished an encouraging weekend for the bullpen with 3.1 solid innings on Sunday. Cobb continues to emerge as a guy that can and will be relied upon in high-leverage situations.
This group is by no means fixed, but they did do a better job of throwing strikes and avoiding meltdown innings. I wrote last week that the bullpen is due for some positive regression and that is what happened this weekend against the Horned Frogs.
MAIN TAKEAWAYS
It was not always pretty, but at the end of the day, the Horns took a series from a ranked conference opponent. Texas sits at 5-4 in Big 12 play and is still in the mix for a conference title and a national seed. One thing is certain, this team will need Tristan Stevens to return to his usual form. No single thing will be more important than Stevens finding his groove in the next few weeks. Assuming the veteran righty is able to right the ship, Texas will remain a dangerous team with lots of experience.
WHAT IS NEXT
UT (24-10, 5-4) will take on Stephen F Austin on Tuesday night before traveling to Manhattan for a Thursday-Saturday series with Kansas State .
HookEm
FRIDAY BOX SCORE
SATURDAY RECAP
SATURDAY BOX SCORE
SUNDAY BOX SCORE
SERIES SUMMARY
“We found a way to win. It’s that simple, we just found a way to win.” David Pierce hit the nail on the head with his recap of the 7-3 victory over TCU on Sunday. UT got a solid outing from Lucas Gordon, the bullpen was good enough, and the offense picked up some timely hits in the series clincher. Texas took the lead in the sixth thanks to an RBI single up the middle from Austin Todd who was 3-4 at the plate on Sunday. Douglas Hodo, Ivan Melendez, Skyler Messinger, and Trey Faltine each drove in a run late in the game as Texas extended the lead to 7-3. The four-run lead was more than enough for Coy Cobb who was able to close the door with a scoreless ninth. A series loss at home would have been devastating for the Horns after the brilliant outing from Pete Hansen on Friday night, and Texas really fought on Sunday to make sure that would not be the case. For complete breakdowns of the first two games, check out the links above.
INDIVIDUAL STANDOUTS
Silas Ardoin has his batting average up to .306 after a 3-3 day on Sunday. Peak Ardoin was on display in the rubber match. The sophomore catcher stayed within himself and calmly laced line drives all over the park. Ardoin remains an important part of this lineup due to the fact he bats behind Melendez and Stehly. A level-headed hitter with a simple approach is the perfect guy for that role and that is what David Pierce has with Silas Ardoin. “His approach is so solid and he understands himself and how to stay in the middle (of the field).” Safe to say Coach Pierce feels comfortable with Silas protecting his Golden Spikes candidates in the lineup.
THE ROTATION
Pete Hansen did everything that UT could have wanted on Friday. He threw the first complete-game shutout of his career and struck out 12 batters. Hansen is living up to the preseason hype and is absolutely rolling in conference play. The soon-to-be Big 12 Pitcher of the Week is now 6-0 with a 2.08 ERA.
It was a different story for Tristan Stevens on Saturday. For the second time in three weeks, Tristan struggled to establish the bottom of the zone and couldn’t get a good feel for his slider. With Tanner Witt out for the year and the bullpen being a work in progress, Texas can’t afford to have any more short outings from Stevens. It will be critical for Tristan to show the ability to work deep into games as he has done throughout his career in the burnt orange.
Lucas Gordon didn’t steal the show on Sunday but he did what he needed to do. The lefty from California grinded his way through 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs. Gordon has said in the past that the goal is always to give his team a chance to win and he accomplished his goal against TCU. This is the type of gritty start that the Horns will need from Gordon down the stretch of conference play.
THE BULLPEN
On Friday the bullpen was phenomenal. Every reliever on the pitching staff did a fantastic job cheering on Pete Hansen who gave the bullpen a night off of work. They clapped, celebrated each of his 12 strikeouts, and gave him lots of high fives! The bullpen absolutely did not have the day off on Saturday as Aaron Nixon entered in the third and was the first of four UT relievers to toe the rubber in game two. Nixon struggled once again with fastball command, especially in the fourth when he walked back-to-back hitters on nothing but fastballs that were allergic to the zone. Olivarez, Harrison, and Southard were impressive throughout the rest of the game, combining for 6 innings of one-run relief. Travis Sthele, Justin Eckhardt, and Coy Cobb finished an encouraging weekend for the bullpen with 3.1 solid innings on Sunday. Cobb continues to emerge as a guy that can and will be relied upon in high-leverage situations.
This group is by no means fixed, but they did do a better job of throwing strikes and avoiding meltdown innings. I wrote last week that the bullpen is due for some positive regression and that is what happened this weekend against the Horned Frogs.
MAIN TAKEAWAYS
It was not always pretty, but at the end of the day, the Horns took a series from a ranked conference opponent. Texas sits at 5-4 in Big 12 play and is still in the mix for a conference title and a national seed. One thing is certain, this team will need Tristan Stevens to return to his usual form. No single thing will be more important than Stevens finding his groove in the next few weeks. Assuming the veteran righty is able to right the ship, Texas will remain a dangerous team with lots of experience.
WHAT IS NEXT
UT (24-10, 5-4) will take on Stephen F Austin on Tuesday night before traveling to Manhattan for a Thursday-Saturday series with Kansas State .
HookEm
