Texas Tech University Athletics
No. 22 Texas Tech Hosts Northern Iowa This Weekend
February 27, 2003 | Baseball
Feb. 27, 2003
NORTHERN IOWA (0-3) at NO. 22 TEXAS TECH (10-4)
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Northern Iowa
Series Location: Lubbock, Texas
Stadium: Dan Law Field
Capacity: 5,050
Dates: Feb. 28-March 2, 2003
Game Times: 3 p.m./1 p.m. (DH)/1 p.m.
Radio: All Sports Radio Network (1340 KKAM);Mark Finkner (Play-By-Play);Jason Totman (Color)
Internet: www.texastech.com; Game Audio & Live Box Score
PITCHING ROTATIONS
Friday
Steve Gooch, RHP (2-1, 2.42 ERA)
vs. TBA
Saturday
Juan Razo, RHP (1-1; 3.31 ERA) GM1
vs. TBA
Jeff Karstens, RHP (4-0; 3.52 ERA) GM 2
vs. TBA
Sunday
Tanner McElroy, RHP (0-0; 3.86 ERA)
vs. TBA
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NO. 22 RED RAIDERS BEGIN EIGHT-GAME HOMESTAND
The 22nd-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders return home to the friendly confines of Dan Law Field where they will begin an eight-game homestand on Friday. Texas Tech kicks off the eight-game stretch with a four-game series against Northern Iowa on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. The series was originally scheduled for three games but after the cancellation of the Texas-Pan American series both head coaches agreed to play four games over the weekend. The two squads will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and then wrap up the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Texas Tech took the road for the first time last weekend to Fort Worth but was only able to come away with one win as the Horned Frogs swept the No. 22 Red Raiders in a doubleheader on Saturday. The first win on Saturday snapped a 10-game win streak by Texas Tech over TCU that spanned over three seasons. After losing two well played one-run games, Tech responded with a 7-5 win on Sunday in the series finale.
Texas Tech will return to action again next weekend as the Red Raiders will host the Southwest Texas Bobcats in a three-game series starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 7. The homestand will come to an end on Tuesday as the Red Raiders will host TCU at 7 p.m.
The Athletics Department will host "Coca-Cola Friday" for Friday's game with Northern Iowa as fans can receive $2 off admission by bringing an unused Coke product to the Dan Law Field ticket office. Fans who have purchased tickets for Saturday's men's game against Texas can show their game ticket for the 1 p.m. baseball game and receive free admission.
BRIEFLY
- Texas Tech maintained its ranking of No. 22 in this week's Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll. Tech also moved up one spot to No. 32 in the NCBWA Poll. Texas Tech has been nationally ranked in each of the last nine seasons.
- According to Boyd Nation's baseball website (www.boydsworld.com), Texas Tech has a No. 35 intended strength of schedule.
- Texas Tech and Northern Iowa will meet for the first time on the baseball diamond this weekend.
- Former catcher Willie Durazo will throw out Friday's first pitch. Durazo was a standout catcher for Tech last season and transferred from Northern Iowa.
A LOOK AT NORTHERN IOWA
The Northern Iowa Panthers (Cedar Falls, Iowa) kicked off their 2003 season last weekend in Monroe, La. in a tournament hosted by Louisiana-Monroe. Northern Iowa, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, was unable to escape with a win as the team went 0-3 through the tournament with losses to Northwestern State, Missouri and host Louisiana-Monroe. The Panthers are batting .262 as a team through three games this season while Nate Trumm leads all hitters with a .750 average (6-of-8).
The Northern Iowa pitching staff surrendered 25 runs last weekend (22 earned) giving them a 7.92 team ERA. Defensively, the Panthers are fielding at .964 after committing four errors in the field.
NEW ROTATION GIVES TECH A NEW LOOK
Texas Tech's newest weekend rotation has given the 2003 Red Raiders a completely new look just 14 games into the season. Juan Razo replaced Nathan Fouts in the Saturday spot while Jeff Karstens replaced Dusty Buck in the Sunday role and both pitchers had outstanding first starts last weekend.
Steve Gooch (the only player to remain in the rotation) pitched a complete seven-inning game in the first game of the doubleheader and Juan Razo followed him up with an eight-inning complete game of his own. Razo struckout a career-high eight batters but unfortunately lost the game when TCU's Jake Duncan hit a three-run home run on a high fastball in the fourth inning.
Jeff Karstens picked up his fourth win of the season on Sunday in his first start of the year and pitched 5 1/3 innings. Karstens held TCU hitless through the first 3 2/3 innings and finished with two strikeouts and allowed just three hits. Dusty Buck made his first appearance in relief in that same game and picked up his first career save opening himself up to the possibility of becoming a closer as the season progresses.
HANEY PICKS UP WHERE MCGILL LEAVES OFF
Junior third baseman Clint McGill had a 12-game hit streak snapped in the second game of a doubleheader against TCU on Sat. Feb. 22. McGill was the only player on Tech's team that had recorded a hit in every game of the season up to that point. Junior second baseman Josh Haney, however, picked up right where McGill left off and has now rattled off a team-high 13-game hit streak. Haney is tied with Kansas State's Ty Soto for the fourth longest active hit streak in the Big 12.
Big 12 Longest Hitting Streaks of 2003 21-Omar Quintanilla, Texas (2002-03) 15-Brett Williams, Kansas State (2002-03) 14-Matt Tribble, Kansas (2003) 13-Josh Haney, Texas Tech (2003) 13-Ty Soto (2002-03) 12-Clint McGill, Texas Tech (2003) 12-Ryan Baty, Kansas (2003) 12-Ross Bennett, Baylor (2002-03)
IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE - IT'S CODY FULLER?
Outfielder Cody Fuller has taken his introduction music (Theme from Superman) to heart lately as the sophomore Smithson Valley product has been one of Tech's hottest hitters over the last several games. In the last seven games, Fuller has led the team with an overall batting average of .417 (10-of-24) and has made 6-of-7 starts in center field. He has picked up four walks, a sacrifice fly, a sacrifice bunt, two doubles and one triple. On the base paths he is 4-for-4 in stolen bases and has fielded a perfect 1.000% (18 putouts and two assists).
OFFENSIVE NOTES
- The Texas Tech offense entered the weekend series with TCU averaging 13.1 hits per game but after consecutive games with less than seven hits against the Frogs, that number has fallen slightly to just 12.1 per game. Texas Tech helped its average by turning in a 15-hit day in the series finale on Sunday.
- Tech's .351 batting average ranks second in the Big 12 behind that of Kansas State, however, Texas Tech has played 10 mores games on the year than the Wildcats.
- 16 of Tech's 23 stolen bases have come in the last seven games.
- Josh Haney is the leading hitter in the Big 12 Conference as he is batting .469 on the year with 23 hits in 49 at-bats. Haney also leads the league in doubles with seven.
- Junior designated hitter Evan Shahak leads the league with five home runs.
- Texas Tech has a batting average of .374 in home games this season and a .263 average in three road games.
- Tech is batting .367 with runners in scoring position; .603 with runners on third base and less than two outs; .318 in pinch hitting situations.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
- Texas Tech is fielding at a remarkable .985 on the season and leads the Big 12 Conference but is just ahead of Baylor who is fielding at .982.
- Tech has rattled off two 30+ errorless inning stretches this year and one 27+ stretch.
- In just 14 games this season, Texas Tech has gone without an error in nine games. Last season, it took the Red Raiders 30 games before getting their ninth errorless game of the year. In 2001, a year in which Tech was playing with a completely new infield as well, it took that team 33 games before they finally picked up their ninth errorless game. Texas Tech led the league in fielding that season with a .971 average. Tech was second in the Big 12 in fielding last year with a .971 fielding percentage
- Only four of Tech's eight fielding errors have been charged to infielders (one for both Josh Haney and T.J. Bruce and two for Clint McGill). Outfielder Scooter Jordan has been responsible for three errors while pitcher Steven Thomas has been charged with one.
PITCHING NOTES
- Junior pitcher Steve Gooch leads the Big 12 with two complete games on the season. Gooch is 2-1 on the year with a team-best 2.42 ERA.
- After three stellar pitching performances over the weekend against TCU, the team ERA fell 60 points from 5.91 to 5.31. The team ERA, however, still ranks last in the Big 12 Conference.
- Senior Dusty Buck made his first appearance out of the bullpen this season and picked up his first career save against TCU in the series finale on Sunday.
