No. 11 Alabama baseball faces No. 4 Texas in Austin as its biggest test of the season yet.
The Longhorns and the Crimson Tide are both coming into the series off getting swept. The Longhorns were unable to play game three of their series against Texas A&M due to inclement weather, so the series ended in a two-game sweep.
This will be the most hostile crowd the Crimson Tide has faced thus far, as UFCU Disch-Falk Field has an average attendance of 7,200 this year.
“It’s going to be the rowdiest crowd we’ve played in,” head coach Rob Vaughn said. “Obviously, we’ve been on the road to Kentucky, you know, not known for a super rowdy crowd. On the road in Oklahoma, not a crazy, rowdy crowd. I mean, they’re going to get a hungry Longhorns team that dropped two last weekend.”
Pitching matchups
This will be the toughest pitching staff the Crimson Tide has faced yet, as the Longhorns have the No. 6 team ERA in the nation at 3.46 with the 10th best strikeout per nine at 11.2, with the fifth best WHIP at 1.16.
The 6-foot-6 southpaw Dylan Volantis will take the mound for the Longhorns on Friday. He is usually the Sunday starter, but didn’t pitch last week because of the weather, so he is being moved up to Friday. Volantis has been nothing short of magnificent this year, boasting an ERA of 2.01, 1.07 WHIP, .198 opponents’ batting average, and 57 strikeouts in 44.2 innings.
Volantis will face off against Crimson Tide ace Tyler Fay, coming off a great start where he held Arkansas to one run in six innings.
Ruger Riojas will take the mound for the Longhorns Saturday night. In nine starts this year, Riojas has posted an ERA of 3.40, 1.07 WHIP, .221 opponents’ batting average and 72 strikeouts in 47.2 innings pitched. Riojas will face lefty Zane Adams, who delivered a quality start last Saturday.
Luke Harrison will toe the slab Sunday for the Longhorns. He is coming off a brutal start, where he surrendered eight runs and could only record two outs. In nine starts, Harrison has a 4.33 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, .233 opponents’ batting average, and 44 punchouts in 43.2 innings.
Volantis will face off against freshman Myles Upchurch, who is coming off of what Vaughn described as “the best start of his career,” holding the Razorbacks to two runs in six innings with six strikeouts.
Longhorns offensive leaders
It’s no surprise that a top-five team in the nation has one of the most prolific offenses around. They currently have the 17th most longballs in the nation with 60, with an on-base percentage of .419, a .523 slugging percentage, and an average of 8.3 runs per game.
The Longhorns offense is led by one of the best players in college baseball, center fielder Aiden Robbins. Robbins leads the Longhorns in all the following offensive categories, hitting .358, with 15 home runs, 39 RBIs and a 1.172 OPS.
“I know Aiden Robbins is really good because it feels like he hits a homer every other at-bat,” Vaughn said.
Catcher Carson Tinney has been one of the best backstops in the country this year, hitting .314, with 12 home runs, 27 RBIs, and a 1.129 OPS while helping guide one of the best pitching staffs. Freshman left fielder Anthony Pack Jr. has gotten off to a strong start to his collegiate career, hitting .328, mashing five bombs, with 33 RBIs and a .989 OPS.
The entire Longhorns lineup can just obliterate the baseball as seven of nine starters are hitting over .280, with an OPS of .880 or higher, plus have three hitters with double-digit home runs.
Keys to the Crimson Tide’s success
The defense has to be better than it was over the weekend against the Razorbacks and on Tuesday against UBA, when the team had six errors. The Crimson Tide won five of six games against Auburn and Oklahoma, the two weekends before Arkansas, in large part because it had only one error in those six games.
“If you put them off for free, they take advantage of it,” Vaughn said. “And so we have to throw a boatload of strikes and play good defense.”
The Crimson Tide will need their star shortstop, Justin Lebron, and third baseman Jason Torres to step up; the two best hitters on the team have been struggling mightily in SEC play. Lebron is hitting .217 with a .715 OPS, and Torres is hitting .175 with a 523 OPS so far in conference play.
The Crimson Tide freshmen, or what Vaughn likes to refer to as the young pups, will need to play a big role this weekend. Tuscaloosa native outfielder Eric Hines has been tearing the cover off the baseball since becoming a regular in the starting lineup, plus first baseman Andrew Purdy is coming off a five RBI performance against UAB on Tuesday.
“I think you’re going to see some young pups in the mix there, and I’m excited to see them go compete,” Vaughn said.
The series will begin on Friday and will officially put the Crimson Tide past the halfway point in SEC play. The first pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT on SECN+.
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