After a scintillating win over TCU yesterday, the Bears faced a strong Texas team this afternoon, who appear to have their number. Unfortunately, I was only able to watch the stats go by and then decided to run instead of watch the 9th inning so...I'm reconstructing the game from the statistics and what I remember of this Texas team. Bear with me, okay? :)
Today's Scores
Texas Tech 8, TCU 1
OU 6, WVU 1
Texas 4, Baylor 3
OSU 10, KSU 1
Tomorrow's Schedule
Baylor vs. Texas Tech, 3:15 pm
OU vs. KSU, 7:00 pm
Texas and OSU will have Friday off, and face the winner of each of these games in their respective divisions on Saturday.
Recap
Okay WOW. Tolson pitched his second complete game of the season, and threw a grand total of 122 pitches. His numbers are very similar to Texas's Culbreth, who also threw a complete game. Tolson allowed 13 hits, had 4 runs (only 3 were earned), walked 3, and struck 4 out. Those 13 hits came from a really potent Texas offense, and 10 Horns were left on base. This was a pitcher's duel, and Tolson rose to the occasion, though it doesn't look it at first.
Hitting was a real booger. There were only 5 hits all game, and 3 were walked. 4 were left on base. The only Baylor score was on a 3-run homer by Mitch Price, who scored West Tunnell (pinch running for Wendel) and Kameron Esthay. Long story short, this was not a good hitting game for the Bears.
Final Line: Texas 4, Baylor 3
Tweets
#Big12BSB: @BaylorBaseball's Coach Smith and @Texas_Baseball's Coach Garrido meet prior to game seven. pic.twitter.com/E8YOg490PU
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) May 21, 2015
T9: MITCH PRICE 3-RUN HOMER!!! New game! BU 3, UT 3. #SicUT #DidYou pic.twitter.com/UthRnD6WPr
— Baylor Baseball (@BaylorBaseball) May 21, 2015
Texas Tech Preview
With respect to our previous two opponents, the 4th seeded Raiders are among the more middle-of-the-road teams we've faced in this tourney. When the Bears traveled to Lubbock in mid-April, they were swept. The second game was a 12 inning game, won on a walk-off hit. We'll see what they have to say for themselves in Tulsa.
Tech is 5th in the Big XII with a team batting average of .275 and 279 runs in 1808 at bats. They've hit 38 homers in the regular season, as well as stolen 36 bases in 51 attempts. (For comparison, Baylor's average is .260, 212 runs, 1701 at bats, 12 homers, 61 stolen bases on 91 attempts.) Pitching-wise, they are 4th in the Big XII, with an ERA of 3.39 and opposing batting average of .261. They have allowed 221 runs (only 178 earned) in 472 innings. Baylor has an ERA of 4.82, opposing batting average of .287, 277 runs (239 earned), over 446.1 innings.
Watch for their batting stud Cory Raley, who has .351 average and 27 runs, including 3 homers. But the real names to watch for are on their pitching staff, most notably Corey Taylor and Dominic Moreno. Taylor has a .34 (yes, you read that correctly) ERA over 52.1 innings. Moreno has a 2.01 ERA over 53.2 innings.
Tech has a solid pitching staff and an average batch of hitters. This game could swing either way, and at this point in the game, it's about who has the most conditioning. Fatigue is a real thing, and both teams have played the same number of games. This fight to stay alive in the tourney should be interesting, to say the very least. Do not count these Bears out yet--they've shown they have plenty of fight.
Sic 'em.
--XOXO, KimboSmash