Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Host Baylor In Season Finale
May 20, 2004 | Baseball
May 20, 2004
TEXAS TECH vs. BAYLOR
May 21-23, 2004; Dan Law Field
Lubbock, Texas; 6:30 p.m./2 p.m./1 p.m.
Texas Tech vs. Baylor - Gameday Central
Get Your Tickets Now!
Tickets for this weekend's series against Baylor are still available and can be purchased through the Texas Tech Athletic Ticket Office that is located in the north end of Jones SBC Stadium (Football). Tickets can also be purchased by phone at (806) 742-TECH or 1-888-GOBIG12. Fans who wish to purchase tickets online line can do so by visiting the Texas Tech Ticket Office here at www.texastech.com.
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If you are the ultimate Texas Tech baseball fan then you need to be a member of the College Sports Pass. The College Sports Pass is a video and audio service at www.texastech.com that takes you right to the action of Red Raider baseball. The CSP is just $6.95 per month while quarterly and yearly subcriptions are available. Check out the latest on the College Sports Pass.
Weekend Promotions
The Texas Tech Athletics Department will sponsor one promotion for each of the three games against Baylor.
Friday - Fan Appreciation Night - Fans that purchase tickets at the game will receive a special 2-for-1 ticket discount. The first 500 fans through the gate will receive a free Tech t-shirt.
Saturday - Bottle Koozie Day - The first 500 fans will receive a free bottle koozie when entering the stadium.
FCA Game Day - Area Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddles will purchase group tickets for this game, which will feature a concession package and post-game autograph session with Tech players and coaches.
Sunday - Senior Day - Baseball seniors will be honored in a special pre-game ceremony.
Kids Club Sunday - All Baseball Kids Club members will be admitted free to this game, by presenting their membership card.
ABC Bank Super Sunday - Fans will sign up for their chance to win up to $5,000 in cash during the game. Entry forms are located at the game program stand, inside the stadium.
Campus Map - Dan Law Field
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Red Raiders Battle Baylor In Weekend Series
The Texas Tech baseball team will wrap up the 2004 regular-season this weekend as the Red Raiders host the Baylor Bears in a three-game series at Dan Law Field. The series is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night and then continue at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The third and final game will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The Red Raiders (35-17; 14-9) enter the weekend series on a hot streak as Tech has now won three games in a row after a 20-3 pounding of New Mexico State on Tuesday night. Tech won the final two games of the series against Oklahoma State to improve to 14-9 in Big 12 play and the Red Raiders sit just a half game ahead of the Bears who are in fifth. Texas Tech is ranked 29th nationally in the Collegiate Baseball Magazine Poll and is 25th in the NCBWA (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association) Top 30.
The Baylor Bears come to Lubbock with a 27-26 overall record after splitting two midweek games against second-ranked Rice and Texas Southern. The Bears fell to Rice 6-4 on Tuesday and then went on to defeat Texas Southern 11-3 on Wednesday night. Baylor has found its groove since Big 12 play (13-9) began and the Bears are trying to seal up a spot in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The Baylor cause was helped dramatically over the weekend as they recorded a three-game sweep of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Baylor has an unofficial RPI ranking of No. 38 and has won 11 of its last 15 contests after starting out the season 5-13.
With just a half-game separating Tech from Baylor and a full-game separation from Texas A&M, the weekend series against the Bears is crucial for seeding in the upcoming Big 12 Conference Tournament that is set to get underway next Wednesday in Arlington. The tournament will be held at Ameriquest Field May 26-30.
All three games of the Baylor series will be carried live on the Red Raider Baseball Radio Network (KKAM-1340 locally) while Friday's game will be televised locally on UPN.
The Tech-Baylor Series
Texas Tech and Baylor will meet for the 120th, 121st and 122nd times this weekend as the two teams will play a three-game series at Dan Law Field. The Red Raiders lead the all-time series with Baylor (63-56) that began back in 1928 when Baylor handed Tech a 15-1 loss in Lubbock. Texas Tech holds a 13-9 advantage since the Big 12 began back in 1997 and is 39-17 against the Bears in Lubbock. Baylor's last win at Dan Law Field was on March 22, 1998 as the Bears prevailed 10-6 to clinch the series win 2-1.
A Look At Baylor
The Baylor Bears enter the weekend series against Texas Tech with a 27-26 overall record and a 13-9 mark in Big 12 play. The Bears are coached by Steve Smith who is in his ninth season at Baylor (370-229-1) and helped lead the Bears to within one game of the College World Series last season.
The Bears have had two different seasons in 2004 as Baylor was just 5-13 at the beginning of the year and have since responded by winning 13 game in Big 12 play. Baylor is projected as an NCAA Tournament team due to its high ranking in the pseudo-RPI's(No. 38) and a strength of schedule that ranked 10th out of 286 teams.
Offensively, Baylor is led by outfielder Reid Brees (brother of San Diego QB Drew Brees) who is batting .342 on the year with 14 doubles and 22 RBI. Third baseman Michael Griffin leads the squad with 38 RBI while Josh Ford leads the team in home runs with 10.
On the hill, the Bears have a staff ERA of 3.27 (second in the conference overall) and total 356 strikeouts and 169 walks. Abe Woody leads the staff with a 1.49 ERA as he is 5-0 with five saves in 25 appearances and 42 1/3 innings.
Oklahoma State Recap
- Texas Tech won the series 2-1 after dropping the Friday night game 14-2.
- Tech maintains its hold on fourth place in the Big 12 standings with the win and is a half game ahead of Baylor who swept Nebraska over the weekend in Waco.
- Texas Tech's four home runs in the ninth inning on Sunday was the most in a single inning since Texas Tech hit four homers in the first inning against Missouri on April 5, 1997 in Columbia.
- Cody Fuller finished the series with a .500 batting average as he was 5-for-10 with five RBI and a grand slam home run.
 Senior RHP Corey Gerstner was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week. | |
Gerstner Earns Weekly Big 12 Honor
Texas Tech senior hurler Corey Gerstner has been named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week by a panel of media covering the Big 12 after an outstanding weekend against No. 22
The Burkburnett, Texas, native picked up his second save of the season in the Saturday contest as he pitched the final two innings of the game allowing no runs on three hits and struckout one. In Sunday's come from behind win, he allowed just one unearned run on two hits and struckout two in two innings of work.
Whoa Nelly!
Fans in attendance at Sunday afternoon's baseball game between Texas Tech and Oklahoma State at Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater witnessed one of the greatest comebacks in Red Raider history. With all Keith Jackson expressions aside, the Red Raiders nine-run top of the ninth inning was truly spectacular...here's how it went...
The fireworks began in the top of the ninth as junior center fielder Cody Fuller led off with a hard hit single through the left side and Cameron Blair followed with a two-run home run that bounced off the screen in left field. Michael Mask then reached base on a fielding error by first baseman Mario Matulich and Josh Haney pulled Tech to within one when he hit a two-run homer to left. Madison Edwards recorded the first out of the inning in the next at-bat when he flew out to center field.
Head Coach Larry Hays elected to pinch-hit Dallas Braden for Ryan Andrews after OSU pulled starter Scott Richmond for Daniel Rew. Braden responded with a double to the gap in right-center and Jose Delgado followed up with a walk and Matthew Coco singled to left to load the bases. Down in the count 0-2, Cody Fuller came up with his second hit of the inning and it was the biggest of his career as he launched a grand slam home run over the wall in left field to give the Red Raiders their first lead of the day 10-7. The grand slam was the first of his Red Raider career and was just his second home run of the season. Tech wasn't through there as Blair came up to the plate and hit his second home run of the inning when he belted a solo dinger that landed on the playing field at the Oklahoma State softball stadium in deep left.
 Senior third baseman Josh Haney is one of four Tech players with 10 or more home runs this year. | |
Briefly
- Senior right-hander Steve Gooch needs just 10 more innings on the bump to move past Monty Ward into fifth place on the all-time innings pitched list at Texas Tech. Gooch has logged 261.0 innings in three years while Ward tallied 270 2/3.
- Texas Tech now has four players (Josh Brady (17), Michael Mask (13), Cameron Blair (11) and Josh Haney (10)) with 10 or more home runs on the year marking the first time since the 1998 season when Tech had five players hit 10 or more.
- The Red Raiders have a pseudo-RPI of No. 31 according to boydsworld.com.
- Josh Brady's 78 RBI on the season is the most since Chaz Eiguren's 76 back in 2000. His 78 RBI ranks eighth on the single season list at Tech and he currently ranks second nationally in RBI-per-game at 1.50.
- Texas Tech will finish one game under the 56-game regular-season limit allowed by the NCAA. New Mexico cancelled two games with Tech due to scheduling penalties imposed by the NCAA and Tech was unable to find a replacement for that last game.
- With an average of 9.3 runs per game, the Texas Tech scoring offense ranks sixth nationally.
- Texas Tech leads the Big 12 in stolen bases with 126 on the year and has three players (Brady, Fuller and Delgado) with 20 or more stolen bags.
- Tech boasts three of the top eight sluggers in the Big 12...Cameron Blair third at .368...Josh Brady seventh at .355 and Josh Haney eighth at .354.
