Horns have to seize series hosting No. 17 WVU

By Riley Zayas
Horns Illustrated Contributor

AUSTIN, Texas — The college baseball season is long, yet by the end of the season, as was evident last year, every game matters … especially in Big 12 Conference play.

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The Longhorns, who are trying to follow up their College World Series run from a year ago, are sitting at ninth in the league, just in front of last-place Kansas.

At the same time, West Virginia, which comes to town this weekend, has surprised some by getting on a roll and now is just two games behind first place Oklahoma State, with a legitimate shot at the Big 12 crown. Currently, the Longhorns are 24-19 overall after losing to Texas State 7-6 Tuesday night in San Marcos, and the 17th-ranked Mountaineers are 24-14 overall

These two squads will meet in Austin this upcoming weekend with a lot at stake in three very key games. Let’s take a look at three key points for the series:

Alek Manoah vs. Bryce Elder: A Friday night duel of aces

It’s always important to get off to a good start at the beginning of any series, as will be illustrated Friday evening when the Horns and Mountaineers meet for the first of the three-game series.

West Virginia will throw Alek Manoah while Texas will start Bryce Elder on the mound.

Both of these fireballers are not only their team’s top starter statistically, and they both excel in strikeouts. Making batters whiff is one of the most important qualities in a pitcher, and these guys are among the top ten in the Big 12 at it.

Manoah, who has pitched the most innings of any Mountaineer in 2019, has 95 strikeouts, while Elder has 62. In fact, Manoah struck out 15 in a recent game against No. 11 Texas Tech, the most by any West Virginia player since 2001.

Elder also had a huge strikeout game in the Longhorns previous series at Oklahoma State. He fanned 10 batters, bringing up his average to nine strikeouts per game. Starting pitching will play a tremendous role not only in this first game, but throughout the series.

Home-field advantage a key factor for Texas

The majority of teams enjoy playing at home in front of their own crowd, and Texas is no exception. In 2019, the Longhorns are 18-7 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field and have had full support of their enthusiastic fan base, with the highest attendance in the Big 12 and fifth in the nation.

This specific series against West Virginia, which is 11-11 on the road, will definitely be one that Texas will have to fight for, considering the Mountaineers have been on a role, going 4-2 in their past six games. In addition, the Longhorns desperately need to win a series, their last coming during the March 15-17 series against Texas Tech.

As the season draws to an end, the Longhorns sit at ninth place in the Big 12, but a series sweep over their opponents this weekend could easily catapult them to a position to really contend for the Big 12 title.

West Virginia’s speed on the basepaths

Not too many teams like to steal bases as often as they used to. However, some programs still embody the old-school mentality and take extra bases as often as they can. One of these is West Virginia, which is ranked first in the Big 12 in both total stolen bases as well as stolen bases per game.

These Mountaineers don’t just run, they run hard and fast, the worst combination for a pitcher. Considering UT’s pitching staff is young and inexperienced, WVU baserunners may try to take an extra base or two, earning a bit of an edge which can lead the multiple runs.

Throughout this series watch and see how to Longhorns react to the Mountaineers’ aggressiveness on the basepaths. Specifically keep your eyes out for Brandon White — otherwise you might miss him. This speedy outfielder recently scored the winning run in a doubleheader against Kansas when he stole home following a wild pitch. The sophomore has swiped 20 bases this season and is ranked second in the Big 12 in that category.

No matter what unfolds here in Austin, this series undoubtedly will be one of the best Texas has played at home all year. With all the different players who each bring something different to the table, Texas fans can expect an exciting atmosphere and three games of great baseball.

Friday’s game is set for a 6:30 p.m. start time, with Saturday’s first pitch at 2:30 and the finale slated to start at noon Sunday.

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