Texas Tech University Athletics
2010 Opening Day Set For Friday
February 16, 2010 | Baseball
Feb. 16, 2010
2010 RED RAIDER CLASSIC
Texas Tech, Jacksonville State, Michigan
Friday, Feb. 19 - Sunday, Feb. 21
Dan Law Field, Lubbock, Texas
4 p.m./4 p.m./11 a.m./2 p.m.
 | MEDIA COVERAGE |
Television - None
Network Radio - Texas Tech Sports Network
Live Audio/Video - RaiderVision All-Access
Gameday Information - Gameday Central
Texas Tech Notes | Jax State Notes | Michigan Notes | Big 12 Notes
 | NOTING THE RED RAIDERS |
Texas Tech opens up the 2010 season on Friday, Feb. 19, in what will be the second game of the Red Raider Classic when the Red Raiders face Jacksonville State at 4 p.m. The Red Raider Classic is a three team, round-robin tournament that will feature the host Red Raiders along with Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, Ala.) and the University of Michigan. Tournament play begins at 1 p.m. on Friday with Jacksonville State facing off against Michigan while the night-cap will feature Tech against Jacksonville State. The Red Raiders will face Michigan on Friday afternoon (4 p.m.) and both the Wolverines and Jacksonville State on Sunday.
RANKINGS
None of the three teams participating in the Red Raider Classic are ranked by the USA TODAY/ESPN TOP 25 Coaches Poll, Baseball America or the NCBWA (National Collegiate Baseball Writers).
TEXAS TECH SPORTS NETWORK
All 56 regular-season games will be carried live by Learfield Sports on the Texas Tech Sports Network. Red Raiders fans can listen to all the action on Double T 104.3 (the flagship station of the Texas Tech Sports Network) in Lubbock or KHOB 1390 AM in Hobbs, N.M. Fans outside of the above listening areas can tune in via the world wide web at texastech.com and purchase a monthly subscription to RaiderVision All-Access. Robert Giovannetti returns to the broadcast booth for his third season as the play-by-play voice while Daren Hays joins the network as the full-time color analyst.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Red Raider fans unable to make it out to the ballpark can follow Texas Tech baseball games anywhere in the world through Gameday Central at texastech.com. Live scoring, audio and video (video only available for home games and select road games), a live game blog and twitter updates can all be found at Gameday Central. Comprehensive parking, weather, tailgating, security and ticket information can also be found in this convenient location.
THE SERIES
The Red Raider Classic will feature the 149th and 150th different teams to make an appearance in the Texas Tech annals since the school fielded its first baseball team back in 1926. Texas Tech will face Jacksonville State for the first time in its opening game of the classic while the Red Raiders will battle Michigan for the first time on day two of the tournament.
RED RAIDER CLASSIC NOTES
A total of six games will be played over the span of three days in a round-robin style format. All games will be played at Dan Law Field and an all-tournament team will be announced on Sunday.
Jacksonville State will be making an appearance in the state of Texas for the first time since 2007 when they dropped a three-game series (0-3) at Texas A&M (Feb. 23-25). Michigan heads south to the Lone Star State for their first appearance since the 2006 Quala-T Imprints Classic at Baylor Ballpark in Waco where the Wolverines went 1-2 (losses against La. Tech and Baylor and a win over Pacific).
Texas Tech has never faced a team on the diamond from the states of Alabama or Michigan.
The 2010 Michigan baseball team will be the first Wolverine squad to play Texas Tech in Lubbock in any sport.
Between Jax State and Michigan, only one player on the two rosters hails from the state of Texas. Michigan junior RHP Travis Smith is a native of Austin and a product of Stephen F. Austin High School.
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE
The Jacksonville State Gamecocks will be the first team on the slate for the Red Raiders in 2010 and are members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Gamecocks ended the 2009 season with a 31-26 overall record and a 10-13 mark in the OVC which landed them sixth place in the final league standings. Jax State returns 20 lettermen off last year's squad, including eight starting position players. As a team, the Gamecocks posted a .297 batting average and a 5.01 staff ERA. Kyle Bluestein, the team's leading hitter from 2009, returns for his sophomore season after posting a .393 average as a freshman. Right-hander Austin Lucas returns for his senior campaign after anchoring the Gamecock pitching staff last season with a 3.93 ERA and a 7-3 record. Jax State is coached by Jim Case who is 226-183 in his eighth season with the Gamecocks.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
The Michigan Wolverines make their inaugural jaunt to the South Plains after finishing the 2009 season with a 30-25 overall record and a 9-15 mark in the Big Ten (seventh place finish). The Wolverines missed out on the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time in five years as they had been to four consecutive postseason tournaments. Michigan has won two national championships and made seven appearances in the College World Series. In 2007, the Wolverines narrowly missed out on a trip to Omaha as they dropped an NCAA Super Regional at Oregon State when Texas Tech head coach Dan Spencer was on the Beaver staff as the pitching coach.
The Wolverines return 19 lettermen from last year's squad, including six starting position players and three starting pitchers. As a team, Michigan tallied a .294 cumulative batting average along with a 4.82 ERA. Junior centerfielder Ryan LaMarre, a preseason third team All-America selection, was the team's leading hitter a year ago with a .344 average and 12 home runs. Mike Dufek, the team's ERA leader last season, returns for his senior season after posting a 2.70 ERA and 1-1 record in 2009.
OPENING DAY 2010
Texas Tech opens up its 61st season on the diamond in 2010 with the Red Raider Classic which is the beginning of a 10-game homestand. Tech baseball falls only behind football and men's basketball as the longest running sport and dates all the way back to the 1926 season. Tech's first collegiate baseball game resulted in an 18-9 win over West Texas A&M. The 1926 squad featured just 14 players and was coached by E.Y. Freeland. The program was disbanded for 25 years before returning to action again in 1954, led by Beattie Feathers. In 60 seasons, the Red Raiders have compiled a record of 1,389-1,086-9 along with two regular-season conference titles and two conference tournament championships. On Opening Day, the Red Raiders have compiled a 37-23 overall record and a 24-5 mark when opening the season at home. Texas Tech won its season-opener last season with a 14-3 victory over Southern Utah.
TUBERVILLE TO THOW OUT FIRST PITCH
Texas Tech head football coach Tommy Tuberville, who took over the program on Jan 10, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Red Raiders' 2010 season opener against Jacksonville State. Tech's season opener, coincidentally, comes against a team from the state of Alabama that is probably familiar with coach Tuberville as he spent 10 seasons as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers. Coach Tuberville and the football Red Raiders will begin spring practice on March 22 and conclude on April 17 with the Spring Game.
10-GAME HOMESTAND
Texas Tech will open up the 2010 season with a 10-game homestand marking the longest home stint since 2008 when the Red Raiders played 10-straight at home between March 20-April 2. The last time Tech had a 10-plus game homestand to start a season was in 2003 when the Red Raiders played their first 11 games at Dan Law Field.
2010 SCHEDULE IS NO CAKE WALK
Texas Tech has a daunting task ahead of them in 2010 as Boyd Nation of boydsworld.com has calculated the Red Raider's strength of schedule at No. 11 nationally. Tech has the third toughest schedule amongst Big 12 schools behind No. 1 Baylor and No. 9 Texas A&M. No. 19 Kansas, No. 20 Texas and No. 25 Missouri round out the top 25 from the Big 12. In all, the Red Raiders will face 14 teams on the slate that advanced to last year's NCAA Tournament.
Boydnation.com Top 11 (Preseason Strength of Schedule)
1. Baylor
2. UCLA
3. Washington
4. San Diego
5. USC
6. Stanford
7. Long Beach State
8. Georgia
9. Texas A&M
10. California
11. TEXAS TECH
RED RAIDERS THANKFUL FOR EXTRA WEEK
The NCAA gave schools all across the country a little bit of breathing room in 2010 as the spring schedule will now cover 56 games in 13 weeks as compared to 12 weeks in 2009. The week long extension, opposed by only a few, will reduce the number of two-game series in the midweek and should hopefully increase the amount of time spent in the classroom. As a result, Texas Tech will only play four two-game midweek series in 2010 as opposed to the seven played last season. The future of NCAA baseball could see the extra week being given at the end of the season which would move the College World Series back one week.
NEW FACES ON THE MOUND
The 2010 season will bring about several new faces on the mound for the Red Raiders as eight new pitchers will join six returning letterman to make up the Texas Tech staff. A total of five transfers will be called upon to help make an immediate impact and they will be joined by two newcomers from the high school ranks and one who completed a redshirt in 2009. Transfers Bobby Doran, Brett Bruening and Jay Johnson are expected to figure into major roles on the staff with Doran and Bruening taking up starting roles with Johnson serving as the closer. Sophomore Louis Head, who spent most of his freshman season as a middle reliever, is expected to be a midweek starter but could also earn a spot on the weekend.
