Texas Tech University Athletics
Baseball Team Opens Big 12 Games With Missouri
February 24, 2000 | Baseball
Feb. 24, 2000
Missouri (4-4) at Texas Tech (7-6)
Friday, February 25 - 4:00 p.m., Saturday, February 26 - 1:00 p.m., Sunday, February 27 - 1:00 p.m. Dan Law Field - Lubbock, Texas
A Quick Look at Texas Tech: Texas Tech returns home for the first time since Feb. 13 after playing the last five games on the road. After losing four straight on the road, Tech won at New Mexico on Tuesday, 14-11. Senior designated hitter Chaz Eiguren tied an NCAA record with two home runs in Tech's 10-run fifth inning. He added a third home run in his next at bat with a solo shot. Eiguren finished the game 4-6 with with a grand slam, two-run home run, solo home run, and seven RBI.
The Red Raiders are 7-6 and have lost four of their last five and five of the last 10. Tech lost a season-high four games in a row from 2/15-20 and fell out of the top 25 for the first time since 2/13/95. The Red Raiders were shutout in back-to-back games for the first time since the 1990 season last weekend at Long Beach State. The 49er's won 3-0 on Saturday and 8-0 on Sunday. Texas A&M accomplished the feat on 3/23-24/90 at College Station.
The Red Raiders will host Missouri in the Big 12 opening series this weekend. They will face New Mexico next Tuesday at Dan Law Field and San Diego State March 3-5. The second road trip of the season will be March 10-14 when Tech goes to Texas A&M and UT-Pan American.
Take a Kid to the Game: Texas Tech will host the first-ever baseball Take a Kid to the Game day when they host Missouri on Saturday. Nine chapters of the Junior Champions for Tech, members of the Lubbock Boys Club, 500 Tech student volunteers and approximately 490 Lubbock Independent School District students will be participating. The festivities begin Saturday at 11 a.m. with a cookout sponsored by Albertson's, Mrs. Baird's, Frito-Lay and American Bank of Commerce. Texas Tech cheerleaders, pom squad members and the Masked Rider will highlight a pep rally for the students prior to the 1 p.m. game.
At the Plate: Through 13 games, the Red Raiders have outscored opponents 136-103. Tech is averaging 10.5 runs per game, but have scored 24 in the last five games. As a team, Texas Tech is hitting .322 with 39 doubles, five triples, 15 home runs and 121 RBI. With runners in scoring position, they are hitting .348 (57-164) and are 36-52 (.692) with a runner on third and less than two outs. The Red Raiders are hitting .359 (89-248) with runners on base and have swiped 14 bases in 18 attempts.
Texas Tech has hit three grand slams and nine Red Raiders have at least four extra-base hits. Chaz Eiguren leads the club in average (.468), extra-base hits (11), home runs (5), doubles (6) and RBI (24). Eiguren has six doubles this year after tallying just five in 1999.
On the Mound: The Tech pitching staff owns a 6.99 ERA (87 ER/112.0 IP) in 13 games this year. Red Raider pitchers are averaging 6.4 strikeouts per 9.0 IP (80 SO/112.0 IP) and own a 2.6:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (80 SO/31 BB). Starting pitchers have walked just 12 in 52.1 IP (2.1 BB per 9.0 IP) and the bullpen is averaging 7.1 strikeouts per 9.0 IP (47 SO/59.2 IP). Opponents are hitting .331 (159-480) and have hit 42 doubles against Texas Tech pitchers. The Red Raides have been able to use 14 pitchers in 13 games this season.
Right-hander Kevin Tracey tossed Tech's first complete game on 2/19 at Long Beach State. Tracey allowed just three runs (two earned) on six hits, one walk and five strikeouts, but suffered his second loss of the season. Steve Rowe leads the staff in appearances (8) and strikeouts (14).
Hays Notches No. 1,200: Texas Tech head coach Larry Hays became the ninth coach in NCAA Division I history to tally 1,200 career wins on Feb. 2 with a 14-3 victory over West Texas A&M. In his 30th season, Hays is 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.
Coach Hays is Texas Tech'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.
Injury Report: Texas Tech opening day starter Brandon Roberson started throwing on Tuesday. The right-hander injured his arm in the fourth inning against West Texas A&M in the season opener. He is not expected to pitch in the Missouri series.
Starting pitcher Matt Harbin will undergo an MRI on Thursday. He was injured while warming up on Friday at Long Beach State.
Outfielder Miles Durham is questionable for the Missouri series. He pulled a hamstring on 2/15 at TCU.
Texas Tech On The Air: For the eighth 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 20-minute pregame show and interviews players and coaches following each game. Games will be carried on Texas Tech's hometown station, KXTQ-950 AM.
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 Additions: Texas Tech baseball welcomes 18 new players and two new assistant coaches to the program this season. In July, Larry Hays hired Daren Hays and Britt Smith.
Daren 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.
Britt 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 18 newcomers (eight pitchers). Of those 18 new faces, there are 14 transfers and four true freshman.
Texas Tech in the Polls: The Red Raiders are not ranked in the three national polls for the first time since Feb. 1995. They opened the season on two of three preseason polls. After winning two of three games against USC, Tech was ranked 16th in the Collegiate Baseball and Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches' poll and 25th by Baseball America.
Texas Tech entered the top 25 for the first time 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 was 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 Dallas Morning News picked the Red Raiders third in a preseason Big 12 poll and named outfielder Marco Cunningham and designated hitter Chaz Eiguren to the all-conference team.
Outfielder Miles Durham was cited by Baseball America as one of the top 100 in the college class of 2000. Durham was ranked 58th by the magazine's writers and major league scouting directors. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 1997 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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 (2/11-13), Baylor (3/17-19) and Texas (4/14-16) at Dan Law Field. The Red Raiders go on the road to visit Long Beach State, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.
Eiguren declared eligible by NCAA: Senior designated hitter Chaz Eiguren was cleared by the NCAA to play this spring. Texas Tech appealed to the NCAA after Eiguren did not qualify under the NCAA-mandated statisfactory progress rule.
The Broomfield, Colo., native batted .340 last year with seven home runs and 24 RBI. In Big 12 play, he hit six of his seven home runs and posted a .442 average. In 2000, Eiguren leads Tech in average, extra-base hits, doubles, home runs and RBI.
Red Raiders vs. Tigers: Texas Tech leads the all-time series 8-5. The two schools played each other for the first time in 1965 with Missouri winning a pair of games in Lubbock. The Red Raiders and Tigers didn't meet again until the formation of the Big 12 in 1997. Missouri knocked Tech out of the 1999 Big 12 Tournament with a 8-7 victory in 12 innings.
A Quick Look at Missouri: The Tigers enter the opening Big 12 series at 4-4. They opened the season at Pepperdine losing both games, 6-5 and 10-8. Since then, Missouri has won four of six including wins over WIlliam Woods (15-5), Nicholls State (3-2), Northwestern State (2-1) and Centenary (10-2).
Head coach Tim Jamieson is in his sixth season at Missouri and owns a 166-121 career record. Jamieson, the 1996 Big Eight Coach of the Year, lead the Tigers to a 37-19 record in 1999 while finishing third in the Big 12 Tournament.
They are lead by junior outfielder J.R. Warner. Warner is hitting .323 (10-31) with a pair of doubles and six RBI. Sophomore infielder Landon Brandes lead the club with two home runs.
On the mound, Missouri features Big 12 Pitcher of the Week Logan Dale. Dale, a right-hander, tossed a two-hitter in his last start against Northwestern State. On the season, he is 1-1 with a 3.14 ERA (5 ER/14.1 IP) in two starts.
