No. 9 Tech To Face No. 5 Arkansas In CWS 1-0 Game

OMAHA – The No. 9 Texas Tech baseball team prepares to face No. 5 Arkansas in the winner's bracket of 2018 College World Series on Tuesday, June 19, at 6 p.m. on ESPN at T.D. Ameritrade Park in Omaha.

The Red Raiders (45-18) and the Razorbacks (45-19) play the 1-0 game after both teams won their openers on Sunday. Tech defeated No. 1 Florida, 6-3, in the late contest, while Arkansas dropped No. 13 Texas in the opener, 11-5.

All of the final round of games will air on the ESPN family of networks and can be streamed on the ESPN app or on WatchESPN.com. As always, Tech games can be heard on 97.3 FM, the 97.3 app, the TuneIn app and online at TexasTech.com.

It'll be the second meeting between the Red Raiders & Hogs, as the two faced each other in Fayetteville on April 24. Tech dropped the contest, 5-1, moving to 14-45 in the all-time set. The two teams have squared off four times at neutral sites, last doing so in 2016 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

Sunday's win marked the first time the Red Raiders have ever won their CWS opener and the second victory in Omaha in school history. The first also came against the Gators in 2016, as Tech defeated the once-again No. 1 team, 3-2, in an elimination matchup.

The Red Raiders are playing in their third College World Series in school history, doing so in each of the last three even years, making the CWS in 2014 for the first time and returning in 2016. Tech is one of just three programs with three or more appearances in Omaha in the last five years.

The third berth was clinched on June 11 at the end of a three-game set with Duke in the NCAA Lubbock Super Regional at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. The Red Raiders won game one of the series, 6-4, after erasing a 3-0 deficit & taking the lead in the eighth to capture the opener. After a loss in game two, Tech rebounded and never trailed in the finale to punch its ticket to the next round.

Arkansas is making its ninth College World Series appearance, last clinching a trip to Omaha in 2015. The 2018 Razorbacks defeated Oral Roberts (10-2), Southern Miss (10-2) and Dallas Baptist (4-3) in Regional action, before taking two of three from South Carolina in the supers, both in Fayetteville.

The 2018 postseason marks the 13^th appearance for the Red Raiders and the third year Tech has advanced to Super Regional action. The previous two came in 2014 and 2016, as both clubs won the Supers to continue their seasons.

The Red Raiders reached the second weekend of postseason play after sweeping the Lubbock Regional for the first time in school history. Tech picked up a 9-2 victory in game one over New Mexico State, then moved into catbird seat with a 10-4 win over Louisville in the 1-0 contest. After the Cardinals staved off elimination against Kent State, the Red Raiders threw down 11 runs in their second game against Louisville for an 11-6 victory to advance with a clean 3-0 slate.

Tech was selected as the No. 9 national seed by the NCAA Selection Committee, making it the third-straight year Tech was named a national seed for the tournament. The Red Raiders have spent the entire 2018 season ranked in the top 10 via both nationally-voted on polls & the NCAA RPI Rankings.

The Razorbacks head into the 1-0 matchup hitting .302 as a squad, with five starters above the team average. Casey Martin & Heston Kjerstad both top the Hogs at .346, as Kjerstad leads the team in RBI with 57 and is tied with Eric Cole for the most runs scored at 63. Cole paces the unit with 86 hits this year, as Arkansas has tagged opposing pitchers for a 7.10 team ERA. Its own pitching staff sits with a 3.57 clip, while holding opponents to a .237 mark at the plate.

The Red Raiders offense continues to lead the Big 12 and ranks fifth in the country with a .311 overall clip, as six starters are hitting above the team line. Sophomore Josh Jung paces the class with 99 hits, 78 RBI and 69 runs scored. Freshman Gabe Holt & sophomore Grant Little follow closely with 92 & 90 hits, respectively, while Holt is one off Jung's run total at 68. Tech's hitters have tagged opposing pitchers for a 7.83 ERA this season, while the Red Raider pitching staff has held opponents to a .243 average at the plate for a 4.38 team ERA.

Four Red Raiders picked up All-America accolades this year. Little grabbed his sixth by the ABCA, while Jung has five to his name. Holt added an honorable mention All-America award to go with his three freshman AA marks, while senior Zach Rheams joined the group as a second teamer by the ABCA on Saturday.

Eleven Red Raiders were selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft last week, the most in program history. Grant Little (74^th – San Diego Padres), Steven Gingery (123^rd – St. Louis Cardinals), Ryan Shetter (262^nd – Atlanta Braves), Jose Quezada (291^st – San Diego Padres), Davis Martin (408^th – Chicago White Sox), Ty Harpenau (472^nd – Atlanta Braves), Caleb Kilian (595^th – Baltimore Orioles), Cody Farhat (703^rd – Cleveland Indians), Michael Davis (724^th – Minnesota Twins), Dylan Dusek (796^th – San Francisco Giants) and Zach Rheams (800^th – New York Mets) were all taken in this year's class, which had the most of any D-I program through the first 30 rounds of the draft.

The Red Raiders will either play Thursday or Friday depending on the result of Tuesday night's game with Arkansas.

No. 9 Tech To Face No. 5 Arkansas In CWS 1-0 Game

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Players Mentioned

Michael Davis

Dylan Dusek

Cody Farhat

Steven Gingery

Ty Harpenau

Gabe Holt

Josh Jung

Caleb Kilian

Grant Little

Davis Martin

Jose Quezada

Zach Rheams

Ryan Shetter