BEVO BEAT Baseball
Some fun with stats: Four Texas hitters have been swinging hot in April
Posted April 29th, 2016
Heading into the Kansas State series three weeks ago, three regulars in the Texas lineup were hitting .294 or better — Joe Baker (.314), Tyler Rand (.308) and Tres Barrera (.305).
That number stands at seven going into this weekend against Oklahoma State. The two teams, which are tied for third place in the Big 12 standings at 9-6, will open with a double-header on Saturday before finishing up on Sunday.
April has delivered a significant rise offensively for the Longhorns, who have upped their collective average by 14 points — .271 from .257. Not coincidentally, the uptick in offense has led to wins in nine of 13 games since the start of the K-State series on April 8.
Here’s a look at how individual batting averages have changed in the past 21 days.
Patrick Mathis — .289/.316 — plus 27 points
Joe Baker — .314/.313 — basically the same
Zane Gurwitz — .265/.304 — plus 39 points
Kacy Clemens — .267/.301 — plus 34 points
Tres Barrera — .305/.300 — slight cooling off
Tyler Rand — .308/.295 — dipping a bit now that he’s healthy and playing every day
Travis Jones — .269/.294 — plus 25 points
Kody Clemens — .266/.265 — basically the same
To recap, four averages have increased by at least 25 points, and none have plummeted.
That’s how you turn a season around.
RALPH BARRERA/ AMERICAN-STATESMAN
News on Bevo Beat is free and unlimited. Access to the rest of Hookem.com is included with an Austin American-Statesman subscription in addition to Statesman.com and the ePaper edition. Subscribe today at statesman.com/subscribe.
Comments