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Offense fails at just one thing...and it's a biggie.

Hitting with runners in scoring position is as key a stat as there is in baseball. Along with on-base percentage, these numbers will tell you what kind of season your offense is producing. Sometimes RISP will not be the key to a game, you can hit a couple of homeruns with a runner at first, or manufacturing a run by a double, sacrifice bunt to third and sacrifice fly can have runs score without a hit even factoring in. But over the course of a season, you must provide clutch hits for a team to compete for championships.

This year's team not only failed to hit with RISP, they did so much below their season batting average, something that almost never happens.

Let's look at the past six years:

2004 Season average: .300, Avg. no RISP: .285, Avg. w/ RISP: .328, OB%: .381, Two-out RBI: 153
2005 Season average: .273, Avg. no RISP: .267, Avg. w/ RISP: .286, OB%: .346, Two-out RBI: 87
2006 Season average: .252, Avg. no RISP: .250, Avg. w/ RISP: .256, OB%: .332, Two-out RBI: 81
2007 Season average: .314, Avg. no RISP: .311, Avg. w/ RISP: .318, OB%: .395, Two-out RBI: 166
2008 Season average: .314, Avg. no RISP: .307, Avg. w/ RISP: .329, OB%: .407, Two-out RBI: 158
2009 Season average: .298, Avg. no RISP: .313, Avg. w/ RISP: .265, OB%: .392, Two-out RBI: 120

Those numbers show what an anomaly the 2009 season was with RISP. Even compared to sub-.500 teams in 2005 and 2006, those team's average with RISP was a little better than their season average and their average with no RISP. Compare it with three teams that went to Super Regional play in '04, '07 and '08 and you see how important the RISP can be. This year the average was decidedly lower and nearly the same as what the 2006 season produced with a season average that was nearly 50 points higher.

How did it translate to the field? It was seen in close games more than any other and those games were the difference between the Aggies accomplishing the majority of those preseason goals. Texas A&M won seven games in the ninth inning or later and lost 14 with the tying or go ahead run at the plate in that same situation this season. In the wins, the team hit .313 with RISP and in the losses the team hit .163 with RISP. Two of those seven wins were in Big 12 play and eight of those losses were in Big 12 play. Even the two now infamous losses to the 'Horns had the Aggies getting up off the deck following questionable calls to have the game decided in the batters box in the last inning. In a season where you finish just three games out of the championship with a 14-13 record and five of those nail bitter games were against teams that finish higher than you in the standings, those situations and plays were magnified. Of those 13 Big 12 losses, the Aggies lost one blowout, three by four runs and the rest by three runs or less, including the seven one-run losses. When the last two teams you play in the regular season are national seeds and four of your five losses to them are decided by a single run, producing with RISP in that six-game stretch was the key to being on the road at TCU and hosting the tournament for a chance to go to Omaha.

What does this mean for next year's offense and the returning players? Nearly nothing, the list of returning players in 2007 that increased their averages with RISP included Blake Stouffer, Parker Dalton, Craig Stinson, Josh Stinson and only Kyle Colligan saw a dip in those numbers. Luke Anders, with a .000 batting average was a .360 hitter with RISP as well after working with the Aggie hitting coaches.

Look at the 2009 end of season pitching numbers...they are not very pretty.

In my opinion, when college pitchers are feeling the pressure to pitch perfectly is the biggest determining factor for a team having a successful season on the mound. When pitchers have trust in their offense and/or defense, they throw ahead in counts, don't let mistakes linger and work themselves out of trouble instead of into more of it. I was asked time and again what was wrong with Brooks Raley. I think he did get tired, but not to the point that he was ineffective for long stretches. I think a bigger factor was the big innings that could have been avoided if plays had been made behind him. Against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament, two balls dropped that were correctly ruled hits but were also complete misplays, that led to five additional runs scoring in the first inning. Back that up with his performance against Oregon State, three of the four runs he allowed in the first inning were unearned, costing him confidence and pitches (both times 20+ more pitches were thrown in the first inning.)

It certainly seemed to be in the pitchers' heads when in the last 13 games of the year, the staff allowed runs in the first or second inning in every game except the shutout by Ross Hales against the Longhorns. It totaled 37 when the season was done and in those 12 games the Aggies were 4-8. Starting pitchers were unable to extend themselves into the game and the only quality start (six innings pitched with three earned runs or less) was Hales' masterpiece against Texas. In the 12 other games, the starters had a 9.8 ERA over 43 innings (an average of 3.2 innings per start) while giving up 82 hits, 60 runs (47 earned) and issuing 17 walks against just 31 strikeouts. The bullpen did a respectable job, going 2-1 with a 3.98 ERA in those games and gave the team a chance to rally from behind six times.

Contrast those numbers with the first 48 games of the season. The starters were 21-8 with a 3.53 ERA, struck out 302 batters in 267.1 innings, allowed just a .224 batting average against as well. Twenty times the starting pitchers had a quality start and only four times did the starters allow more than four runs to score against them.

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Allows just one hit in two victories

The Cavalier baseball team was red hot at the end of the regular season, undefeated in district play and hadn’t lost a game since March 28.

Then the season was suspended because of the Swine Flu outbreak, and there had to be a few people wondering if it would cool Lake Travis (29-3) off at the wrong time.

But after two rounds of playoff baseball, the Cavaliers have scored 34 runs, their opponents have scored three and ace Dylan Mendoza has allowed exactly one hit.

It’s safe to say the break didn’t faze them.

Lake Travis topped Lanier, 7-0 and 12-3, in the bi-district championship last weekend, and then toppled New Braunfels Canyon Tuesday night in a one-game series for the area championship, 5-0.

Even when facing that one-game series against the Cougars, the Cavaliers weren’t nervous.

“I was pretty relaxed. I mean, I’ve been here before because of the experience and tradition we have,” Mendoza said. “So I was pretty relaxed coming in.”

Mendoza went the distance, fanning 14 Cougars and allowing one hit in a game that never felt like it was in doubt once Lake Travis was on the board.

Even Lake Travis head coach Roy Kinnan, who notoriously hates one-game playoff rounds, felt like his team was in good shape coming into the game.

“You know, this is a different team, I’ve got a lot of confidence in them, and they’ve got a lot of confidence in themselves,” he said. “I felt good about the game coming out. We were swinging the bat well in batting practice, and I just felt good about it.”

Lake Travis broke a scoreless tie in the third inning, scoring four runs on three hits. Kevin Conroy led off the frame with a double to center field, and Cody Gruber followed with a single to put runners at first and second. Brad Kuntz hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Conroy for the first run. Andy Holt doubled, putting runners at second and third, and Wyatt Church doubled to bring home both runners. Cohl Walla hit a rocket to deep right-center field, but it was snagged by the center fielder. Church moved to third on the fly, and then scored on a wild pitch, making it 4-0.

The Cavaliers tacked on another run in the fifth inning when Church hit a grounder to short that was misplayed and allowed Gruber to score from third.

Meanwhile, Mendoza stayed hot, shutting down the Cougars five days after no-hitting Lanier in the Cavs’ 7-0, playoff-opening victory, one in which he struck out 13 Vikings. The lead was more than enough.

“I felt like even we didn’t score any more runs, we’d be fine because I was on,” Mendoza said. “Everything was working well, my fastball was on, curveball was on, slider, change, really the whole repertoire was working.”

Kinnan agreed, and couldn’t say enough about the senior gunslinger.

“His last three ballgames, I mean, he throws a two-hitter in his last district game, a no-hitter in the first round and a one-hitter tonight. He’s throwing the ball well, and he’s throwing strikes, so his pitch count is down and he’s still throwing hard in the sixth and seventh inning,” Kinnan then chuckled. “He had good stuff tonight.”

But the competition in the first few rounds typically isn’t as tough as the best teams Lake Travis has seen this year, and Canyon offered few surprises, if any.

“They were a solid ballclub, but they don’t hit one through nine,” Kinnan said. “We scouted them a little bit, and their first four hitters do most of their work. That’s where they score their runs, and after that, they struggle.”

The early lead cemented that theory.

“I think it’s important any time you can score a couple runs in a burst like that,” Kinnan said. “We talked all game about trying to score a run an inning, and trying to shut them out.”

Now, the Cavaliers turn right back around and start the regional quarterfinal round against district rival Hutto. The Hippos are no stranger to playoff baseball, and topped Boerne Champion 5-4, Tuesday night. But this is their first venture into the 4A playoffs, which should make for an interesting series.

“We beat them handily the first time, but we had to come from behind the second time, and I’m sure they feel like they can play with us,” Kinnan said. “I don’t care either way, whoever the winner is, that’s who we’ll get ready to play.”

Lake Travis won the teams’ first meeting 8-2, behind the arms of Cohl Walla, Brad Kuntz and Jack Hourin. Mendoza pitched the second meeting, which the Cavaliers came back to win 4-3, after being down 3-0 heading into the seventh inning. Mendoza struck out 11, and allowed three runs, though none of them were earned.

The playoff routine does get changed a bit with two series in one week, though.

“I think it will be good for us because we have lots of pitching, and everyone has been ready to play every day,” Mendoza said. “We’ve been really sharp.”

Kinnan agreed.

“We play it now like a regular season game, and for us, we’re set up pretty good pitching-wise because we’ll have Kuntz and Walla going in the first two games. And we can always go to Mendoza at the end because we won’t have to go again until the next Thursday,” he said. “Then I’ve got Church, Ryan Feltner, Colin Butschek and Hourin that can all go in game three if I need them to.”

Brandon Wood Honored by Houston BWAA

More than 1,100 people will be at the Hilton Americas Convention Center Hotel for tonight’s 24th annual Houston Baseball Dinner.

Slugger Lance Berkman will be presented with the Astros Most Valuable Player Award for 2008, as voted on by the Houston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Berkman, a five-time team MVP, last year led the Astros in batting average (.312), doubles (46), homers (29), RBIs (106), on-base percentage (.420) and runs (114).

Closer Jose Valverde, who tied Brad Lidge’s franchise record with 44 saves, will be honored as Astros Pitcher of the Year, and lefthander Wesley Wright will be recognized as Astros Rookie of the Year.

Other award winners include outfielder Hunter Pence (Darryl Kile Award), first base coach Jose Cruz (Allen Russell Distinguished Achievement Award) and former Chronicle sports writer Neil Hohlfeld, who posthumously will be given the Fred Hartman Long and Meritorious Service Award.

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman James Loney, a product of Elkins High school, will be on hand to accept the Houston-area Major League Player of the Year Award. The Houston Athletic Committee will present the Ray Knoblauch Award for the area’s outstanding high school coach to Bellaire’s Rocky Manuel. Rice’s Ryan Berry will be recognized as the Greater Houston Area’s Preseason College Player of the Year.

The Houston Athletic Committee also will honor its All-Greater Houston high school baseball preseason team: Tyler Duffey (Bellaire), Jonathan Dziedzic (Atascocita), Ryan Hornback (Sweeny), Jake Miller (Stratford), Tyler Naquin (Klein Collins), R.J. Perucki (Tomball), Matt Purke (Klein), Michael Ratterree (Memorial), Brady Rodgers (Lamar Cons.), Larry Rodriguez (Channelview), Ryan Sedeno (Langham Creek), Cooper Smith (Second Baptist), Andrew Stumph (Katy), Zach Thomas (Cy-Fair), Kyle Von Tungeln (Kempner) and Brandon Wood (Clements).

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