Red Raiders Ready To Rebound Against Rival Longhorns
March 07, 2001 | Baseball
March 7, 2001
March 9-11 * 7:30 p.m./2 p.m./1 p.m. Disch-Falk Field
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (12-9) vs. TEXAS LONGHORNS (12-9)
THE RED RAIDERS
Texas Tech will have the great fortune of trying to rebound from a disappointing Big 12 opening weekend against a tough Texas squad this weekend at Disch-Falk Field in Austin. Texas Tech will enter the weekend with a 12-9 overall record and 0-3 mark in the Big 12 Conference.
The Red Raiders suffered their first home series sweep in 11 years when the preseason Big 12 favorite and nationally ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers took three games from Tech 3-2, 8-7 and 10-8. Texas Tech had never trailed 2-0 in a home series since the Texas Longhorns earned a series sweep back in the 1990 season. The sweep by Nebraska gave Tech just its second Big 12 sweep since the league began in 1996. Baylor became the first team to sweep Texas Tech in a Big 12 series during the 1999 season. Tech's 0-3 start in Big 12 play is the worst conference start since the 1992 season when Texas swept Tech in Austin 3-0 to start off the SWC season.
Texas Tech ended a nine-game home drought without a home run when Chad Landry hit a two-run bomb over the right field fence in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday.
Texas Tech is in the middle of a four-game losing skid dating back to Feb. 25 in a 7-5 loss to New Mexico in Lubbock.
The Texas Tech-Texas series this weekend will not only feature two of the nation's most prominent baseball programs but will showcase two of the winningest coaches in NCAA history. Texas head coach Augie Garrido is 1,296-631-8 in his 33rd season of coaching while Tech head coach Larry Hays is 1,247-675-2 in his 31st season. Garrido is the winningest active head coach in college baseball while Hays is fourth. Hays needs just three wins to earn his 1,250th career victory.
LOOKING AHEAD
Texas Tech will return to Lubbock after a three-game weekend series against Texas in Austin to face Eastern New Mexico on Tuesday, March 13 at 7 p.m. Following Tech's game with Eastern on Tuesday, the Red Raiders will continue Big 12 play on the road when they face the Kansas State Wildcats in a three-game series in Manhattan, Kan. March 16-18. Tech will swing through Albuquerque, N.M. on the way home to face the New Mexico Lobos in the fourth and final game of the 2001 season between the two teams.
TEXAS TECH PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday: Cory Metzler, RHP (2-2), 4.35 ERA
Saturday: Chris Phillips, RHP (5-1), 4.05 ERA
Sunday: Brandon Roberson, RHP (3-2), 5.79 ERA
RED RAIDERS ON THE AIR
For the eighth consecutive season, the entire Texas Tech baseball game schedule will be broadcast live on the Red Raider Radio Network and made available to its statewide affiliates. Play-By-Play voice of the Red Raiders Mark Finkner will make the call in this his sixth season. He will be joined by popular color commentator Ryan Hyatt who will be in the broadcast booth for his fourth season. Finkner and Hyatt will host a 20-minute pregame show and will have postgame interviews with players and coaches. Tech baseball games can be heard locally on KKAM 1340 AM.
LAST TIME OUT
The Nebraska Cornhuskers did something on Sunday that no other team has been able to do in 11 years. Sweep Texas Tech at home.
Nebraska scored five runs in the eighth inning to erase a 7-4 deficit en route to a 10-8 win over Texas Tech on Sunday afternoon at Dan Law Field. With the win, Nebraska improved to 9-3 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12 while Texas Tech slipped to 12-9 and 0-3 in the league. Texas Tech's three-game loss marked just the second time in Big 12 play that the Red Raiders had been swept in a conference series since Baylor took three games back in 1999 in Waco.
Texas Tech seemed primed for a Sunday win as Tech cranked out five runs in the second inning thanks to a two-run home run by Chad Landry and a three-run homer by Bryon Smith. Smith added a two RBI single in Tech's half of the fifth to give Tech a 7-4 advantage.
Tech tried to rally again in the ninth when Austin Cranford rang up his fourth hit of the game that plated Gera Alvarez bringing Tech within two. Jason Rainey popped up to the Nebraska shortstop and Bryon Smith grounded out to second base to end the game.
Thom Ott (1-0) earned the win for Nebraska while Brandon Roberson (3-2) took the loss for Texas Tech. Austin Cranford led all Texas Tech batters going 4 for 5 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored. Nebraska was paced by Adam Stern and Matt Hopper who each tallied three hits on five at-bats.
Texas Tech will travel to Austin for a weekend series with the Texas Longhorns beginning on Friday night. Friday's game at Disch-Falk Field is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
RAINEY NEARS CENTURY MARK
Senior Jason Rainey made his debut last season at Texas Tech after transferring from Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas. Rainey finished the 2000 season with 76 hits. He got his first hit of the 2001 season against TCU on Feb. 4 when he hit a two-run home run to win the ball game. He now has 97 hits in his career meaning he needs just three to reach the century mark.
LANDRY BREAKS HOME RUN DROUGHT
Senior Chad Landry ended Texas Tech's nine-game home streak without a home run when he belted a two-run homer over the left field fence in the bottom of the ninth against Nebraska on Saturday. The streak was the longest in the Larry Hays era. The previous record was a five-game streak during the 1993 season.
TECH SUFFERS FIRST SWEEP IN 11 YEARS AT HOME
The Nebraska Cornhuskers did something on Sunday that no other team has been able to do in the last 11 years. Sweep Texas Tech at home. With a 10-8 come from behind win on Sunday, Nebraska took the three-game series 3-0 marking the first time that Texas Tech had been swept at home since the Texas Longhorns accomplished the feat April 7-8, 1990.
The three-game sweep also marked just the second time that Tech has been swept by a Big 12 Conference opponent. Baylor became the first school to do it when they took three from Tech in Waco in 1999. When Nebraska took a 2-0 advantage into Sunday's game, it was also the first time that Tech had been down 2-0 at home since that three-game sweep to Texas in 1990.
HAYS NEEDS THREE WINS TO REACH 1, 250 PLATEAU
Texas Tech Head Coach Larry Hays is just three wins shy of winning his 1, 250th career victory. Hays is currently the fourth winningest (by victories) active head coach in collegiate baseball and the eighth winningest (by victories) all-time.
RECENT SUCCESS AGAINST TEXAS
Although the Texas Longhorns lead the all-time series with Texas Tech 76-31, Texas Tech has had the upper hand over the last four years. Texas Tech has won the last four regular-season meetings between the two schools dating back to 1997. Texas, however, leads Tech in postseason play (Big 12 Tournament) 2-1 over the last four years. Texas Tech has never swept Texas in Austin.
2000 Season (Lubbock) Texas Tech won the series 2-1
1999 Season (Austin) Texas Tech won the series 2-1
1998 Season (Lubbock) Texas Tech won the series 2-0
1997 Season (Austin) Texas Tech won the series 2-1
WALKS WERE THE DIFFERENCE AGAINST NEBRASKA
Against Nebraska, the Texas Tech pitching staff walked nine batters in the last two games which later turned into five Husker runs. Texas Tech walked 15 batters over the weekend for an average of five per game.
TECH ON FOUR-GAME LOSING SKID
With a three-game series loss to Nebraska, Texas Tech is now on a season-high four game losing streak. Texas Tech fell to New Mexico in the final game of a three-game series on Feb. 25 to start the losing skid. Tech has lost the four games by a combined six runs. The streak is the longest since Tech lost five straight last season against Texas A&M and UT-American.
CRANFORD, SMITH HAVE CAREER DAYS
Austin Cranford and Bryon Smith each had career days on Sunday against Nebraska. Cranford had a career-high four hits while Smith had a career-high five RBI. Smith earned three of his RBI on a three-run home run over the left field fence giving him his first career home run.
HITTING NOTES
- Kerry Hodges is suffering through a three-game hitting slump which started in the first game against Nebraska this past weekend. He went 0 for 12 against the Huskers and is 0-13 dating back to his last at-bat in the second game against New Mexico on Feb. 25.
- Gera Alvarez and Nick Blankenship extended their current hitting streaks to six games with hits against Nebraska on Sunday. Their current six-game streaks lead the team while Bryon Smith is a close second at five.
- The Tech offense wasn't able to cash in on the clutch hit this past weekend as Tech stranded runners in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth in all three games. Kerry Hodges struckout for the final out in Friday and Saturday's game leaving runners on first and second both times. Bryon Smith grounded out on Sunday to end the game leaving the tying run at second base.
- Texas Tech was finally able to snap a nine-game streak without a home run at Dan Law Field. Senior Chad Landry broke the streak on Saturday night with a two run home run in the bottom of the ninth.
- Jason Rainey snapped a three-game hitting slump with a single to right field on Sunday against Nebraska.
- Texas Tech's bunt offense was nonexistent over the weekend against Nebraska and cost Tech dearly. Jason Rainey, Tyler Carson and Austin Cranford struckout in key bunting situations leaving five Tech runners stranded over three games.
- Nick Blankenship has been the most consistent Tech batter over the last six games hitting an impressive .444 during this stretch. He has put up 12 hits on 27 at-bats with five RBI, four doubles and a triple.
- Bryon Smith became just the third Red Raider to have a five RBI game this season. Smith had a three-run home run on and a two RBI single against Nebraska on Sunday. Jason Rainey and Stephen Leist are the other two player who have had a five RBI game this season.
PITCHING NOTES
- The Tech pitching staff walked 15 batters over the weekend and five of those walks turned into Husker runs.
- Senior right-handed pitcher Brandon Roberson suffered his second loss of the season after giving up nine runs on 12 hits against Nebraska on Sunday. Roberson snapped a three-game winning streak dating back to a win over Cal-State Northridge on Feb. 11.
- Prior to Tech's current four-game losing streak, the Texas Tech pitching staff had an ERA of 3.86 but that has since fallen to 4.41.
- Texas Tech's ERA over the last four games is 6.75 and opponents are batting .331.
- Texas Tech pitchers fell victim to the "Big Inning" in all three games against Nebraska. Tech gave up three earned runs in the first inning on Friday and Tech went on to lose 3-2. The Red Raider staff gave up a five-run inning in the seventh on Saturday and a five-run inning in the eighth on Sunday which was the difference in both of those games.
Collegiate Baseball Magazine has ranked Texas Tech's 2001 newcomer class 13th in the nation. The Red Raiders will welcome 20 newcomers to the roster this year which include 13 junior college transfers.
Cal. State Fullerton was tabbed No. 1 in the rankings while defending national champion LSU was second.
TECH LANDS STRONG 2002 CLASS
Texas Tech Head Coach Larry Hays had no reason but to smile as Tech landed 12 recruits during the early signing period. Local pitching standout Bobby Livingston tops the list for the Red Raiders. Livingston, a left-handed pitcher from Trinity Christian School in Lubbock, has been clocked with pitches over 89 mph. Tech also got another solid lefty pitcher in Brandon Shaw from 2000 Junior College National Champion Grayson County College.
The Red Raiders signed three high school student-athletes and nine junior college players.
2002 RECRUITS
Nathan Fouts, RHP (Henderson, Nev./Southern Nevada Community College)
John DiBetta, INF (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Nevada Community College)
John Slack, OF (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Nevada Community College)
Joe Wagner, INF (Henderson, Nev./Southern Nevada Community College)
Ryan Meaux, LHP (Denver, Colo./Lamar Community College)
Bobby Livingston, LHP (Lubbock, Texas/Trinity Christian High School)
Casey Andrews, INF (Farmington, N.M./Farmington High School)
Kevin Jordan, OF (Rowlett, Texas/Navarro College)
Matt Lair, RHP (Vernon Regional Junior College)
Julio Guerrero, OF (San Angelo, Texas/El Paso Community College)
Madison Edwards, C/OF (Midland, Texas/Midland High School)
Brandon Shaw, LHP (Cooper, Texas/Grayson County Community College)
75th ANNIVERSARY--51st SEASON
The Texas Tech baseball team will celebrate its 75th Anniversary during the 2001 season. The first Red Raider baseball team suited up in 1926 and finished the season with a 11-2-1 season record. Texas Tech did not field a team after the 1929 season due the Great Depression and the United States' involvement in World War II. Tech began playing baseball again in 1954 and has played every year since. Texas Tech has an overall record of 1,092-860-7 through 51 seasons of play and an impressive 455-210 record in the last 10 years.
PRESEASON BIG 12 PLAYERS TO WATCH
The Texas Tech Red Raiders placed five players on Collegiate Baseball Magazine's Pre-Season Big 12 Players to Watch list. Getting the nod for Texas Tech was oufielder Jason Rainey, right-handed pitcher Brandon Roberson, right-handed pitcher Steve Rowe, catcher Anthony Arnerich and third baseman Nick Blankenship.
Nebraska's Shane Komine (RHP) was projected to be the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year while Missouri's Ryan Stegall (SS/RHP) got the early nod to take home Player of the Year honors.
LARKIN TRANSFERS
Texas Tech senior second baseman Shaun Larkin has decided to transfer prior to the start of the 2001 season, Texas Tech Head Baseball Coach Larry Hays announced on Friday Jan. 19.
Larkin made the decision after spending time with Coach Hays discussing his role on the team and came to the conclusion that a transfer was in order to gain more playing time his final season. He was the fourth leading hitter on the team last season with a .309 average and started all 62 games at second base.