Texas Tech University Athletics
Larry Hays Aims For 1200th Win In Season Opener
January 27, 2000 | Baseball
Jan. 27, 2000
Season Opener: The Texas Tech Red Raiders open the 2000 campaign in Edinburg, Texas against UT-Pan American. The Red Raiders are opening on the road for the second time in three years. Tech opened the 1999 season with a four-game sweep of Howard at Dan Law Field. In 1998, the Red Raiders opened the schedule with a loss at New Mexico. It is just the second time in school history that the baseball team has started the season before February 1. The only other January season opener was in 1992 when Tech hosted Howard Payne on the 24th. Texas Tech has lost four of the last six season openers and is 6-4 since 1990. Overall, the Red Raiders are 28-22 on Opening Day.
Head Coach Larry Hays: Texas Tech head coach Larry Hays will become the ninth coach in NCAA Division I history to tally 1,200 career wins with Tech's first victory in 2000. In 29 seasons, Hays has tallied 1,199 wins and will be one of only four active NCAA Division I skippers to reach the 1,200-victory plateau. Entering the 2000 season, Coach Hays ranks fourth among active coaches and ninth among all-time coaches in career victories. Hays started his coaching career at Lubbock Christian University where he compiled 695 wins. In 13 seasons at Texas Tech, he has notched 504 victories.
Entering his 14th season at Texas Tech, Hays is the school's all-time winningest coach. He has led the Red Raiders to to three conference championships and posted winning seasons in 12 of his 13 years. The Red Raiders have put together a streak of seven straight 40-plus win seasons and five NCAA Regional appearances under Hays. In 1998, he guided Tech to the Big 12 Tournament Championship with just seven pitchers.
He was named 1997 Big 12 Coach of the Year after the Red Raiders won the conference title with a 23-7 Big 12 mark. Texas Tech also claimed the No. 1 ranking in collegiate baseball for several weeks, the first time a Red Raider sport was ranked No. 1 in school history. In the summer of 1997, he was an assistant coach for the USA National Team. In 1995, Texas Tech set a school record with 51 wins and advanced to the Midwest I NCAA Region championship game.
In 29 seasons at the collegiate level, Coach Hays has led teams to 12 league titles and guided his 1983 Lubbock Christian University team to the NAIA national championship.
Texas Tech On The Air: For the seventh consecutive season, the entire Texas Tech baseball schedule will be broadcasted live on the Red Raider Baseball Network. A number of Big 12 games will be available on statewide affiliates. Voice of Texas Tech Baseball Sam Stephens will handle the play-by-play duties. Stephens has a 15-minute pregame show and interviews players and coaches following each game. Games will be carried on Texas Tech's hometown station, KXTQ-950 AM.
Texas Tech's official website, www.texastech.com, will carry all 54 games in 2000. All fans need to do is click on "audio broadcast" in the live coverage box on the front page. The games will be streamed in RealPlayer, which can be downloaded at www.real.com or off texastech.com's audio-video page.
Coach Hays on the Air: Coach Hays morning radio show will run on Thursday mornings on KKAM-1340 AM. Coach Hays will talk with Tech football/basketball broadcaster Jack Dale from 8-9 a.m. starting in mid-March.
The 1998 season marked the debut of The Larry Hays' Show, coach Hays' weekly television show. In its third season, the show will air on Sunday nights beginning March 19 and run through May 14. It will be broadcasted on ABC-affiliate KAMC at 11:00 p.m. and CBS-affilate KLBK at 11:30 p.m.
New Additons: Texas Tech baseball welcomes 21 new players and two new assistant coaches to the program this season. In July, Larry Hays hired Daren Hays and Britt Smith.
Hays returns to Texas Tech after serving as the head coach at Lubbock Christian the past eight seasons. He spent the 1991 season as a Tech assistant where he was the hitting coach. While at LCU, Coach Hays compiled a 356-163 record and became the first LCU coach to win 300 games in just seven seasons. He will work with Red Raider outfielders and hitters.
Smith also comes to Texas Tech from Lubbock Christian where he was the pitching coach last year. Prior to LCU, Smith played and coached at West Texas A&M. He played all nine positions for the Buffalos. Coach Smith has assisted three other former assistants of Larry Hays - Jimmy Shankle (former LCU head coach), Todd Howey (Tech grad and current West Texas A&M head coach) and Daren Hays. He will work with the Texas Tech pitching staff.
Coach Hays will look to replace All-Americans Josh Bard and Shane Wright with 21 newcomers (11 pitchers). Of those 21 new faces, there are 16 transfers and five true freshman.
Injury Report: Outfielder Miles Durham will miss the first two weeks of the regular season after injuring his right hand in practice last week. The junior sprained the thumb on his throwing hand. Marco Cunningham will move to centerfield while Durham is unable to play.
Infielder Eric McLamore will miss the first series while he recovers from a nerve injury in his throwing elbow.
Texas Tech in the Polls: The Red Raiders are ranked in two of three preseason polls. Tech is ranked 18th in the Collegiate Baseball poll and 20th in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches' poll. They enter the season unranked by Baseball America.
Texas Tech entered the top 25 when they were ranked 23rd by Baseball American on 3/18/91.
The Red Raiders were ranked No. 1 for three weeks in 1997 by Collegiate Baseball. They held the top spot from 4/14-28 after being ranked 25th in the preseason poll.
Preseason Honors: RHP Brandon Roberson was named preseason third team All-American by Collegiate Baseball. The senior right-hander will be Texas Tech's opening day starter. Roberson was named first team All-Big 12 last year after setting the single season school save record (10) in 1999.
The Schedule: The 2000 baseball schedule features a number of teams ranked up and down the preseason top 25 polls.
Tech plays six teams in the preseason Collegiate Baseball poll, three in Baseball America and six in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN poll.
Red Raider opponents in the preseason polls posted a 255-131 (.661) overall record in 1999.
Texas Tech will host Southern California, Baylor and Texas at Dan Law Field. The Red Raiders will go on the road to visit Long Beach State, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.
Eiguren to miss season opener: Senior Chaz Eiguren will be out of the season opening series at UT-Pan American while an appeal concerning his status under the NCAA-mandated satisfactory progress rule is addressed. Texas Tech expects to have a ruling from the NCAA office no later than Feb. 1.
Eiguren, a senior, hit .340 with seven home runs and 24 RBI last season. He batted .442 and hit six of his seven home runs in 16 conference games. Chad Landry is expected to assume the designated hitter role when the Red Raiders open the season at UT-Pan Amercian.
