AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the midst of the longest active winning streak in college baseball at 15 games, the No. 21 Texas Longhorns have representation scattered all over Division I statistical rankings.
A big part of the Longhorns’ early success has been their pitching. The Longhorns rank No. 11 in Division I with a team ERA of 3.35, and it’s the best in the Big 12 Conference. Two pitchers, Lucas Gordon and Charlie Hurley, are in the top-50 in ERA nationally. Gordon is No. 21 with a 1.65 ERA, allowing six earned runs in 32.2 innings pitched this season, and Charlie Hurley is No. 34 with a 1.86 ERA. He’s allowed six earned runs in 29 innings pitched.
The closest Big 12 team to Texas in the rankings is West Virginia at No. 22 with a 3.70 ERA. The team with the nation’s best ERA is Wake Forest at 2.12 and UTSA’s Simon Miller leads the nation with a 0.64 ERA.
The Texas pitching staff is also one of the best at limiting traffic on the bases, tied for No. 25 in WHIP, or walks and hits per innings pitched. The Longhorns are tied with Elon, Wichita State and Santa Clara with a 1.28 WHIP.
Texas pitchers also strike batters out 2.5 times more than they issue walks. The Longhorns have struck out 257 batters this year and walked 103, which ranks No. 43 in the nation.
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Offensively, Texas is tied for 27th with seven others teams in sacrifice bunts with 15 and tied for 39th in the country with 35 home runs. Texas is tied with Arizona State, Evansville, Fairfield and Kansas State in that category.
Redshirt junior Peyton Powell is one of the toughest hitters to strike out this season. In 77 at-bats this season, he has struck out just six times, which ranks him No. 34 in the country with a strikeout every 12.8 at-bats.
His .416 batting average leads the team and is No. 44 in the country but he’s even better at getting on base. He ranks 38th in the country with a .521 on-base percentage.
Senior outfielder Eric Kennedy is tied for No. 25 in the country with 40 hits.
Texas (19-7, 3-0 Big 12 Conference) faces No. 17. Oklahoma State in a 3-game series beginning Friday in Stillwater.
