Kilgore's Texas connections doing well
COLLEGE BASEBALL/ SOFTBALL
By MITCH LUCAS sports@kilgorenewsherald.com

McCRORY

This week, University of Texas coach Augie Garrido got his 500th win as head coach of the Longhorns, and a former Kilgore High School Bulldog had a little bit of a hand - or an arm, actually - in it.

Former KHS standout Pat McCrory, a junior for the Longhorns who plays several positions in the infield and pitches, helped the 'Horns beat Texas State, 5-3, on Tuesday.

McCrory pitched in the seventh inning. He faced four batters, threw 17 pitches, allowed one hit and struck out one.

In four appearances as a pitcher this season, McCrory, a former all-state selection when at KHS, has a 5.06 ERA. In five innings pitched, he's allowed four hits, two walks and has nine strikeouts.

The 2005 KHS graduate made 19 relief appearances last year, finishing with a 3.65 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. In Big 12 Conference play, Mc- Crory was better, with just a 1.93 ERA in 11 appearances. He played 12 games at shortstop, nine starts. His first career hit at UT was in their season opener last year against San Diego on Feb. 2, 2007. His first-ever pitching appearance for the Longhorns came against Oral Roberts University on March 4. He got his first career win on March 6 in 3 2/3 innings of relief against Texas A&M/ Corpus Christi.

WHITMER

Pat is an education major and is the son of Pat and Johnnie McCrory of Kilgore.

Another former Kilgore Bulldog, Casey Whitmer, is also doing a nice job on the mound for the Longhorns, although he's not getting a lot of decisions either way. Whitmer is 1-0 this season. He's got a 4.12 ERA, and in 10 appearances, he's recorded two saves. He's pitched 19 2/3 innings. In that time, he's allowed 18 hits, 13 walks and has recorded 24 strikeouts (fourth on the team - Brandon Workman leads the 'Horns with 42).

Whitmer, the son of Ted and Donna Whitmer, is in his first season at UT. He's a sophomore - he transferred from Florida State University. He earned his first career Division I win at FSU, beating North Carolina State on April 8, 2007.

With the win, according to the UT baseball web site, Garrido joined Jim Morris (Georgia Tech and Miami) in becoming just the second coach to ever log 500 or more wins at two separate Division I schools. Garrido earned 929 wins at Cal State Fullerton and has 1,651 wins for his career. He owns a 500-242-1 mark as the coach of the Longhorns.

SAVONY

Texas returns to action today in a three-game series in Columbia, Mo., against the Missouri Tigers. First pitch tonight is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

The UT softball team also has a former Kilgore standout: Shelby Savony. Shelby is a freshman at UT, and the Lady 'Horns are currently 19-15-2, 5-4 in the Big 12, and headed into a weekend series against Kansas at Lawrence, Kan., that begins Saturday at 1 p.m. They come off a 3-1 loss to Texas A&M on Wednesday. Texas will return home Wednesday to face Sam Houston State at noon.

On the season, Savony is batting .370. She's played in 27 games, started 12, and has 17 hits in 46 at-bats. Two of those hits are home runs; three are doubles. She has 7 RBI, and a slugging percentage of .565. She has an on-base percentage of .408, and is 2-for-2 in stolen-base attempts.