Senior Shawn Ferguson said is hoping the third time will be a charm for him tonight as the Horned Frogs head to Waco for a night game against No. 22 Baylor (14-6).Ferguson, who will be making his third start this season, is looking to build off the momentum he established in a March 14 victory over Texas State and said he is beginning to settle into a starter’s routine.
“It was getting all my conditioning and legs underneath me, going through the process of getting my first starts, getting my feet wet,” Ferguson said. “I was trying to pace myself; now I’m more comfortable, especially coming off the win … I feel like I’m in better shape and have the ability to go longer in the game.”
Though Ferguson’s first start was a March 7 loss to Oklahoma, he said his pitching strategy is making the necessary adaptations.
“Against Texas State I was throwing a lot more strikes,” Ferguson said. “(Against Oklahoma, it) might have been nerves, I might have been overthrowing. Against Texas State, I was more relaxed and had a more consistent breaking ball.”
While the top three rotation spots have been fairly consistent, Ferguson’s recently adopted fourth spot and the bullpen have been under some contention. Ferguson, however, said he has nothing but faith in the Frogs’ relievers.
“I do have a lot of confidence in the bullpen,” Ferguson said. “There was a lot of questions in our bullpen, but the more we play we’ve seen some guys produce, like (juniors Omar) Arif and (Dillon) Farish and (Chase) Perry and (sophomore Zach) Ashwood, and we’ve had some other guys that have pitched a lot. As long as the ball is in their hand, I don’t have a problem with it.”
Despite the Frogs’ 11-11 record to date, Ferguson said, it only takes one big victory to spur a necessary winning streak.
“If you had told us we’d be 11-11 at this part in the season, I’d have said you were crazy,” Ferguson said. “At times we have good pitching, at times we have great defense and at times we have great hitting, but it’s all about getting all of those things together, or at least two out of three. We just got to get on a roll. We have been winning one here, winning one there. Once we get on a streak, we’ll stay hot.
