Newsletter
Subscribe
Article News

Off The Bat: Connor Wong Powers Houston To Series Win, First Place

SEE ALSO: Top 25

In Off The Bat, Teddy Cahill wraps up the weekend in college baseball and looks ahead.

HOUSTON—Connor Wong has the ability to impact the game in several different ways for Houston. He hits leadoff for the Cougars, leads the team in stolen bases, plays solid defense behind the plate and has the versatility to also play shortstop or the outfield.

In Sunday’s rubber game against Tulane, the American Athletic Conference defending champion, Wong showcased his power. The junior hit three home runs, including two in the first inning, to lead Houston to a 12-2 victory in seven innings. With the victory, No. 20 Houston (27-12, 8-4) claimed the series and pushed into a tie for first place with Tulane (20-21, 8-4).

Wong went 4-for-5 drove in five runs, scored four times and tripled to go with his three homers. It was the kind of performance that made it easy to see why the junior has buzz as a first few rounds draft pick.

“Connor on certain days, he’s one of the best players in the country and today was one of those days,” coach Todd Whitting said. “He can hurt you in so many different ways. He’s just a tremendous baseball player.”

Wong said he kept his approach simple at the plate, just looking for good pitches and trying to hit them hard. It resulted in a career day.

“I think I’ve been in that state of euphoria before, but this is the most recent time, so I’m going to remember this one the most,” Wong said. “Obviously there’s still more work to do, so I have to keep building off of it.”

Wong came to Houston as a shortstop and started there as a freshman. But after catcher Ian Rice capitalized on a strong junior season in 2015 and was drafted by the Cubs in the 29th round, the Cougars had a hole behind the plate. Wong had caught some in high school, and the Cougars gave him a chance to try the position again. He handled it well, while also retaining his defensive versatility. He played in all 59 of Houston’s games last year, splitting his time between catcher, third base and the outfield.

Wong has caught more regularly this year, but moves out from behind the plate occasionally to get a break from the wear and tear of catching. His defensive versatility is reminiscent of Rockies catcher/infielder Tony Wolters.

Wong said he doesn’t have a favorite defensive position.

“I just like playing,” he said. “Wherever coach decides to put me that day then I’m going to have fun playing there and do my best.”

Wong has made significant strides defensively, but Whitting said he also grown as hitter. The righthanded hitter is batting .305/.380/.512 with eight home runs and 18 stolen bases. He has already set career highs for home runs and stolen bases, and Whitting said he is able to make adjustments more quickly at the plate.

The maturation of Wong as a hitter has been important for Houston, as has the emergence of shortstop Jake Scheiner, a transfer from Santa Rosa (Calif.) JC. The junior has slumped lately, but is still hitting .375/.459/.729 with 12 home runs—all team highs.

Houston’s pitching staff has been solid all season, ranking third in the AAC with a 3.02 team ERA. The Cougars’ rotation has remained strong even without ace lefthander Seth Romero, who has been suspended the last three weekends.
Their new-look rotation of Trey Cumbie (6-0, 2.25), Mitch Ullom (5-3, 3.49) and John King (5-1, 3.26) has delivered, and Aaron Fletcher (1-0, 0.39, 6 SV) has been excellent in relief.

With a well-balanced team, Houston has positioned itself well for the stretch run in the AAC. But the Cougars know it won’t be an easy final month of the season. The top five teams in the conference are separated by just one game, and all will be competing for NCAA tournament bids. Despite having just eight baseball members, the AAC should produce at least three regionals teams for the fourth year in a row.

Houston is happy to be tied for first at the halfway mark of conference play, but knows it will have to continue to play will to finish the season atop the standings.

“There’s still a lot of work to do here, but we’ve just got to keep pounding away and we’ve just got to win series,” Whitting said.

Oklahoma State Comes Back For Critical Series Win

After splitting the first two games of its series at then-No. 4 Texas Tech, Oklahoma State was down one going into the ninth on Sunday’s rubber game. With closer John McMillon coming in for the Red Raiders, the Cowboys were in danger of losing their fourth Big 12 Conference series of the year.

But Oklahoma State wasn’t done yet. After McMillon walked the first two batters of the inning, Garrett Benge tied the game at 1 with an RBI single off righthander Jose Quezada. Then, in the 11th, Benge again came through in the clutch with another RBI single off Quezada. He came around to score an insurance run and the Cowboys finished off a 3-1 victory in 11 innings.

“It was a good game today and this week in general,” coach Josh Holliday said. “I’m proud of the way we played and the way our kids competed. We’re just playing day-to-day. That’s all we’ve asked the kids to do.”

Oklahoma State (23-16, 6-9) has been fighting back since losing a series at Grand Canyon on opening weekend. But Sunday’s victory capped a key 3-1 week that included a victory against Oral Roberts on Tuesday to go with the series win at Texas Tech. With three top-100 RPI wins, the Cowboys’ RPI climbed to No. 44, up 22 spots on the week, putting them back in range for an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma State may be trending in the right direction, but Holliday said the Cowboys aren’t looking at the bigger picture yet. They still have a lot of baseball left, including series against Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma, the three teams directly ahead of them in the conference standings.

“We’ve had our head down since the start of the season,” Holliday said. “We’re trying to fight back. We’re not looking around.”

Benge has been one of the keys to the Cowboys’ revitalization. He is hitting .304/.424/.568 with eight home runs and has had a knack for coming through with runners on base, as he ranks third in the conference with 43 RBIs.

Benge, Garrett McCain (.372/.489/.554, 15 SB), the Big 12’s leading hitter, and Colin Simpson (.312/.397/.560, 9 HR) give Oklahoma State a strong core in the middle of its lineup.

“Colin got hot about a month ago and he helped take the offense to another level,” Holliday said. “It’s a good three-man core. Getting guys on in front of them is really important because they’re good run producers.”

Pitching has been one of the keys to Oklahoma State’s success under Holliday and pitching coach Rob Walton, the 2016 Assistant Coach of the Year. But the Cowboys have had to piece together the staff a bit more this year, as Jensen Elliott has been sidelined since mid-March and closer Trey Cobb missed the first six weeks of the season.

Cobb’s return at the start of April helped to settle the Cowboys’ staff. They moved Opening Day starter Tyler Buffett, their most experienced, reliable starter, to the No. 2 spot in the rotation, enabling them to use the bullpen more aggressively on the first and last day of the weekend.

That strategy worked at Texas Tech (33-10, 9-6). Joe Lienhard threw five innings in Friday’s 12-10 victory and Blake Battenfield delivered a quality start Sunday. He held the Red Raiders to one run on four hits and a walk in 7.1 innings. Cobb and fellow relievers Cole Hearrean and Carson Teel combined for 3.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, giving the Cowboys’ offense a chance to mount a comeback.

“It’s hard to get that kind of pitching in the third game of a weekend,” Holliday said. “Blake pitched into the eighth against an excellent team. With the exception of one pitch, he didn’t make a mistake the entire day. Without his start, we’re not in position to win the game.”

After being on the road for the last two weekends, Oklahoma State has just one true road game left this season – a visit to Oral Roberts on May 16. It finishes the season with the Bedlam Series against Oklahoma, which is played at neutral sites in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Until then, the Cowboys can enjoy some home cooking. Arkansas-Pine Bluff visits Allie P. Reynolds Stadium on Tuesday, followed by Texas for another important Big 12 series. Oklahoma State will look to carry the momentum it built this week into another important week.

“Now we’re finding some consistency,” Holliday said. “We’ve just got to keep getting better as a team.”

Eight for Omaha

Clemson, Florida, Long Beach State, Louisville, North Carolina, Oregon State, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

Last July, in my first projection of the 2017 College World Series field, I included Long Beach State. While I backed off that a bit early this spring, the Dirtbags are now back, replacing rival Cal State Fullerton in the field. With the Titans in a bit of a slump and without righthander Colton Eastman in their rotation, the Dirtbags have swept them in a nonconference series raced out to a two-game lead in the Big West Conference. Beach has positioned itself well to host a regional at Blair Field, where it is 14-2 this season. Aside from the Dirtbags, the field remains unchanged. I considered Kentucky, which has shown impressive balance this season and is coming off a loud 3-1 week against Louisville and Louisiana State, but for now the Wildcats remain just outside the field.

Eye-Catchers

Five players or programs who stood out this weekend.

Creighton: The Bluejays started the season 1-11 before turning their season around in the last month. Creighton (18-16, 8-1) swept Villanova this weekend to extend its winning streak to 10 games, the longest in the nation, and remain in first place in the Big East Conference.

Evan Kruczynski, lhp, East Carolina: Kruczynski threw eight scoreless innings Saturday in a 6-0 victory at Cincinnati, helping lead ECU to its first AAC series win of the season. The senior allowed just one hit, a first-inning single, and retired the final 22 batters he faced in his second start after returning from a broken ankle that sidelined him for a month.

Riley Mahan, 2b, Kentucky: Mahan had a big week at the plate, helping Kentucky to a 3-1 record against Louisville and Louisiana State. The junior went 11-for-16 in the four games and reached base in 14 of his 19 plate appearances. Mahan also was part of a double-play turn for the highlight reel in Sunday’s victory.

Andrew Vaughn, 1b, California: Vaughn hit two walk-off home runs against Southern California, helping power Cal (19-18, 11-7) to a sweep and into second place in the Pac-12 Conference. The freshman went 6-for-12 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in the series. Vaughn is hitting .371/.445/.629 with 11 home runs this season.

UNC Wilmington: The Seahawks hit four consecutive home runs and homered six times overall in the eighth inning of their 20-7 victory Sunday at Hofstra. Both the four straight homers and the six home runs in one inning were one shy of the NCAA records. UNCW (18-20, 7-5 Colonial) won the series.

Looking Ahead

Three weekend series we’re most excited for

(6) Clemson at (3) North Carolina: Two of the best teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference are set for a top-five showdown that will have implications not only for the conference title, but also national seeding. Clemson (33-8, 16-5) bounced back from a series loss at Florida State to win a series against Wake Forest and climbed to No. 2 in the RPI, passing North Carolina in the process. For UNC (31-9, 16-5), which has not lost a conference series, this weekend represents its last chance to make a statement in the regular season, as the Tar Heels don’t have any more games against top 100 RPI teams after this weekend.

(4) Texas Christian at (7) Texas Tech: The top two teams in the Big 12 Conference are set for a top-10 clash that will resonate in the conference standings and the national seed race. TCU (30-8, 11-4) holds a two-game lead on Texas Tech and West Virginia in the conference standings, and will look to pad that advantage. Texas Tech (33-10, 9-6) will be trying to bounce back after losing a home series to Oklahoma State over the weekend.

(5) Auburn at (8) Mississippi State: In the last five weeks, Mississippi State (28-14, 13-5) has lost just two Southeastern Conference games, propelling the Bulldogs to first place in the conference. Auburn (30-12, 12-6) is just a game behind in the West Division and is coming off a series win against Arkansas, which is also tied for second in the division. The series will also be a homecoming for Auburn coach Butch Thompson, who will lead his team into Starkville for the first time since he was hired away from Mississippi State in October 2015.

Two weekend series you shouldn’t overlook

Central Michigan at Kent State: Kent State (24-12, 10-2) and Central Michigan (20-17, 10-2), leaders of the Mid-American Conference East and West Divisions, respectively, will meet this weekend for a series that will likely play a key role in deciding the regular-season title. The Golden Flashes have not lost a series this season and will have home-field advantage. The Chippewas, meanwhile, have turned their season around after starting 5-10 and have won their last six series.

New Mexico at San Diego State: It is a big week for New Mexico (23-16-1, 14-2-1), which hosts Texas Tech for a pair of midweek games before traveling to San Diego State, for a series between the top two teams in the Mountain West Conference. The Lobos hold a two-game lead in the standings, but the Aztecs (29-12, 13-5) will have home-field advantage as they try to close the gap.

One midweek game to keep an eye on

UCLA at (9) Long Beach State, Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET: Even after UCLA lost a home series to top-ranked Oregon State this weekend, both it and Long Beach State are on the upswing. The Bruins (18-18) have won five of their last eight games (including beating the Dirtbags 2-1 last week at Jackie Robinson Stadium) and climbed to No. 57 in RPI, up 14 spots last week. Beach (25-13) is coming off a sweep of UC Irvine and has taken over first place in the Big West Conference. Both teams could use a win Tuesday to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume – UCLA as an at-large team, Beach as a host or possible national seed.

Comments are closed.

Download our app

Read the newest magazine issue right on your phone

Download our mobile app
iOS app download Android app download