Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Hosts New Mexico State For Three Games
February 04, 2000 | Baseball
Series Preview: New Mexico State (4-0) and Texas Tech (1-0) will tangle this weekend starting on Friday with a 4 p.m. game. The two schools will meet again at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be at Dan Law Field.
A Quick Look at Texas Tech: The Texas Tech baseball team starts its first series of the season with a three-game set against New Mexico State. Head coach Larry Hays won his 1,200th career game on Wednesday when the Red Raiders defeated West Texas A&M, 14-3. Tech scored 10 runs in the second and third innings, highlighted by David O'Keeffe's grand slam in the second. Five Red Raiders recorded multihit games as Tech scored 14 runs on 14 hits. Outfielder Miles Durham returned earlier than expected with a sprained thumb injury to start in right field.
The Red Raiders have won three of their last five season openers and two in a row at Dan Law Field to start the season. Tech was orginally scheduled to start the season on Jan. 28 at UT-Pan American, but the games were cancelled due to inclement weather. Tuesday's game with West Texas A&M was also cancelled because of bad weather.
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 Tuesday with the 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. He started his coaching career at Lubbock Christian University where he compiled 695 wins. In his 14th season at Texas Tech, he has notched 505 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.
Roberson to Miss Next Start: Texas Tech starter Brandon Roberson will miss his next start due to a muscle strain in his throwing arm. The right-hander injured his arm in the fourth inning against West Texas A&M on Wednesday. He was scheduled to start on Sunday against New Mexico State. Roberson will have an MRI on Friday afternoon.
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. Former baseball sports information director Kelly Robinson will provide color commentary for home games. 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.
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 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.
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. He is expected to fill the designated hitter role for the Red Raiders in 2000.
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 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.
A Quick Look at New Mexico State: The Aggies of New Mexico State come to Dan Law Field after sweeping a pair of doubleheaders last weekend against Sul Ross State. Head coach Rocky Ward is in his fourth season at New Mexico State and returns four starters from a club that was 18-38 a year ago. Gary Ward, Rocky's father and former Oklahoma State head coach, is an assistant on the Aggies coaching staff.
They are lead at the plate by first baseman Jeremy Faltys who went 6-13 in the opening series with three doubles and six RBI. Phil Pawlowski was 4-10 in the series with two RBI.
On the mound, all four starters were victorious last weekend over Sul Ross State. Todd Uzell allowed just one run on one hit over 5.0 IP in his first start and Bobby Reed allowed four runs (three earned) and six hits in 6.0 IP.
