AP Sports Preview: Holy Cross at Texas

AUSTIN, Texas (Interstat) — Holy Cross visits Texas on Friday in a non-conference afternoon matchup at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

The Crusaders (25-28) have won three of their last four, most recently a 14-11 slugfest at Bucknell on Wednesday. Texas (40-13) dropped its last outing 8-1 to Arkansas on Friday, but remains one of the nation’s top teams with a .755 winning percentage.

The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the mid-80s at first pitch.

Players to watch

Holy Cross second baseman Alex Sandell has been steady at the plate. In his last eight games, Sandell is batting .244 (7-for-29) with five RBIs. He went 2-for-6 with four RBIs in the win at Bucknell and had multi-hit efforts against Lafayette earlier this month.

Texas right-hander Dylan Volantis (2-1, 3.86 ERA) is expected to start. Volantis tossed two scoreless innings of relief against Arkansas with four strikeouts, and earlier this month fired seven strong innings against Missouri (2 hits, 1 earned run, 11 strikeouts). He struggled at Tennessee on May 8, allowing three earned runs in five innings despite no hits.

Recent form

Holy Cross enters with offensive momentum after scoring 14 runs on 16 hits against Bucknell. Ryan Grundy contributed a home run and two RBIs in that game, and reliever Brett Mulligan threw 1⅔ scoreless innings with three strikeouts. The Crusaders have alternated wins and losses over their last six contests.

Texas leaned on its bullpen after the Arkansas loss – Luke Harrison and Cal Higgins each tossed two scoreless innings, and the staff combined for eight strikeouts. The Longhorns had won five straight before the defeat, including a series sweep of Missouri in which they outscored the Tigers 29-16.

Simulation and odds

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 7-6 Holy Cross victory. Texas is installed as a pregame favorite with a run line of minus-7½.

First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m. Central.