Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Battle Sooners At Dale Mitchell Park
April 19, 2001 | Baseball
April 19, 2001
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OKLAHOMA:
The Oklahoma Sooners will bring a 15-26 overall record and 9-12 mark in the Big 12 to L. Dale Mitchell Park this weekend where they will face the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Oklahoma fell victim to No. 15 Arizona State on Wednesday night falling 5-3 in 11 innings.
The Sooners have struggled for the entire 2001 season and are suffering through the worst season in Oklahoma history. The downfall for Oklahoma this season has been shaky defense and inconsistent pitching. Through 41 games this season, the Sooners have racked up 83 errors and have played just five clean games all season.
The Sooner pitching staff tallies a 5.34 overall ERA and a 5.35 mark in the Big 12 which ranks them ninth in the league. Rocky Cherry has been the staff leader as he leads the team in most pitching categories including wins (6). 2000 freshman sensation Austin Mix picked up his first win of the year last weekend against Kansas State and is 1-7 on the season.
Offensively, the Sooners are batting .294 with first baseman Greg Dobbs leading the charge with a .395 average. The Sooners are coached by Larry Cochell who is 405-247 in his 11th season at OU.
OKLAHOMA PROBABLES:
Friday: Rocky Cherry, RHP (4.34 ERA, 6-4, 58.0 IP, 28 K's)
Saturday: Evan Gruesel, RHP (4.92 ERA, 2-4, 56.2 IP, 36 K's)
Sunday: Austin Mix, RHP (5.08 ERA, 1-7, 72.2 IP, 72 K's)
SERIES RECORD vs. OKLAHOMA:
Texas Tech leads the all-time series record 15-9.
LAST TIME vs. OKLAHOMA:
Texas Tech earned the series win over the Sooners last year with a 15-14 win on Sunday April 30th. Oklahoma won the first game of last year's series 7-4 while Tech won 8-7 on Saturday.
Senior Jason Rainey hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to erase a 3-1 deficit and the Red Raiders never looked back as the squad scored a 7-4 victory over Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon before 3,356 fans at Dan Law Field. The win gave Texas Tech its first season sweep of the Aggies since the 1996 season and the first since the two teams joined the Big 12 Conference.
Texas Tech, with the win, improved its season record to 30-14 overall and 13-8 in the Big 12 and is currently riding a season-high eight-game win streak. The Texas A&M Aggies fell to 24-17 on the year and 9-9 in the league while suffering their first conference series sweep of the season.
It looked as though it was going to be another long Sunday afternoon for Tech as the Aggies pounded out three runs on six hits through the first three innings off starter Cory Metzler. Head Coach Larry Hays went to the Tech bullpen for the first time of the weekend and brought in senior Matt Harbin. Harbin (3-1) held the Aggies to just one run over the next six innings and struckout four batters to earn his third win of the season.
Tech turned the game around in the bottom of the fifth inning when Texas A&M hurler Todd Deininger (3-5) walked Chad Landry and Tyler Carson to put runners on first and second base with two outs. Senior Jason Rainey stepped up in the next at-bat and cranked out a three-run homer over the right field wall to put Tech in the lead 4-3.
Texas Tech padded its lead in the sixth inning by scoring two runs on an error by Aggie center fielder Eric Reed and an RBI double by Tony Arnerich. The Red Raiders put up their final run of the game in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI groundout by Nick Blankenship that plated Austin Cranford.
ERA KILLERS
Over the last two conference weekends, Texas Tech has faced an opponent coming into the series with an impressive conference ERA. Iowa State came to Lubbock sporting a 2.88 ERA in conference play while Texas A&M made the journey to the South Plains packing a 3.15 ERA in league play.
In the series with Iowa State, Texas Tech racked up 35 hits and 26 runs and sent the Cyclones back to Ames with a not so impressive conference ERA of 4.56. Against Texas A&M, the Red Raiders tallied 40 hits and 28 runs to raise the Aggie conference ERA to 3.93.
TECH ON A HOT STREAK
Texas Tech is currently in the middle of a season-high eight-game winning streak after sweeping rival Texas A&M this past weekend at Dan Law Field. Tech started the streak with a three-game series sweep of Iowa State and then dropped West Texas A&M and TCU last week. Tech's eight-game streak is the fifth best streak in the country. Oral Roberts leads the nation with a 13-game winning streak.
TECH EARNS FIRST NATIONAL RANKING OF THE YEAR
The Texas Tech baseball team earned its first national ranking of the season as the squad was tabbed No. 30 in this week's edition of the Collegiate Baseball Magazine baseball poll. Texas Tech is ranked No. 27 by the NCBWA/College SportsNews poll and sits at No . 29 in the ESPN/Coaches Top-25 Poll.
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.
TECH MEETS OKLAHOMA IN CRUCIAL SERIES
Texas Tech travels to Oklahoma this weekend for another crucial series in the Big 12. Texas Tech will be looking to keep its win streak going while at the same time move up higher in the Big 12 standings.
Texas Tech leads the all-time series record with Oklahoma 15-9 with the two teams meeting for the first time in 1982. Since Big 12 play began in 1997, Texas Tech leads Oklahoma with a 9-3 record in regular season games and has a 2-2 mark against the Sooners in the Big 12 Tournament. Here is a look at the last four regular-season series with Oklahoma:
2000 Season (Lubbock) Texas Tech won the series 2-1
1999 Season (Norman) Texas Tech won the series 3-0
1998 Season (Lubbock) Texas Tech won the series 2-1
1997 Season (Norman) Texas Tech won the series 2-1
PHILLIPS, BLANKENSHIP ON ALL- AMERICA WATCH
Juniors Chris Phillips (RHP) and Nick Blankenship both appeared on the NCBWA First-Team All-America ballot this past week. Phillips is currently tied for second place in the NCAA standings for most victories this season. Phillips has a 10-2 record on the season with a 3.39 ERA and needs to pitch just 1 2/3s of an inning to reach the 100.0 inning mark this year.
Nick Blankenship is the second leading hitter on the team and is the nation's second best hitting third baseman. The race for the first-team selection at third base should be a heated one between Blankenship and Clemson's Jeff Baker. Blankenship is hitting .379 with 69 hits, 49 RBI and 10 home runs. Baker is at the .400 mark with 13 home runs, 49 RBI and 56 hits.
NOTING THE RED RAIDERS
- It took Texas Tech over two months to finally earn a series sweep and now the squad has posted back-to-back series sweeps. Tech dropped Iowa State in three games (April 6-8) and took three from rival Texas A&M (April 13-15). Texas Tech has never swept (in three games) three consecutive Big 12 opponents.
- If Texas Tech does its part this weekend in Norman, the Red Raiders could possibly move up as high as second in the Big 12 standings. Although Nebraska seems to be running away with the regular-season title, the second, third and fourth seeds in the Big 12 Tournament are still up for grabs.
- Junior hurler Matt Harbin made a statement this past week that he aspires to take the No. 3 spot in the weekend pitching rotation. Harbin picked up two wins this past week against TCU and Texas A&M. Harbin was the starter in the TCU contest and pitched 6 1/3 innings to earn the win and then came in to relieve Cory Metzler against A&M on Sunday and pitched 6.0 innings to earn the victory.
- Texas Tech has just three remaining non-conference series this season and nine Big 12 games. Texas Tech plays non-conference foes TCU and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and has Big 12 series remaining with Oklahoma, Kansas and Baylor.
- After struggling through a five-game losing streak that began on Feb. 25th with a 7-5 loss to New Mexico and continued through a 9-8 loss at Texas, the Red Raiders have gone 18-4 in their last 22 games.
- Heading into the Iowa State series, Texas Tech needed to win all of its 13 remaining home games in order to post Tech's ninth consecutive 25+ win home season. With sweeps of Iowa State and Texas A&M and a single game win over TCU, Texas Tech needs to win its final five home game to accomplish the feat.
RUNNERS ON THE PROWL
Texas Tech needs just eight more stolen bases to reach the 100 mark on the season and needs just 26 more to move up to seventh place on the all-time team stolen base list. Tech's 91 stolen bases is the best in the Big 12 conference by 23 as Nebraska sits in second place with 68 stolen bags. Tech has more than tripled the lowest mark of 28 by Iowa State.
HITTING NOTES
- Three players hit .500 in the three-game series against Texas A&M this past weekend. Austin Cranford (6 of 12), Jason Rainey (6 of 12) and Tony Arnerich (5 of 10) each hit .500 for the series.
- With runners in scoring position, Texas Tech is hitting an impressive .328 while opponents are hitting .273. With runners on third and less than two outs Texas Tech is hitting .679 and .311 with two outs and runners on third.
- Overall, Texas Tech has a better batting average against left-handed pitchers than right. Texas Tech is hitting .322 against lefties and .310 against right-handers.
- Texas Tech jumped from fourth place to second place in the Big 12 in team batting average. Tech's .313 average is second behind Nebraska who tallies a .339 average at the plate.
- Texas Tech leads the Big 12 in four individual offensive categories.
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.
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.
