HOUSTON–Alex Wilson’s outing against Rice is over, and I must say: he looked a lot like he did as a freshman at Winthrop. Back then, before his Tommy John surgery, Wilson relied upon a 91-94 mph fastball and a good slider. Today, he relied upon a 91-94 mph fastball and an 80-83 slider with bite. I did not see him exceed 94 mph with his fastball, but he hit 94 often. He also flashed an occasional changeup. Wilson’s final line: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO.

"With me coming off surgery, it’s a confidence boost to know I can go out there and compete–not that I ever doubted myself from doing it before, but for the first time in two years facing a top-10 caliber team, it’s fun," Wilson said afterward. "You want the ball in those kind of games. I think I was able to control my slider very well today, mix it in here and there. I actually threw several changeups, which was probably my least effective pitch."