No. 8 Tech Returns Home To Face Northeastern

LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 8 Texas Tech baseball team returns to non-conference action for a four-game set at home against Northeastern on March 23-25 at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

All four games will stream online at TexasTech.TV with a paid subscription. The series can also be heard on the Texas Tech Sports Network on 100.7 FM (Friday & Sunday) and 97.3 FM (Saturday), the respective station's apps, TuneIn app and online at TexasTech.com. Live stats will also be available at Sidearmstats.com/texastech/baseball/.

The Red Raiders (17-5) play their first game at home since March 7 after an eight-game road trip to Kentucky and Waco. However, Tech will only leave the state of Texas once between now and April 6, with seven games at home, mixed in with a date at New Mexico State in Las Cruces (March 27) and in Midland (April 3).

For the fifth series this season, the Red Raiders will square off with an opponent for the first time in program history in Northeastern. Tech has only played members of the Colonial Athletic Conference in postseason play, taking on College of Charleston in 2014 in the NCAA Lubbock Super Regional and Delaware last year in NCAA Regional play. Tech's other first-time opponents this year have included: Maine, South Alabama, Kentucky and Louisville, which the Red Raiders put together a combined 10-3 record against the foursome.

Tech enters the set with a 17-5 record after losing its first conference series of the year at Baylor last weekend. The Red Raiders did not play a midweek contest after picking up a victory in the finale against the Bears, 11-4. Senior Zach Rheams blasted a pinch-hit homer as part of a five-run fourth inning for Tech, as four Red Raiders produced multi-hit bids to down the Bears on Sunday.

Northeastern comes to Lubbock as winners of their last three games for an 11-5 mark. The Huskies had their weekend with Holy Cross cancelled because of weather, but defeated Hartford, 3-1, on Monday and Boston College, 7-4, in an 18-inning affair on Tuesday afternoon. Northeastern has wins over No. 17 Auburn and Missouri this season, both away from home.

Head coach Tim Tadlock will send right-handers Davis Martin, Caleb Kilian, John McMillon and Ryan Shetter to start on the mound against the Huskies. The foursome has a 10-2 record to their names, with Martin leading the group with a 2.16 ERA. They've combined for 101 strikeouts, with McMillon pacing the team with 29 this year. Saturday will mark the first career start for Kilian, who has made eight appearances out of the bullpen this season.

They'll face a Northeastern lineup hitting .279 as a unit, with four starters above the team average. Junior Charlie McConnell leads the team with a .406 average and 38 hits, starting all 16 games in the outfield. Junior Jake Farrell paces the Huskies with 16 RBI, while sophomore Scott Holzwasser has the most runs scored with 14, as the team averages 5.6 runs per game.

The Huskies will send out right-handers Tyler Brown & Brian Christian to start the first two games of the weekend. The duo has a combined 2-4 record, with Brown sitting at a 6.75 ERA & Christian at 7.17. The second Saturday game is TBA, while Sunday will feature lefty Sean Mellen, who has put together a 5-0 record with a 1.09 ERA and 41 strikeouts. Northeastern has compiled a team ERA of 5.62, while tagging opponents for a 4.59 ERA.

Tech's offense has simmered down to a .297 team clip, with sophomore Grant Little leading the way at .398 this season. Little is tied with sophomore Josh Jung & freshman Gabe Holt with 33 hits each, with Little & Holt just trailing Jung's 23 runs scored with 22 each. Jung also paces the squad with 22 RBI, putting together a team-best 12 multi-hit bids, while senior Michael Davis has eight multi-RBI performances to pace the Red Raiders.

For the sixth-straight week, Tech is ranked inside the top 10, slotted at No. 8 by Perfect Game, ninth by the USA Today Coaches Poll & No. 10 by D1 Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association.

After the weekend set, the Red Raiders hit the road for New Mexico State in a Tuesday, March 27, contest at 3 p.m. CDT at Presley Askew Field.

No. 8 Tech Returns Home To Face Northeastern

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Players Mentioned

Michael Davis

Gabe Holt

Josh Jung

Caleb Kilian

Grant Little

Davis Martin

John McMillon

Zach Rheams

Ryan Shetter