No. 9 Texas baseball (45-19) is playing again for a trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Longhorns swept through the Austin Regional, capped off with a dominant 10-1 victory over Air Force in the regional final. This season Texas will hit the road for the Super Regionals for the first time since 2005. Their opponent is No. 8 East Carolina (45-19).
The Pirates enter as one of the hottest teams in the country, winners of 20 of their last 21 ballgames. ECU took home both the American Conference regular-season and tournament titles. They escaped a difficult regional draw with an emphatic 13-4 game seven win over Coastal Carolina.
ECU is no stranger to the big stage. The Pirates are appearing in their fourth Super Regional in the last five years, but are still looking to the program’s first trip to Omaha. ECU holds the record for most NCAA tournament appearances without a College World Series appearance.
On the flip side, Texas has its eyes set on returning to Omaha for the nation’s best 38th time.
The rowdy ECU crowd dawned “The Jungle” will undoubtedly be ready to make an impact in favor of the Pirates.
An intriguing matchup will be Texas’ starting pitching vs. East Carolina’s bats. Pete Hansen and Lucas Gordon have been an excellent one-two punch for Texas this season. Facing a left-handed heavy ECU lineup should play to Texas’ advantage.
Here is a look at the schedule, pitching matchups, players to watch and prediction for the Greenville Super Regional.
Schedule
Pitching matchups
Syndication: Austin American-Statesman
Game one
Texas LHP Pete Hansen (10-1, 3.01 ERA) vs. East Carolina LHP CJ Mayhue (5-1, 2.82 ERA)
Game two
Texas LHP Lucas Gordon (7-1, 2.36 ERA) vs East Carolina TBD
Players to watch
Syndication: Austin American-Statesman
Texas:
1B Ivan Melendez (.404, 30 HRs and 90 RBI)
2B/RF Murphy Stehly (.372, 17 HRs and 55 RBI)
RHP Tristan Stevens (6-6, 4.70 ERA)
3B Skyler Messinger (.370, 10 HR and 54 RBI)
East Carolina:
CF Bryson Worrell (.324, 18 HRs and 57 RBI)
OF Lane Hoover (.343, 83 hits and 33 RBI)
RHP Carter Spivey (8-0, 2.43 ERA and five saves)
1B/OF Jacob Jenkins-Cowart (.326, 12 HRs and 57 RBI)
Predicted winner: Texas in two
Syndication: Austin American-Statesman
Texas and East Carolina are two teams playing great baseball at the right time.
The Longhorns have…
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