Posted June 20th, 2005 by Brian
Filed under: Baseball, Live

Not going to be posting as thoroughly as during the Baylor game because I’m working on about a thousand things (including a redesign of this site), but I’ll be updating with my thoughts on the game as they happen.

FYI, the game is on ESPN again or you can follow it online at NCAASports.com.

First inning

Nick Peoples slides in safely for the first run of the gameGreat start to the game for the Longhorns. Really hitting the ball well. Close play at the plate and a great slide by Nick Peoples really got the bats going. Couldn’t really tell on the replay if Will Crouch ran through a stop sign or not but he was thrown out by a mile. With the way they were knocking the ball and the hot Chance Wheeless coming up it was definitely a bad decision by somebody.

Astros’ first round pick Brian Bogusevic has started off rusty again, he got shelled by Rice in the Super Regionals last weekend. I think if I was 6’3″ and left-handed, I could’ve made it to the Majors blind folded.

Texas again leads 2 – 0 after the first.

Second inning

Texas pitcher Kyle McCulloch has started off both innings so far well, then struggled to find the plate. Hasn’t been hit hard but if he lets too many guys on base via walk or dink hits, all of a sudden a 3 run homer kills you.

Good to see Drew Stubbs take a walk. I think the main reason he’s been slumping is that he’s swining at way too many bad pitches, so laying off a couple of close ones could be a good sign.

Harold Reynolds:Where would Babe Ruth be today if they hadn’t let him pitch and hit in the majors? Producer: I’m pretty sure he’d probably still be deceased. Haha. Would’ve been even better if Harold hadn’t caught himself soon after he said it.

Still two to zip, both teams are leaving men on base all over the place.

Third inning

David Maroul started off a little rough the other night, but since about the 4th inning Saturday night he’s made play after play after play. Good range and just showed off a strong, accurate throwing arm.

Much more consistent inning from McCulloch this time. Not only did he get Tulane three up, three down, but he did so by making nothing but good pitches. Didn’t give them really anything to hit.

Fourth inning

Pretty much the same thing has happened every inning. Texas will get the leadoff man on and a second man on with one out. Then the next two guys will find a way to make the next two outs without getting either runner in. Tulane will however go down quickly and the first two guys get out, then McCulloch will have trouble finding the catcher’s mitt and let two guys on. He’ll then realize he’s supposed to be getting people out out there, and dispense of the next guy accordingly to end the inning.

Both teams are really playing with fire right now.

Fifth inning

Defense has played a pretty big role so far. Texas has made mutliple outstanding stops and made all the routine plays as well. Tulane has been charged with two errors and had a couple of plays they probably should have made, resulting in one run so far and a lot of extra stress and pitches for Bogusevic.

Maroul is playing big time right now. Nails on defense, and just drove in two runs with a double down the third base line. Texas finally gets a two-out hit and is up 4 – 0 after five innings.

Sixth inning

Single by Owings to lead off the inning is Tulane’s first baserunner of the game with less than 2 outs. Pretty incredible.

Whew, big break on a strike three call on Bogusevic. No way that caught the corner, it was way outside. Texas is very fortunate there, should’ve been bases loaded and one out but instead its two on, two outs.

Nice to see Augie Garrido talking to Drew Stubbs and giving him a pat on the back before he goes up to the plate. Kid is pushing right now and needs some confidence so he can get back on track. At first glance I thought Peoples was out by a step, but on the replay it was a pretty close play. He was definitely out though.

You can tell why Garrido’s such a big fan of small ball. Bunt, bunt, and bunt some more. Almost every play you see the other team look to second for too long or double clutch before throwing to first. Haven’t been too many simple plays by either Baylor or Tulane on these sacrifices.

Bogusevic just flat out doesn’t have that great of stuff. Decent fastball but doesn’t locate very well and leaves a lot of pitches over the plate. Shot off the wall by Crouch to score another run. Texas leads 5 to nothing.

Seventh inning

Good play by Stubbs on blooper, looked like a clean catch to me. Just off the top of my head but it seems McCulloch has gotten a great deal more ground ball outs than fly balls. Great way to win if you play good defense and don’t walk too many people, especially in Omaha where the ball can really fly out of there.

Eight inning

Outstanding catch by Nick Peoples up against the wall in right field! Had to run a long way and leap along the wall and made an acrobatic grab. A little kid almost reached over the wall to interfere, pulled back at the last second. Good decision little man.

Greg Dini has the first blonde pornstar mustache I’ve ever seen. Outstanding work dude.

Stro-motion (sp?) is freaking awesome. They should show the entire game like that.

That’s what happens when you don’t strike out Drew. Stubbs legged out a grounder pretty easily for his first hit of the night. With his speed he really needs to put the ball in play a lot more. And there’s the other thing that happens when you get on base, stole second easily.

Going to the ninth up by five, I sure would like to see J. Brent Cox have a nice, comfortable inning.

Ninth inning

Wasn’t a flawless inning for Cox but he was solid and got the job done. His stuff was on tonight, though I’m still not sure I trust him to throw strikes all the time. Just seems like he has an appearance every now and then when he can’t control where the thing is going.

Final score: Texas 5, Tulane 0. Texas is now in the driver’s seat to advance to that final best of 3 for the title. They’ll play Wednesday night versus the winner of the two teams they’ve already beaten. Tulane and Baylor play tomorrow, the winner of that game will have to beat the Horns twice in a row. They couldn’t ask for a better situation.

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