As the college baseball season enters the second month of play, the high winds in Texas did nothing to cool off the red-hot arms and blazing bats that torched the state landscape last week. In fact, there were sheriffs and outlaws abound that took to the diamond with the intent of a shootout and they did not disappoint.
Several pitchers and position players handed in stellar performances from the Lone Star State this past weekend. In honor of one of cinema’s best “outlaw” flicks, here are “The Good, the Badd and the Ugly.”
The Good: Good is a subjective word. But in this sense, these were the top pitchers of the week.
Kyle Winkler — Junior RHP, TCU Horned Frogs
Kyle Winkler
Regular readers might be tired of seeing Winkler”s name and picture featured here every week. Well, that happens when a pitcher does what he has done over a four week span. Winkler took the mound for his third straight Friday night start and proved exactly why TCU Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle is keeping him there for a while. Against Houston Baptist, the “northpaw” (yes, that’s a new term made up entirely for a change of pace) logged six innings of three-hit pitching. He extended his streak of innings pitched without surrendering an earned run to 28 1/3. The victory was Winkler’s fourth of the year in as many starts and opposing hitters are faring just .146 against him at the plate. That is some fantastic sharp-shooting.
Josh Turley — Sophomore LHP, Baylor Bears
Turley took the mound in Baylor’s final game of their four game sweep of Louisiana Tech and fired away like a hired gun. He tangled for 7 1/3 innings with just six Bulldog hits for two runs while notching his first victory of the season. He answered the toll against Louisiana Tech and made it known that he was the sheriff that Sunday afternoon.
Taylor Jungmann — Junior RHP, Texas Longhorns
It’s no surprise that Jungmann would find himself on this list once again. Along with the aforementioned Winkler, Jungmann has been the epitome of a gun-slinger. He notched his fourth straight win of the season and cruised through eight innings of three-hit baseball while shutting out Brown. He had only tossed 88 pitches at the point he left, but the coaching staff decided he’d done enough damage. On the season, Jungmann has corralled opposing hitters to the tune of a .151 batting average and an ERA of 0.78.
The Badd: (Yes, the second “d” is intentional): A young philosopher once said that adding a second “d” to the word bad made is a good thing. Actually, “philosopher” was a loose term but when he said it in eighth grade band it sure seemed like deep philosophy at the time. But Aristotle would describe the way the following hitters as “not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good.” Come to think of it, that may have been Run DMC but the point still remains. These guys were “badd” this past weekend.
Chris Slater — Senior OF, Baylor Bears
Chris Slater
Slater was one tough hombre against Louisiana State and proved to be a difficult out on the weekend. In 17 trips to the dish, Slater gathered nine hits while driving home seven runs and scoring six. His .765 slugging percentage for the weekend led the Bears offense to a sweep and a sixth straight victory.
Tyler Naquin — Sophomore RF, Texas A&M Aggies
Naquin played the role of desperado with precision this past weekend against Florida International. He continued to torment the Panthers by hitting .538 and scoring three times with two doubles. The one thing that kept him from greatness was that he didn’t drive anyone home. That’s why he was just a desperado and not a cattle driver.
Erich Weiss — Freshman 3B, Texas Longhorns
Weiss was the cattle driver this week, ironically playing for a team whose mascot is the steers. The young freshman drove in seven runs in the four game set against Brown and scored five runs of his own.
The ugly: This guy was badder than badd – he dominated to the point that it was “ugly.” That’s why he’s this week’s Lone Star Player of the Week.
Logan Verrett – Junior RHP, Baylor Bears
Verrett notched his first career shutout on Friday and did it in commanding fashion against Louisiana Tech. After allowing a leadoff single to Bulldog Kyle Roliard to begin the game, he turned near-flawless. The junior held Louisiana Tech hitless the rest of the way for a one-hitter and this week’s most dominating Lone Star Performance. His fourteen strikeouts also exerted that Verrett was “The Head Honcho” of Texas pitchers this past weekend with his humdinger of an effort. An ice-cold sarsaparilla awaits Verrett because of his efforts.