RED RAIDERS TRAVEL TO MISSOURI
After wrapping up a five-game homestand with a midweek sweep of UNLV, the Red Raiders return to action this weekend in Columbia, Mo. Tech will open up a three-game series against the Missouri Tigers on Friday night at Taylor Stadium. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m. and the series continues at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Tech and Mizzou will wrap up the weekend at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Tech fans who plan to make the trip to Columbia can purchase tickets in advance by logging on to www.mutigers.com. UP NEXT
Texas Tech will get a much deserved break next week as the university begins its final exam period for the spring semester. The Red Raiders will not play again until Tuesday, May 6 when they travel to Dallas for a midweek matchup against Dallas Baptist. Following the game against DBU, Tech will travel to Manhattan for a three-game series at Kansas State (May 8-10). THE TEXAS TECH-MISSOURI SERIES
This weekend's series in Columbia will match the seventh and eighth place teams in the current Big 12 Conference standings. The Red Raiders enter the weekend in seventh with a 9-9 record while Missouri stands in eighth place at 8-10. Friday's contest will mark the 41st all-time meeting between the two teams with Missouri leading the series 21-19. The series dates back to March 25, 1965, when the Tigers took a 6-3 win over the Red Raiders in Lubbock. Since that first meeting, the series has leaned heavily towards the home team with Tech owning a 12-6 lead in games played in Lubbock while Missouri is 10-7 against the Red Raiders in Columbia. Tech's last trip to Columbia resulted in a three-game sweep by the Tigers. SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Missouri enters the weekend series against Texas Tech with a 21-20 overall record and an 8-10 mark in Big 12 play. The Tigers dropped a 7-3 decision to arch-rival Kansas in a non-conference match-up on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Missouri owns a .266 team batting average and is led by Greg Foliga who is hitting at a .331 clip. Foliga is also the team leader in home runs (7) and RBIs (42). On the mound, the Tigers have a 4.74 earned run average and 13 of the 15 pitchers on the staff have logged 10-plus appearances. Friday starter Kyle Gibson is the ace of the staff and stands at 6-3 on the year with a 3.00 ERA over 69 innings of work (five complete games). The Tigers are scheduled to throw nine different pitchers (one each inning) on Saturday against Tech's AJ Ramos. Defensively, the Tigers are just ahead of the Red Raiders with a .960 team fielding percentage. The Tigers have committed 61 errors on the year with third baseman Kyle Mach leading the way with 10. RED RAIDERS ON THE AIR
Texas Tech's entire schedule in 2009 including both regular-season and post-season action will be carried live on the flagship station of the Texas Tech Sports Network, KKAM-1340. The Texas Tech Sports Network begins its 16th season of full coverage of Red Raider Baseball. Robert Giovannetti will handle the play-by-play duties for the second year in a row and will be assisted by Matt Miller and Blayne Beal. Network pregame coverage begins 30 minutes prior to first pitch and concludes with a postgame show. Live audio streams will be available for all road games through RaiderVision All-Access while live video/audio will be available for all home games. SHORT HOPS
- Texas Tech's midweek sweep of UNLV marked a first for the Red Raiders this season ... Tech last swept (two games) a midweek opponent at the end of last season (New Mexico State).
- Junior center fielder Taylor Ashby tied his season-high, seven-game hit streak in the series finale against UNLV ... Chris Richburg and Scott LeJeune are each riding six-game hit streaks.
- Junior RHP Nate Karns will get the start on Sunday in the series finale against Missouri ... he replaces Miles Morgan who has struggled in his last two outings.
- Tech played errorless in back-to-back games against UNLV to increase its fielding percentage to .957 ... Tech has played error free in back-to-back games on four different occasions this year.
- Texas Tech has scored 52 runs in its last five games and scored 10-plus runs in three contests ... Tech scored 10 and 14 respectively against UNLV.
- Senior first baseman Chris Richburg is the team leader in batting average (.350), home runs (11), RBIs (42) and on-base percentage (.480).
- Sophomore RHP Chad Bettis is the team's leading pitcher with a 4-0 record along with six saves ... he owns a 2.54 ERA over 16 appearances (four starts) and 56 2/3 innings.
- Texas Tech has loaded the bases on four different occasions and has been unable to drive in a single run. The latest was on April 1 in Albuquerque when Tech loaded them up in the fourth only to allow UNM reliever Ryan Escarcega to retire three straight batters without allowing a run.
- Tech's series win over UNLV has given the Red Raiders an unofficial RPI of No. 90.
- Texas Tech has surpassed its sacrifice hit total from last season as the Red Raiders now have 42 in 2009. Tech managed just 36 sacrifice bunts in all of 2008.
FRESHMEN ARE LEADING THE WAY
Texas Tech's youth is starting to pay off for Dan Spencer and it couldn't' come at a better time. With the conference race at a full gallop, three true freshmen are coming up big for the Red Raiders down the stretch. Garrett Totten, Scott LeJeune and Justin Berry have combined for 37 hits over Tech's last nine games and been instrumental in Tech's recent surge.
- Totten has led the way over the last nine games with a .400 average while LeJeune is right behind him at .389 ... Justin Berry has posted a .344 clip.
- The three players have combined for 18 of Tech's 58 RBIs.
- Berry posted a career-high four hits and four runs scored in the series opener against UNLV on Tuesday.
- Totten helped Tech earn a sweep of UNLV on Wednesday by notching a career-high four hits (4-for-4) with three RBIs.
- LeJeune is currently second on the team with a .348 batting average.
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