Texas Tech Announces 2004 Baseball Schedule
August 12, 2003 | Baseball
Aug. 12, 2003
LUBBOCK, Texas - Director of athletics Gerald Myers and head baseball coach Larry Hays announced the 2004 Texas Tech baseball schedule today.
The 56-game, all Division I slate features 11 NCAA Tournament teams from 2003 including five teams (Texas, Rice, Baylor, Houston and Ohio State) that advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals, two final four teams and defending national champion Rice. The non-conference home schedule is highlighted by a three-game series against college baseball powerhouse Clemson March 19-21.
"This schedule is very difficult and there is no doubt about it," said head coach Larry Hays. "We are really going to have work hard in the fall and early spring because we come out of the gate pretty quickly against some great teams. This schedule should be one that our fans really enjoy because they are going to get to see some quality baseball against some top tier programs."
The Red Raiders will kickoff the 2004 campaign at Dan Law Field on Thursday, Feb. 5 as they open a three-game series against the Campbell Camels from the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Following Tech's opening weekend, the Red Raiders will travel to Houston for the annual Minute Maid College Classic that is hosted by the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Tech opens the three-game tournament against defending national champion Rice at 7 p.m. on Friday night before facing 2003 Super Regional teams Houston and Ohio State on Saturday and Sunday.
The Red Raiders will open an 11-game homestand the next week against Northern Illinois, Dallas Baptist, TCU and Harvard. Texas Tech and Dallas Baptist will meet for the first time in school history as the Patriots are making the move to Division I for the first time in 2004.
The Dell Diamond Classic in Round Rock will be another strong non-conference test as the Red Raiders will face Illinois, 2002 College World Series participant Notre Dame and Southwest Texas.
After a midweek trip to Albuquerque on March 16, Tech will return home for a big non-conference home series against the Clemson Tigers (Atlantic Coast Conference) March 19-21 at Dan Law Field. The series against Clemson is part of a one-year deal and the Red Raiders will not make a return trip.
"Hopefully this series against Clemson will give us a good chance to see where we stand before we start Big 12 play against Texas A&M, " added Hays. "Clemson is a powerhouse in this sport and my goal is to have this series sold out and make it just an incredible environment for college baseball."
An exciting new game for Texas Tech fans in West Texas gets underway in 2004 as the Red Raiders will take on the Houston Cougars on Tuesday, March 23 at the First American Bank Ballpark in Midland. First American Bank Ballpark is home to the Double A Midland Rockhounds and the ballpark will host these two schools for one game each season beginning in 2004.
"We are really looking forward to this new yearly game against Houston," said Hays. "We have several players on our team from Midland plus Tech has a huge fan base down there so it should be something really special. Texas Tech doesn't have the luxury of playing many other games in West Texas outside of Lubbock so I hope it is something that is embraced."
Texas Tech begins its Big 12 schedule on the road as the Red Raiders will battle rival Texas A&M at Olsen Field in College Station March 26-28. Tech will return home to face the Texas Longhorns April 2-4 before heading to Lincoln to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers April 9-11.
The 2004 home Big 12 schedule includes Texas, Kansas State (April 16-18), Oklahoma (April 23-25), Missouri (May 7-9) and Baylor (May 21-23). The 2004 Big 12 Baseball Tournament returns to the Ballpark In Arlington and will run May 26-30. The NCAA Tournament gets underway on June 4 and wraps up with the College World Series June 18-28 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
Season tickets will be made available to the general public in early November and interested persons may contact the Athletic Ticket Office at (806) 742-TECH.
2004 Baseball Schedule in PDF Format
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