Texas Tech University Athletics
2004 Texas Tech Baseball Season Review
July 02, 2004 | Baseball
July 2, 2004
LUBBOCK, Texas - When the 2004 Texas Tech baseball team is permanently documented in the Red Raider history books, it will most likely be regarded as one of the most competitive group of players to ever call Dan Law Field home. They began the season shouldering the burdens of 2003 but ended the year accomplishing something that doesn't happen often in the modern era of sport. They became a team.
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Each and every season is marked by big comebacks and key victories but there was something different about this team and this season. With just a handful of players returning from 2003, this group put a whole new meaning to the term inexperienced and most everyone felt like the Red Raiders would be middle of the pack in the Big 12. At best.
The league coaches certainly thought so as they picked Tech to finish in seventh place in the preseason Big 12 standings, but what the league coaches and other critics didn't know (but would soon find out) was that head coach Larry Hays had found the right mix of players to return the Red Raiders to the Big 12's elite.
From the very first pitch against Campbell on Feb. 5, it seemed the Red Raiders had something to prove. A home series sweep of Campbell helped propel Tech to the annual Minute Maid College Classic in Houston where the Red Raiders went 2-1 with wins over 2003 Super Regional participants Ohio State and Houston. Tech would go 16-7 through the portion of the schedule leading up to the series opener with Texas A&M and that included a 2-1 home series win over the ACC's Clemson Tigers.
Tech didn't have to wait long for its date with arch rival Texas A&M as the Red Raiders and then 10th-ranked Aggies battled in the Big 12 opener at Olsen Field March 26-28. The battle was won by Texas A&M as the Aggies won the first two games of the series before the Red Raiders fought back to salvage the final game of the series with a 14-5 win. The road didn't get much easier for Tech as the top-ranked Texas Longhorns won a series at Dan Law Field for the first time since 1996 as they swept a doubleheader in a rain shortened two-game series on April 3.
Just when everything seemed to be going wrong, the Red Raiders hit the road and rediscovered what had made them successful earlier in the year. Texas Tech's Big 12 fortunes began to change in Lincoln, Neb., where the Red Raiders won their first series against Nebraska since 1997 as they took the series 2-1 from the then 12th-ranked Huskers. From there Texas Tech would win five of its last six conference series, including three, three-game sweeps and would finish the regular season in third place.
Midway through the season, the 2004 squad became known as the comeback kids as the Red Raiders never felt they were out of the game until the final out had been recorded. There were several late inning wins and comebacks but there are three games that will long be remembered by diehard Tech baseball fans.
The Sunday game against then 22nd-ranked Oklahoma State in Stillwater was an important one for both teams in that the winner most likely would finish higher in the final Big 12 standings. The series was tied 1-1 heading into Sunday and for eight innings, the game belonged entirely to Oklahoma State. Down 7-2 in the top of the ninth with just two hits in the entire game, the Red Raiders offense needed a spark...it got an explosion.
Josh Haney and Cameron Blair both hit two-run homers to pull Tech to within one at 7-6 and most importantly with still no outs in the inning. Five batters and two outs later, Cody Fuller came back to the plate (after getting the inning started with single to left) only to find the bases loaded. Down 1-2 in the count, Fuller sent the Texas Tech contingent into a frenzy when he belted a grand slam home run over the left field wall to give Tech the lead at 10-7. The dramatics were not over yet as Blair also went back to the plate and hit a solo home run to give him two in the inning and the Red Raiders an 11-7 lead and Tech held on for an 11-8 win.
Then there was the Saturday game against Baylor on May 22 in which both teams had to fight a stiff West Texas wind and after the Bears scored 12 runs in the top of the seventh (taking an 18-10 lead) it seemed like the deficit was too great for Tech. Once again, the Red Raiders rebounded and scored nine runs in the bottom half of the seventh while Cameron Blair put the finishing touches on that rally with a three-run homer that gave Tech a 19-18 win.
The never say die Red Raiders turned in some more magic in the NCAA Atlanta Regional on June 5th against Mississippi State. Tech, who had lost earlier in the day to top-seeded Georgia Tech in the winners bracket, quickly found themselves playing in an elimination game just hours later against the Bulldogs and were down 7-4 in the top of the eighth. Tech went on to score eight runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth to eliminate Mississippi State (14-7) and advance to the regional championship game.
Although the Red Raiders were unable to pull off the upset of national No. 4 seed Georgia Tech in the NCAA Atlanta Regional, Texas Tech did make its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in what turned out to be a 40-win season. The 40-win season is the 11th in school history and Tech has now been to the NCAA tourney in nine of the last 10 years.
Despite great team chemistry, there were a couple of individuals who really stood above the crowd in 2004 and in the process earned some much deserved national attention. Junior first baseman Josh Brady earned both first and second team All-America honors from virtually every news and baseball organization for a stellar year at the plate in which he hit .362 with 20 home runs, 90 RBI (2nd in the nation) and stole a Big 12 best 34 bases. Junior shortstop Cameron Blair picked up third-team All-America honors from Louisville Slugger as he finished the year with a .371 batting average, 23 doubles, 14 home runs and had 81 RBI (fifth most in the nation).
Texas Tech Head Coach Larry Hays and his "Comeback Raiders" of 2004 gave Tech fans plenty to cheer about but most importantly they reestablished a winning attitude. An attitude they hope will help make for an extended NCAA post-season run in 2005.
