No. 8 Tech Closes Regular Season at Home Against TCU

LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 8 Texas Tech baseball team returns from finals break to host TCU on May 16-18 at Rip Griffin Park in the final home series of the regular season, presented by UMC Health System.

All three games are set for 6:30 p.m. start times. Thursday's game will air on FOX Sports Southwest, followed by FOX Sports Southwest Plus on Friday and ESPNU on Saturday. As always, fans can listen on the Texas Tech Sports Network on 97.3 FM, the TuneIn App, the 97.3 app and online at TexasTech.com. Live stats will be available through TexasTech.com/sidearmstats.

Saturday will be Senior Day for Red Raider first baseman Cameron Warren. The Midwest City, Okla., native has had a memorable campaign as the lone senior on the roster. He leads the Big 12 in RBI with 65 and is the team-leader with 13 home runs.

On Thursday, Tech will be giving out Tim Tadlock shirseys to the first 500 fans in the park. Sunday, 1,500 cell phone fans will be handed out at the gate. Limited tickets remain available for purchase online or by calling the Texas Tech Ticket Office at 806-742-TECH.

The Red Raiders (34-14, 14-7) will be well rested heading into the three-game set with nine days between competitions. Tech's last outing was a 9-6 win over FIU in a shortened doubleheader on April 7.

TCU, meanwhile, heads to Lubbock after a 10-5 midweek loss to Lamar on Tuesday. The Horned Frogs (28-22, 10-11) had previously won consecutive Big 12 series at West Virginia and against Kansas. TCU is hovering near the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, sitting at fifth in the league standings.

Tech is in a three-way battle for the Big 12 crown entering the final week of the regular season. Tech is currently a half game back of Baylor, who travels to Oklahoma State this weekend. The Red Raiders can secure their third Big 12 title in four years by finishing a game better than the Bears this weekend.

The Red Raiders are one of the hottest teams in the nation with 11 wins in their last 12 games. Tech is peaking at the right time with eight straight conference victories, including ranked series wins over No. 18 Baylor and No. 16 Oklahoma State.

Tech moved up one spot in the NCBWA poll to its current No. 8 ranking. The Red Raiders are slotted in the Top 10 in four of the six major polls. Tech is the highest ranked Big 12 team in five of the six polls and has been ranked in the Top 10 by at least one poll for nine weeks this season.

Thursday's meeting will be the 168th all-time between Texas Tech and TCU. Dating back to 1957, the series is Tech's most played all-time for the Red Raider baseball program. Tech has won two of the last three series against the Horned Frogs and holds a 39-36 advantage in games played in Lubbock. The Frogs, however, lead the all-time series 92-74-1 behind a 21-2 start through 1970.

Texas Tech has been dominant at home once again this season with a 23-5 mark at Rip Griffin Park. Red Raider faithful have built one of the nation's top home field advantages during the Tim Tadlock era, helping Tech to a 170-50 record since 2013. Seven sellout crowds have packed into Rip Griffin Park this season, and an average attendance of 3.708 this season ranks 14th in the country.

Offensively, Tech is averaging 9.6 runs per game at home and outscoring its opponents 269-148. The Red Raiders are outhitting its competition .332 to .265 in home games with a whopping .539 slugging percentage as a team.

Texas Tech will remain with the same starting rotation it has used in the last two weekend series with freshman Micah Dallas starting the series opener followed by junior Caleb Kilian on Friday and sophomore Arkansas transfer Bryce Bonnin for the finale.

TCU will counter with junior left-hander Nick Lodolo, junior right-hander Charles King and junior lefty Brandon Williamson. Lodolo (6-4) ranks third in the Big 12 with a 2.39 ERA. King (4-2) has been TCU's top arm during conference play with a team-best 2.66 ERA.

Following the three-game series, Texas Tech will gear up for the 2019 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City on May 22-26. Tech will then learn its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday, May 26.

No. 8 Tech Closes Regular Season at Home Against TCU

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Players Mentioned

Bryce Bonnin

Micah Dallas

Caleb Kilian

Cameron Warren