The 25th ranked Texas Longhorns welcome West Coast Conference foe Loyola Marymount to Disch-Falk Field this weekend for a three-game series. The Lions are 4-7 on the season, with their wins coming against UNLV and UC Santa Barbara, two games apiece. The Lions have a set goal this season of taking the WCC Crown after coming in third last year, a definite challenge for a team returning just one of their starting pitchers from 2011. Before the season started, Coach Jason Gill said, “the stability of the bullpen will be a key to success this year.â€
Players to Watch:
Colin Welmon (#12): Freshman right-hander Colin Welmon chose Loyola Marymount over USC, Santa Clara, and UCLA. Coach Gill said of his freshmen pitchers, “We have two freshmen arms in Colin Welmon and Trevor Megill that can match up with anybody else’s in the nation.†Welmon currently holds a 5.09 ERA over 17.2 innings pitched in three starts, including an impressive 3 BB to 15 K ratio.
Cullen Mahoney (#4): Second baseman Cullen Mahoney transferred to Loyola Marymount this season from South Mountain CC, where he batted .406 as a sophomore. So far this season, Mahoney has reached base safely in all eleven games, racking up a .375 batting average and drawing 12 walks. Mahoney leads the team in batting average.
Game one of the series against Loyola Marymount is scheduled for a 6pm start on Friday, March 9. Rain is expected in the Austin area this weekend, so be prepared for rain delays and all that comes with a cold weekend at the Disch.
(Cross-posted from http://texasbaseballblog.com)
