The Texas Longhorns make the trip west to face off with the Stanford Cardinal this weekend. Texas enters the series with a perfect 10-0 record, while Stanford is looking to get back on track after a 2-6 start to the season. The key to Texas’ fantastic start has been great pitching. The Longhorns boast an amazing 1.24 team ERA and have held opponents to a .164 batting average. Stanford, on the other hand, is looking for somebody to step up on the hill. The Cardinal have a team ERA of 6.49 and are allowing opponents to hit at a .295 clip.
The Longhorns are hitting .314 as a team, with short stop David Hernandez leading the team with a .455 average. Stanford has struggled at the plate, hitting only .236 as a team. Infielder Adam Gaylord leads the Cardinal attack with a .455 average in five games played this season.
CBS College Sports will telecast the Friday night contest, with first pitch set for 8 PM Eastern. Probable starting pitchers for the Friday night game are Texas’ Chance Ruffin (RHP, 2-0, 3.14 ERA) and Stanford’s Jeffrey Inman (RHP, 0-1, 4.85 ERA).
Texas will most likely start either Taylor Jungmann (RHP, 2-0, 1.59 ERA), Brandon Workman (RHP, 2-0, 0.00 ERA), or Cole Green (RHP, 1-0, 0.59 ERA) in the Saturday and Sunday contests. Brett Honeymoon (LHP, 0-1, 3.68 ERA) will start the Saturday game for Stanford, while the Sunday starting pitcher is still TBA.
Stanford leads the all-time series between the two schools 23-20-1, and the Cardinal are 9-5 against the Longhorns in Palo Alto.
There is no doubt this series is a big one for both teams. Texas looks to hit the road and earn a series win against a name opponent, and a series win against a top five team might be what it takes to get Stanford rolling.