Texas Tech University Athletics
Battle In The Show-Me-State
March 30, 2005 | Baseball
March 30, 2005
No. 25 Texas Tech (18-8; 2-3) vs. Missouri (21-4; 3-0)April 1-3, 2005 - 6:30 p.m./6:30 p.m./1 p.m.
Taylor Stadium - Columbia, Mo.
Texas Tech vs. Missouri - Gameday Central
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NO. 25 TEXAS TECH HEADS TO MISSOURI FOR WEEKEND SERIES
The 25th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders will be looking to get back on track in the Big 12 race as the squad opens a three-game series at league-leader Missouri this weekend. Texas Tech and Missouri will throw out the first pitch at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night and the series will continue at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Tech and Missouri will wrap up the weekend with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday. All three-games of the Tech-Mizzou series can be heard locally on KKAM-1340 or worldwide via the College Sports Pass on www.texastech.com.
Texas Tech enters the weekend series fresh off a 5-4 win over Texas-Arlington on Tuesday that snapped a three-game losing streak. The Red Raiders stand at 18-8 on the season but fell to 2-3 in Big 12 play after falling to Texas in two games this past weekend. Tech has lost its last three Big 12 contests after starting out the season with two straight wins over then eighth-ranked Texas A&M in the conference opener at Dan Law Field.
The Red Raiders will be entering some hostile territory over the weekend when they travel to Columbia. Texas Tech has not won a series at Missouri since the 1999 season when the Raiders rebounded from a Friday night loss to win the next two games. Tech's last win at Missouri was a 10-1 decision on March 31, 2001.
The Tigers are off to a hot start this season with an overall record of 21-4 and they currently lead the Big 12 with a spotless 3-0 record. The Tigers will get their first big test of the season this weekend as they will face a ranked opponent for the first time. The Tigers have an unofficial RPI of No. 98 and strength of schedule ranking of 235 (according to boydsworld.com).
Following the weekend series, Texas Tech will most likely host a non-conference game at Dan Law Field on Tuesday. The opponent has not yet been determined and more details will be announced later. Tech will return to action over the weekend as the Oklahoma State Cowboys come to Dan Law Field for a three-game series April 8-10.
BLAIR HITS SIXTH CAREER GRAND SLAM
Senior shortstop Cameron Blair picked up his sixth career grand slam and the third of the season on Friday against Texas at Disch-Falk Field in Austin. Blair already owns the school and Big 12 records as he surpassed Tech's Nick Blankenship (2001-02) and Oklahoma's Jose Montenegro (1997-98) with his fifth slam earlier this season against Western Illinois.
The single-season school and Big 12 record is three and that is held by both Blair and Montenegro. Blair has belted three slams in each of his two seasons at Tech while Montenegro hit three for the Sooners in 1998.
The NCAA does not track career grand slams but the single-season record is held by Alabama's Kyle Brian who hit six in 1984.
TECH BOASTS SIX TEAMS IN TOP 25
Texas Tech currently has six team sports that are ranked in the national Top 25. The Tech football team finished the 2004 season ranked 17th in the coaches poll and 18th by the Associated Press. The Lady Raider basketball team is currently ranked 14th while the men's basketball team comes in at No. 24. The men's tennis team is currently ranked 10th in the latest ITA poll and that is the highest rating in school history. The men's track team, under head coach Wes Kittley, is currently 17th in the latest Trackwire Top 25 poll. The Red Raider baseball team is ranked 25th in this week's Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches poll.
LEWIS IMPRESSIVE IN SECOND OUTING
Senior right-hander Fielding Lewis was one of the only bright spots for the Tech pitching staff this past weekend in Austin. Lewis, a senior transfer from the Univ. of Dallas, made just his second appearance of the season on Thursday in a bases loaded situation. Lewis pitched Tech out of the inning with out any runs scored and went on to toss two more shutout frames for his longest outing of the year.
The most impressive note on Lewis it that this was just his second career outing as a pitcher. Lewis has spent his entire career as a position player and was an outfielder at the University of Dallas before transferring to Tech this season.
FULLER ENJOYING STRONG SENIOR SEASON
Senior center fielder Cody Fuller is enjoying his best year in a Red Raider uniform since joining the team as a freshman in 2002. Fuller, who is known as one of the best defensive outfielders in the Big 12, is the team's leading hitter with a .426 average and his fourth on the squad with 21 RBI. Fuller has also been Tech's top hitter in Big 12 play as he totals a .412 average along with five RBI.
With 16 stolen bases this season, he ranks second in the Big 12 conference behind Matt Baty of Kansas. Fuller's speed along with his bat and stellar defensive abilities (just one errors in 63 chances) make him one of the top candidates for Big 12 Player of the Year honors.
This season marks the first time in his career that he will not be going through spring football drills as he is concentrating solely on baseball.
HAYS MOVES PAST HARTMAN AT VA. TECH
Texas Tech Head Coach Larry Hays has, momentarily, surpassed Virginia Tech Head Coach Chuck Hartman on the all-time NCAA coaching wins list. Hays is now the NCAA's fourth winningest head coach and the third active with a career record of 1,409-760-3. Hartman's Virginia Tech Hokies are 7-9 on the season and that gives him a career record of 1,408-764-8.
TECH vs. MISSOURI
Texas Tech and Missouri will be meeting for the 26th, 27th and 28th times this weekend as the two teams play a three-game series at Taylor Stadium in Columbia. The Red Raiders lead the all-time series by the slimmest of margins at 14-13 and are 6-5 in games played in Columbia. Missouri has certainly had the upper hand in this series recently as the Tigers have won four of the last five.
The Red Raiders have not won a three-game series in Columbia since 1999 when Tech won 2-1. Missouri won the three-game series at Dan Law Field last season 2-1 and the Red Raiders dropped a weather shortened set 2-0 in Columbia in 2003. Texas Tech is 0-3 in one-run games against Missouri and since Big 12 play began in 1997, the Raiders have outscored the Tigers by a margin of 161-144.
The two teams first met in 1965 when the Tigers came to Lubbock and won two games on March 25 (6-3) and March 25 (26-3).
ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM
Opposing pitchers and catchers--BEWARE--Tech is on the prowl again in 2005. After sporting the quickest team in the Big 12 in 2004, the Red Raiders are looking for a repeat. Texas Tech leads the league with 65 stolen bases and that is 18 more than second place Nebraska who has 47 on the year.
Tech has three players who rank in the conference's Top 8 in Cody Fuller, Chris Williams and Cameron Blair. Fuller is second in the league with 16 stolen bases while Williams is third with 14. The Red Raiders have averaged 110 stolen bases in each of the last four seasons.
DEFENSIVE CHANGES CONTINUE
Head Coach Larry Hays has built his 37-year career on one major principle - strong defense. So in an effort to give Tech the best defensive look, the Tech coaching staff has moved preseason All-American Cameron Blair from shortstop to second base.
The experimentation began last weekend in Austin when Hays replaced Carey Avants with Brian Capps at second base. On Tuesday against UTA, Hays moved Blair and was impressed with his range at the position and has decided to leave him there indefinitely. Blair already has 12 errors on the season after committing just 14 all of last season.
RED RAIDER TIDBITS
- Texas Tech fell out of the Baseball America poll this week and dropped to No. 25 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Top 25 poll.
- Senior center fielder Cody Fuller, who recently moved into fourth place on the school's all-time stolen bases list, now totals 72 stolen bases in his four year career. Fuller needs just two more stolen bases to move into third place all-time. His 16 stolen bases this year is second in the Big 12 Conference.
- The Red Raiders have won six-straight games on two different occasions this year. The longest losing streak was a three games between March 20 and March 25.
- Texas Tech's team batting average of .334 ranks second in the Big 12 behind Kansas State who has a .335 team average.
- Senior shortstop Cameron Blair is on pace to tie or even surpass his home run total (14) from last season. Blair hit two home runs against Texas A&M and one against Texas to give him eight on the season. His eight home runs ranks third in the Big 12 behind Nebraska's Alex Gordon (10) and Oklahoma State's Adam Carr who has nine dingers on the year.
- Losing power hitters Josh Brady and Michael Mask has certainly had its effect on Tech's offensive numbers this season. After 25 games last season, Tech had 37 home runs and 69 doubles while this year the Red Raiders have gone yard 20 times and hit 42 doubles.
- Senior right-fielder Madison Edwards is just six games away from moving into second place on the career games played list at Texas Tech. Edwards has played in 190 games in his four year career and can move past Randy DuRoss who played in 1995 games between 1992 and 1995.
- Cameron Blair needs just one more home run to move him into a tie for ninth place on the career home runs list at Tech. Blair has 22 home runs in his two seasons as a Red Raider. Blair is also 16 RBI short of moving past Bobby Kohler into ninth place on the all-time RBI list.
FROM THE HILL
- Tech pitching coach Travis Walden took the redshirt off of freshman left-hander Brady Conine on Tuesday in the game against UTA. Conine threw just two pitches and retired one batter in the fifth.
- Junior Zach Butler picked up his fourth win of the season in relief on Tuesday against UTA. Butler (4-0) pitched the final 1 2/3 innings and was the last available Tech pitcher as the Red Raiders traveled only seven to the game.
SCOUTING MISSOURI
Missouri comes into the weekend series riding a 13-game win streak and is one of the hottest teams in the country with an overall record of 21-4. The Tigers took a 16-8 decision from in-state rival Saint Louis on Tuesday night.
The Tigers have a team batting average of over .310 and are led offensively by left fielder Hunter Mense. Mense has a team-high .395 batting average along with 24 RBI. Center fielder James Boone leads the squad with five home runs and is also the conference leader in RBI with 45.
The Tiger pitching staff is led by Max Scherzer who is 5-1 on the season with a 1.21 ERA.
