With his originally scheduled Thursday night start getting postponed due to weather, Tanner Houck took the ball Friday morning and came out attacking from the very first pitch. A staple in Missouri’s weekend rotation this spring as he logged 100.2 innings, USA Coach Ed Blankmeyer only needed Houck to work 5.2 innings (of a seven inning game) en route to picking up his first win of the summer.

Listed at a very believable 6-foot-5, 215-pounds, Houck throws from a long and fluid arm action, generating solid extension out front as he works over his front side. With an extended low three-quarter arm slot Houck throws a heavy, heavy fastball when he works down in the zone, making it a tough pitch to try to elevate. Living in the 91-94 mph range from the first pitch to the last, Houck showed the ability to locate to his glove side with his heater with a fast and loose arm coming through his delivery. 

While Houck did a nice job of holding his fastball velocity out of the stretch, he also did well on repeating his mechanics when throwing his slider, a pitch that was mixed in frequently. Thrown consistently in the 82-84 mph range, Houck’s slider showed sharp life with 2-plane break with the ability to locate to either side of the plate. Of the three strikeouts the Illinois native picked up Friday morning, two came on his slider with empty swings over the top of the ball. The two runs his did surrender came on an elevated slider but that proved to be an abnormality as the majority of his breakers were located down in the zone.

His numbers this spring were enough to warrant it but now doing it against international competition, remember Houck’s name as June of 2017 approaches.

It wasn’t an extended stint on the mound like he’s done on the mound this spring but Texas A&M’s right-hander Ryan Hendrix did his job just as he had done for the Aggies. Relieving Houck with the tying run on second base, Hendrix quickly induced a ground ball to escape the inning.

Opening up the top of the seventh with another ground ball out before giving way to left-hander Brendan McKay, it should come as little surprise that hitters weren’t able to elevate anything Hendrix threw. Sitting in the 91-93 mph with his fastball, Hendrix did a nice job of working on top of the ball and in doing so created sinking life on his heater while locating down in the zone. Just as he had his previous appearance, Hendrix showed off his advanced feel for his big curveball, a power pitch that worked at 82-83 mph with sharp break and late depth.

Locking down his first save of the summer after a spectacular freshman season at Louisville, left-hander Brendan McKay was in complete control for the final two outs of the game. With a very balanced, well-tempo’d delivery that allows for McKay to repeat his mechanics easily the Pennsylvania native came in and pounded the strike zone with a two-pitch mix.

McKay was called in to face a left-handed hitter and made quick work of him as he didn’t double or triple up on his curveball but threw four in a row, three for strikes to record the backwards K. Thrown in the 79-81 mph range, McKay’s curveball features late depth though it’s his feel and ability to spot the ball that’s more eye opening. After he recorded his first out, the second of the inning, McKay began attacking with his fastball.

With his fastball sitting in the 89-90 mph range with the handful he threw, McKay showed command of his heater just as he did his curveball and did so with a near identical arm action. Staying short in the back through his take away, the rising sophomore continued to show a low effort release and though he did walk a batter none of the balls he threw were off the black by more than an inch.

A consistent hitter through this point of the summer for USA, Houck’s collegiate and now summer teammate Ryan Howard has continued to find the barrel while swinging wood. Though this isn’t too much of a surprise considering the rising junior led Missouri this spring in batting average with a .308 average.  With things locked up two runs apiece in the bottom of the fifth, Howard came through for the Collegiate National Team with a line drive RBI single and once again put his smooth right-handed swing on display for what was ultimately the winning run.

Keeping the teammate them going in USA’s first win of a double header sweep, Louisville’s rising junior outfielder Corey Ray will be an interesting player to follow for next June’s draft given his present abilities and the strides he’s made from even last spring to this spring. Though he’s currently manning left field for USA, Ray is a plus runner and has the defensive instincts to take control of the outfield next spring at Louisville while playing lockdown defense in centerfield. Though it was just in pre-game batting practice, Ray was taking a quick first step in on sinking line drives and with clean and direct routes, he was able to make the play.

In the game Ray showed off his smooth left-handed swing and his speed as he collected two base hits and stole another two bases giving him seven for the summer. At the plate the Illinois native shows quick hands that allow Ray to go with the pitch while still driving the ball to all fields and later in the night -during game two- shot an inner half fastball down the left field line and off the wall for a standup double, giving him yet another multi-hit game.