Austin Super Regional: Texas-Houston Preview
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
This weekend’s matchup between Texas and Houston in the Austin Super Regional pits two schools similar in playing style and statistics. Both teams also came out of tough regionals. Texas (41-19) held off Rice and Texas A&M while Houston (48-16) shocked host LSU twice to advance.
Let’s take a look at how the two clubs stack up against each other.
Offense
Houston has a team batting average of .278; Texas’ team average is .267. The Cougars have five players hitting .297 or better; Texas has three. Both teams have to play small ball – the two squads have combined for 37 home runs this season. Neither team can afford to leave runners on base. Executing sacrifices, hit-and-runs and smart base running will be essential in this series.
Houston has done a better job bringing those runners in. The Cougars have scored 338 runs this season. Texas, on the other hand, has scored 278 runs. The Longhorns wasted numerous scoring chances against Rice and Texas A&M last weekend. Texas left 16 runners in scoring position. If that happens against Houston, the Longhorns will be in serious trouble.
Stolen Bases
The Cougars like to run when they get men on base. Houston has 85 stolen bases (out of 111 attempts). Four Cougars have 11 or more stolen bases. Kyle Survance leads the team with 31. Tres Barrera will have his hands full when Houston gets runners on. Barrera has thrown out 11 of 28 base stealers this season. Texas will run, but not as often. The Longhorns have 72 stolen bases, led by Ben Johnson’s 20 swipes. The Longhorns were more aggressive, however, in the Houston Regional. Mark Payton stole four bases. Augie Garrido even called for a double steal against the Aggies. Will we see more aggressiveness from Garrido this weekend?
Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Pitching
Both schools have excellent pitching staffs. Houston has five starting pitchers with an ERA under 3.00. Andrew Lantrip, Aaron Garza, Jake Lemoine and David Longville have anchored the rotation. In the bullpen, Chase Wellbrock and Tyler Ford are a combined 14-0 with 16 saves. Each sports a 1.22 ERA. Jared Robinson was the Cougar’s version of Chad Hollingsworth, contributing two lengthy relief appearances when the team needed it. Houston has a team ERA of 2.30.
The Texas staff suffered a big blow when Dillon Peters was lost for the season with an elbow injury. Hollingsworth stepped in and pitched brilliantly in the regional-clinching victory over Texas A&M on Monday. After Nathan Thornhill and Parker French, it will be interesting to see if Garrido goes with Hollingsworth in a possible game three start, or gives the ball to Lukas Schiraldi, who was shaky in a loss to the Aggies on Sunday. John Curtiss and Morgan Cooper were lights out in the Houston Regional.
Defense
In such an even matchup, the team that commits the fewest errors could very well win the series. Houston committed 70 errors, while Texas has 60 on the season. The Cougars did play solid defense in the Baton Rouge Regional, with just one error in five games. Texas had five errors in the last two games of the Houston Regional.
Head-to-Head Matchup
Texas and Houston played on March 1 in Houston. Texas won 3-2. French outdueled Lemoine as both pitchers went seven innings, each giving up one earned run. Lemoine was done in by errors. Texas scored two unearned runs in the second and third innings to hang on for the win. Houston outhit Texas 9-4. [Game Recap]