Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Prepare For Crucial Series With Jayhawks
April 11, 2002 | Baseball
April 11, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Season Stats in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Conference Stats in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
TECH HEADS NORTH TO TAKE ON KANSAS
The Texas Tech Red Raiders will travel to Lawrence, Kan. this weekend for a crucial Big 12 series with the Kansas Jayhawks. The 25-15, 8-10 Red Raiders face a must win situation this weekend if they hope stay in the middle of the Big 12 race but it will not be easy as Tech will face a gritty Jayhawk team. Kansas comes into the weekend series with an overall record of 16-15 but has a 2-10 mark in the Big 12. The Jayhawks scored a big win on Tuesday night as they defeated in-state rival and ninth-ranked Wichita State 9-1 and then defeated Nebraska-Omaha 6-5 on Wednesday afternoon.
Texas Tech will be seeking some revenge this weekend with the State of Kansas as Kansas State defeated the Red Raiders 2-1 last weekend at home marking just the sixth time that Tech has lost a home Big 12 series. Tech and Kansas State tangled in the second longest game in school history on Friday night as the two battled through 15 innings of play before the Wildcats emerged with a 7-5 win. The Red Raiders rebounded on Saturday by scoring a 15-0 shutout but Kansas State earned a 5-1 win on Sunday to take the series.
The Red Raiders have never swept a Big 12 series with Kansas in Lawrence as the Jayhawks avoided sweeps in 1998 and 2000 by winning the middle game of each of those series.
TEXAS TECH AT A GLANCE
- The Texas Tech Red Raiders make their final regular season road trip this weekend as the squad travels to Lawrence, Kan. to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. Texas Tech will play it final 13 games of the regular-season at home which is the longest homestand to end a regualar-season in school history.
- Senior pre-season All-America candidate Nick Blankenship ranks fifth in the nation in total RBI with 54 and is 26th with a 1.38 per-game average.
- Texas Tech is currently tied for second in the Big 12 (all-games) with a .318 team batting average. In Big 12 games only, Tech's team batting average is .293 which ranks fourth. On the mound, the Red Raiders have a 4.12 ERA in Big 12 games which is third best in the league
- The Red Raiders currently have a pseudo RPI ranking of No. 23 according to the baseball website boydsworld.com.
- Texas Tech is not ranked this week by any of the four college baseball polls for the first time this season.
- The Red Raiders currently sit in eighth place in the Big 12 standings. The lowest Texas Tech has ever placed in the Big 12 is fifth back in 2000.
THE LAST TIME OUT
Melcher, Pezely Lead Kansas State Past Tech 5-1
Red Raiders fall to 8-10 in Big 12 play
LUBBOCK, Texas. - Kansas State's Kevin Melcher held Texas Tech to just three hits through six innings and Franco Pezely pitched three perfect innings of relief to give the Wildcats a 5-1 win over the Red Raiders on Sunday afternoon at Dan Law Field. With the loss, Texas Tech falls to 25-15 overall and 8-10 in the Big 12 while Kansas State improves to 18-13 and 5-4 in the league.
Kansas State scored the first run of the game when Ty Soto scored Pat Maloney from third base with a base hit to right field. The Wildcats extended their lead to 3-0 in the top of the fourth on a leadoff home run by Tim Doty and wild pitch by Tech starter Nathan Fouts that plated Gabe Luttrell from third.
Senior shortstop Gera Alaverz put Tech back in the game with a solo home run over left field wall bringing the score to 3-1. The home runs extends Alvarez' hitting streak 21 games. Kansas State got an insurance run in both the seventh and eighth innings including a solo home run over the left field fence by Gabe Luttrell to push the lead to 5-1.
Kevin Melcher (5-1) picked up the win for Kansas State while Nathan Fouts (5-5) suffered his fourth straight loss.
