I know most people are thinking, "Who in the heck is Austin Wood?" That in itself is a tragedy. The left-handed Senior threw 13 innings of scoreless relief against the Boston College Eagles, and did not even recieve the decision. The Longhorns did finally get the win, scoring a run in the 25th inning, five frames after Wood was removed from the game.
In a day in age that features so many specialists such as closers and set-up men, as well as pitch counts, this is a feat that we may never see duplicated again. Wood was removed from the game after his 169th pitch, one that made contact with the batter he was facing. His final line looked like this: 13 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 14 K, 4 BB. Wonder who Texas head coach Augie Garrido gave the game ball to? When asked about Wood's outing, Garrido, the winningest manager in college baseball history, said, "It was the best pitching performance I've ever seen."
How could an arm endure such a grueling night? Apparently Wood is a little "rubber-armed" but he did feel some effects. "My arm wasn't even sore. I'm telling you I didn't feel it at all," Wood said. "It's sore today. Man it hurts." So he is human. But what about the toll it took on him mentally. Wood had to watch inning after inning of his offense's inability to scratch across one, measly run. It took an incredible amount of mental toughness for him to go at every batter, pitches 1-169 with the same tenacity and confidence.
People better become familiar with Mr. Wood. Not only did he pitch 12 and 1/3 innings of no-hit baseball, he was also just selected in the 5th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Detroit Tigers. Give the kid his time in the spotlight. There is a great possibility you will never see a pitching performance like he gave under a star filled Texas sky. Don't be blindsided if you hear Austin Wood's name again. For it is a great possibility that one more star was born during that 25 inning marathon.
Keywords: Austin Wood, baseball, Texas Longhorns
