Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Baseball 2011 Final Season Notes
July 28, 2011 | Baseball
July 5, 2011
2011 Texas Tech Baseball Final Season Notes 
2011 FINAL SEASON NOTES
The Texas Tech baseball season came to a close with the Red Raiders finishing the 2011 season with a 33-25 overall record and 12-15 record in Big 12 play. The Red Raiders finished their campaign in the Big 12 Conference Championship for the third consecutive season. Tech dropped both of its games to eventual tournament champion Texas A&M and nationally-ranked Oklahoma. The following are the final 2011 Texas Tech baseball season notes.
GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY AT DAN LAW FIELD
Texas Tech University had its official groundbreaking ceremony at Dan Law Field on Friday, June 24, as university officials, project donors and special guests gathered at the home of the Red Raiders. The $5 million renovation will take 220 days (Jan. 30, 2012) to complete as private donations will provide Tech with one of the best on-campus facilities in the nation.
TOMLINSON EARNS ABCA RAWLINGS D-I GOLD GLOVE AWARD AS NATION'S TOP SS
Junior shortstop Kelby Tomlinson became the first player in Big 12 Conference history to be awarded the American Baseball Coaches Association Rawlings Division I Gold Glove Award as the top defensive shortstop in the country. The Rawlings Gold Glove Team is comprised of only nine players to represent each position on the field while players from all 300 NCAA D-I programs were nominated.
FORMER TECH RHP Zach Stewart MAKES MLB DEBUT
Zach Stewart became the 22nd Texas Tech baseball player to make his Major League Baseball Debut on Thursday, June 16, as he started for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Baltimore Orioles. Stewart received a no-decision in the Jays' 4-3 loss. He exited the game after pitching seven innings with the score tied at 2-2. He tallied seven innings with four strikeouts while scattering seven hits and allowing two runs and one walk. His seven-inning start ties Josh Tomlin (Cleveland Indians) for the longest start by a Red Raider in an MLB debut. Tomlin pitched seven innings in 2010 in a win against the Yankees. Stewart is the 13th Tech pitcher to make his MLB debut and is the fifth Red Raider to make a debut as a starting pitcher. In the last two seasons, Texas Tech has seen three of its former pitchers make their big-league debut (Tomlin, Dustin Richardson).
NEELY NAMED ALL-AMERICAN BY NCBWA
Junior right-handed reliever John Neely was named a 2011 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association third team All-America selection on June 15. He was one of nine relief pitchers named to the first, second and third teams. Neely is the first Red Raider to earn All-America honors since shortstop Cameron Blair received third team honors from NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in 2005. Neely is the first Tech pitcher to be named an All-American since 1999 (Shane Wright, NCBWA - 2nd Team). Neely led Tech going 9-1 in 30 appearances (all relief) with a 2.97 ERA, seven saves, 60.2 innings pitched and 56 strikeouts.
FIVE RED RAIDERS DRAFTED/SIGNED FREE AGENT IN MLB DRAFT
Texas Tech had four players drafted in the Major League Baseball First-Year Players Draft and one Red Raider sign a free agent contract. Shortstop Kelby Tomlinson was the highest drafted Red Raider going in the 12th round to the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants. The third day of the draft saw three Tech players go within four rounds as infielder Nick Popescu went to the Atlanta Braves in the 33rd round, left-handed relief pitcher Zach Fowler was drafted the following round in the 34th by the Baltimore Orioles and third baseman Reid Redman was taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 37th round. Just a week following the draft left-handed pitcher Robbie Kilcrease signed a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tomlinson, Popescu and Fowler all signed professional contracts with their respective teams while Redman is expected to return to campus in the fall for his senior season in 2012. In addition, three Tech signees heard their names called in the MLB Draft as shortstop Trey Ford (14th Round - Philadelphia Phillies), outfielder Bradley Marquez (16th Round - New York Mets) and outfielder Devon Conley (47th Round - Baltimore Orioles) were all selected. In fact, Marquez signed a national letter of intent to play football at Texas Tech. Both Marquez and Conley are expected to arrive in Lubbock for fall classes while Ford signed the dotted line with the Phillies just days after the draft.
PAIZ NAMED A LOUISVILLE SLUGGER FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN
David Paiz became the eighth Texas Tech player to be named a Freshman All-American when Collegiate Baseball announced its Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America teams on June 8. Paiz, a two-way player, was one of five players in the country selected as a multi-positional player. Tech has now produced three Freshman All-Americans the past two seasons (Barrett Barnes, Jamodrick McGruder in 2010), which are the most ever to earn the honors in consecutive years.
