Texas Tech University Athletics
Baseball Set For 2006 Home Opener
January 31, 2006 | Baseball
Jan. 31, 2006
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (0-0; 0-0)
vs.
LOUISIANA-MONROE INDIANS (0-0; 0-0)
Date(s): February 3-5, 2006 (Friday - Sunday)
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Stadium: Dan Law Field (5,050)
Texas Tech vs. Louisiana-Monroe - Gameday Central
Texas Tech Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
RED RAIDERS SET TO OPEN 2006 SEASON AT DAN LAW
The Texas Tech Red Raiders will throw the first pitch of the 2006 season at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3 against Louisiana-Monroe. The weekend series against the Indians will mark the 57th season of Red Raider Baseball and the 53rd consecutive.
The Red Raiders enter the 2006 season with a plethora of new faces as only 14 lettermen return from last year's squad while 23 newcomers will get their first taste of Big 12 baseball. Tech is coming off a 34-25 season in 2005 and an eighth place finish in the Big 12 regular-season standings. Tech defeated top-seeded Nebraska in the first game of last year's Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City before dropping its final two games to Missouri and Nebraska. The squad missed out on an NCAA regional berth for just the second time in the last 11 seasons.
Joey Callender comes into the season as Tech's top returning hitter and is also the Big 12's top returning player as he stroked his way to a .362 average in 58 games last season. Callender is a unanimous pre-season First-Team All-Big 12 pick and will most likely play at either second or third base. In 2005, he split time at both positions compiling 24 starts at second and 33 at third.
Texas Tech will hit the road following the weekend series against the Indians as the Red Raiders open up a four-game road swing that will take the squad to Houston and Albuquerque. Tech will play in the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park Feb. 10-12 before facing the New Mexico Lobos on Valentine's Day.
Season tickets are still on sale for the upcoming season and can be purchased online at www.texastech.com or by calling the Texas Tech Athletics Ticket Office at (806) 742-TECH.
SCOUTING LOUISIANA-MONROE
This weekend's series will mark the season-opener for Lousiana-Monroe and the Indians will be looking for a series win in their first-ever trip to the Hub City. The Indians are coming off a 26-29 season in 2005 and are under the guidance of sixth-year head coach Brad Holland.
The Indians will return 17 letterwinners from last season while adding 15 newcomers to the mix and that includes seven new faces on the mound. James Bennett was the team's top hitter in 2005 and returns for his senior season where he hopes to build on a solid junior campaign. Bennett logged 55 starts in 2005 and finished with a .333 batting average, seven doubles, seven triples, 13 home runs and 45 RBI. Bennett was recently tabbed as the No. 26 senior in college baseball among Baseball America's Fab-50 senior list and is a pre-season candidate for the Brooks Wallace Award. The Indians also return the services of Steve Lawler who hit .375 in 40 games last season including two doubles and 13 RBI.
On the mound, the Louisiana-Monroe staff totaled a 4.41 ERA and has six returning hurlers to go along with seven newcomers. Jared Jennings is the top returning pitcher on the staff and he finished the 2005 season with a 3.35 ERA and a 2-1 record over 37 2/3 innings.
Baseball fans may remember that current Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets was a standout hurler for the Indians in 1999 and led them to the Southland Conference title. Sheets pitched in the 2005 MLB All-Star game and was the winning pitcher in the 2000 Olympics Gold Medal game in Sydney.
AGAINST THE INDIANS
This weekend's series will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
NEXT UP FOR TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders hit the road for a four-game road stand that includes three games at the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park (Feb. 10-12) and a single-game in Albuquerque against the New Mexico Lobos on Feb. 14th. Tickets for the Houston College Classic can be purchased at www.astros.com.
JUST THREE MORE FOR HAYS
Another year, another milestone in the outstanding coaching career of Texas Tech skipper Larry Hays, who begins his 20th season with the Red Raiders on Friday. Last season, Hays became just the fifth coach in NCAA history to reach the 1,400-win mark and now stands three wins shy of surpassing the legendary Cliff Gustafson.
Three wins by the Red Raiders will give Hays 1,428 career wins and that will surpass the record of 1,427 set by Gustafson during his 29-year career at Texas. Surpassing Gustafson, will make Hays the third winningest coach in NCAA history.
CALLENDER ON WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST
Senior infielder Joey Callender was one of 120 baseball student-athletes named to the 2006 Brooks Wallace Watch list. Callender was also on the Wallace Watch during his junior season with the Red Raiders.
Callender returns to the squad for his senior season and is the Big 12's top returning hitter (by average) as he finished the 2005 season with a .362 clip. Callender was a unanimous First-Team All-Big 12 selection last season and has garnered the same recognition again in 2006 on the preseason lists. He made 57 starts last season (24 at second and 33 at third) and finished with 15 doubles, one triple and 48 RBI.
The Brooks Wallace Award is presented annually by the College Baseball Foundation and honors the memory of former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace.
LOTS OF NEW FACES
Probably the best word to describe Texas Tech as it enters the 2006 season, is inexperienced. The Red Raiders have a total of 23 new faces on the team and only seven returning players who saw significant playing time in 2005. Randy Gattis and Casey Zachry are the only two players returning who have been in the program for more than one season, but due to redshirt seasons Gattis and Zachry only have one year of playing experience.
Despite the inexperience, the Red Raiders have a talented group of newcomers that the Tech coaching staff believe can move things in the right direction. Tech's biggest need in the off-season was pitching and the Red Raiders got just that. Hays and company landed three of the top junior college pitchers in the nation while also picking up some young arms needed for stability.
Defensively, Tech lost its entire starting outfield and three infield positions from a year ago but seem to have found able bodied replacements in Kyle Martin, Brian Capps, Roger Kieschnick (OF), Drew Evans (OF), Blair Wilkins (OF), and Matt Smith.
LOCAL FLAVOR
Baseball fans from the South Plains will get to watch some homegrown products over the next few years as Tech has five players from Lubbock on the roster.
Chris Richburg (Frenship), Miles Morgan (Coronado), Cody Fielding (Frenship), Brian Cloud (Lubbock Cooper) and AJ Ramos (Estacado) all earned roster spots and will play key roles this season. Tech will add another local player to its lineup in 2007 when Taylor Ashby joins the program from Lubbock Monterey.
TECH FACES TOUGH SCHEDULE IN `06
Larry Hays and his squad face a difficult task in 2006 when it comes to scheduling. The Red Raiders will face 11 teams that earned spots in the NCAA Tournament in 2005, six that went to the NCAA Super Regionals and five that advanced to the College World Series in Omaha.
Of the five teams that advanced to Omaha in `05, three will make appearances at Dan Law Field this year and that includes defending NCAA champion Texas. Tech will host the Longhorns in a three-game series to kick off Big 12 play March 17-19. Tech will then face the Baylor Bears two weeks later in a three-game set March 31 - April 1. Arizona State will come to Dan Law for a midweek game on Monday, April 17th.
TECH IN SEASON OPENERS
Friday's game against Louisiana-Monroe will mark the 57th season for Red Raider baseball and will be the programs 2,260th game all-time. The first official season for Texas Tech came back in 1926 and after the 1929 season, Tech did not field a team again until 1954 and has done so each year since.
Texas Tech has an all-time record of 34-22 on opening day and is 21-8 when opening the season at home. Tech has won its last seven season openers with the last loss coming to New Mexico in 1998.
BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL RELEASED
The Big 12 Conference coaches announced their preseason predictions and the Red Raiders have been picked to finish in a tie for eighth place with Kansas. Tech completed the 2005 season with a 34-25 record and an eighth place Big 12 finish with a 9-16 mark. The last time Tech was picked to finish that low was in 2004 (picked seventh) and that team went on for a third-place mark behind Texas and Oklahoma.
BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
1. Texas
2. Nebraska
3. Missouri
4. Baylor
5. Oklahoma
6. Oklahoma State
7. Texas A&M
T-8. Kansas Texas Tech
9. Kansas State
TECH TEAMS UP TO AID TULANE
For the second straight season, Texas Tech Baseball has partnered with the American Red Cross in order to provided much needed financial assistance to those in need. In 2005, Tech baseball fans were able to pledge any dollar amount per home run that the team hit over the course of the season. The success of that program led to a more finely tuned approach for this season.
Money raised from this year's version of Teammates For Red Cross will directly benefit hurricane victims still living in the Hub City as well as Tulane University students. The Tulane Baseball team spent the fall semester on the Texas Tech campus after Hurricane Katrina left thousands stranded after its deadly march over the Gulf Coast region.
