Tech To Host A&M
April 12, 2001 | Baseball
April 12, 2001
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THE RED RAIDERS
Texas Tech gets to stay home for the second consecutive weekend as the Red Raiders host arch-rival Texas A&M in a three-game series at Dan Law Field. Texas Tech will enter the series on a five-game winning streak and stand at 27-14 overall and 10-8 in the Big 12.
The Texas Tech offense has caught fire recently as the squad has put up a 10+ hit performance six times in the last seven games. The Texas Tech pitching staff has shown improvement over the last week as Cory Metzler, Chad Ertel and Matt Harbin each turned in solid outings on the mound.
If Texas Tech can manage to get a win on Friday night, the Red Raiders will tie a season-high win streak at six games. Tech's longest losing streak is a five-game stretch. Tech basketball coaches Marsha Sharp and Bob Knight will throw the first pitches on Friday night.
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.
The Texas Tech baseball team used 25-35 mph wind gusts to crank out nine runs on 10 hits to edge TCU 9-4 on Wednesday afternoon at Dan Law Field. With the win, Texas Tech improved to 27-14 on the season while TCU dropped to 22-16.
Junior hurler Matt Harbin (2-1) pitched 6 1/3 quality innings to keep the Horned Frogs off track for most of the game and picked up his second win of the season. Tech jumped on the board in the bottom of the first when Nick Blankenship hit an RBI sacrifice fly to right field that plated Jason Rainey to put the Red Raiders ahead 1-0. Junior Austin Cranford plated another run in the bottom of the second when he hit a double to left center field that pushed Tyler Carson home.
Tech scored two runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings to give the Red Raiders a 6-1 lead. TCU battled back in the seventh and eighth innings scoring three runs to pull within two. Senior closer Blake McGinley came in to relieve Mike Larsen in the eighth with no outs and two Horned Frog runners on base and retired the next five batters to end TCU's scoring threat and picked up his seventh save of the season in the process.
Texas Tech was led by Austin Cranford and Tyler Carson who each went 2 for 4 at the plate and put up a combined two RBI. TCU was led by Erick Macha who went 3 for 4 with two runs scored. Patrick Newburn suffered the loss for TCU and fell to 2-1 on the season.
Texas Tech will face arch-rival Texas A&M this weekend at Dan Law Field with the first pitch coming on Friday night at 7 p.m. Texas Tech head basketball coaches Marsha Sharp and Bob Knight will throw out the ceremonial first pitches on Friday night.
OPPONENTS FIND RUNS TOUGH TO COME BY
The Texas Tech pitching staff has been making life miserable for conference opponents at home over the last two Big 12 series at Dan Law Field. Against Oklahoma State and Iowa State, Texas Tech held the two teams to a combined 11 runs over the course of six games (1.8 avg.). The Texas Tech pitching staff has earned an impressive 1.90 ERA over those last two series and walked just five batters during that stretch.
TECH HITTING THE LONG BALL
Earlier this season, Texas Tech set a school record for the longest home run drought (in games played at Dan Law Field) in history as Tech went nine straight home games without going yard. Tech snapped the streak on March 3rd against Nebraska and has sinced turned that bad karma around. As of March 4, Texas Tech had 18 home runs on the season and has more than doubled that amount in just over a month. Tech has hit a home run in each of its last nine games and has gone yard 18 times during that nine game stretch.
SHARP, KNIGHT TO THROW FIRST PITCHES
The Texas Tech baseball team will honor its men's and women's basketball programs this Friday evening as Marsha Sharp and Bob Knight will kickoff the Tech-A&M series by throwing the ceremonial first pitches.
HAYS WINS 1,250TH CAREER GAME
Texas Tech Head Coach Larry Hays earned his 1, 250th career victory on Tuesday, March 13th against the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds. Coach Hays is currently the fourth winningest active baseball coach in the nation behind Augie Garido (Texas), Chuck Hartman (Virginia Tech) and Gene Stephenson (Wichita State). Hays is the eighth winningest coach in the history of the NCAA.
IT'S TIME FOR BATTLE, TECH-A&M MEET AGAIN
Texas Tech and Texas A&M will meet this weekend in a crucial Big 12 series and as most college baseball fans understand, there is a lot on the line when these two teams meet up on the diamond. Texas Tech will be looking to avenge a regular-season series loss to the Aggies in 2000 while A&M will be looking for some revenge of their own as Tech sent the Aggies back to College Station in an elimination game at last year's Big 12 Tournament.
Texas A&M leads the all-time series 72-42 with the first meeting coming in 1929. However, since 1994, Texas Tech holds the series record 19-10. Here is a look back at the Tech-A&M regular-season series' since the inception of the Big 12:
ALL EYES ON CHRIS PHILLIPS
Chris Phillips returned to his winning form last Saturday against Iowa State as the junior right-hander led the Red Raiders to a 9-3 win over the Cyclones. With the win, Phillips picked up his ninth win of the season and is still on track to break Shane Wright's all-time school and conference record for most wins in a single season (14). Phillips currently sits in a second place tie in the national rankings for most wins this season. Nate Fernley of BYU leads the nation with 10 wins while Noah Lowry (Pepperdine), Jason Bernard (Troy State) and Mark Prior (USC) join Phillips in a second place tie with nine wins.
RAINEY'S BAT HEATS UP
After a stellar junior season, left fielder Jason Rainey has been struggling most of this season to find his niche in this his senior campaign. Over the last seven games, Rainey has almost tallied half the hits that he was able to produce over the first 34 games of the year. In the last seven games, Rainey is batting .417 with 10 hits, two doubles, two triples, three home runs and 10 RBI.
BLANKENSHIP MAKING HIS POINT, LOUD AND CLEAR
Texas Tech junior third baseman has been making his case all season long that he is the best third baseman in the Big 12. Over the last eight games, he has been proving it.
Blankenship has hit .500 (17 of 34) over the last eight games and tallied five doubles, four home runs, 11 runs scored and 16 RBI. Blankenship is the leading hitter on the team with a .387 average.
RUN, RUN, RUN
Texas Tech base runners have been making opposing pitchers pay all season long as the Red Raiders tally 87 stolen bases on the season and need 29 more stolen bags to move into seventh place on the all-time team season record list. Tech's 87 stolen bases leads the Big 12 by a very large margin as two teams are tied for second with 58.
LOOKING FOR THAT THIRD STARTER
Outside of Brandon Roberson and Chris Phillips, the Tech pitching staff has struggled to find a third starter to help keep the momentum built by both Roberson and Phillips. Heading into last weekend's series with Iowa State, Texas Tech had a disappointing 7.27 ERA and was 1-5 over the course of its last six Sunday afternoon outings. But on Sunday, senior Cory Metzler decided that is was time for the Tech staff to step up and be counted for. Metzler turned in a solid performance on Sunday which led to Tech's first weekend series sweep of the season. The Red Raiders got two more strong pitching performances from starters Chad Ertel and Matt Harbin this week against WTAMU and TCU which will make Sunday's starting job very competitive.
HITTING NOTES
* Junior shortstop Gera Alvarez has hit safely in 34 of 41 games this season while Nick Blankenship has hit safely in 34 of 40 games this year.
* Nick Blankenship has been Tech's hottest hitter of late as the junior third baseman is hitting .500 over the last eight games.
* Texas Tech currently has six players with multiple game hitting streaks. Bryon Smith leads the team with an eight-game hitting streak while Nick Blankenship is second with a five-game streak.
* The team batting average has improved to .308 from .301 (prior to the Iowa State series). The .308 average is the third best batting average in the Big 12 Conference.
* Texas Tech has had six 10+ hit games over the last seven games and currently has two straight. Tech has tallied 25 10+ hit games this season.
* Nick Blankenship is 20 hits away from moving into 17th place on the Texas Tech record books for most hits in a single season. Blankenship can move all the way up to sixth place if he can crank out 30 hits through the rest of the season.
2001 CLASS EARNS HONOR
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.
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.