No. 9 Tech Set For NCAA Lubbock Super Regional

LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 9 Texas Tech baseball team opens its third Super Regional berth against Duke on June 9-11 at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

The Red Raiders (42-17) will take on the Blue Devils (44-16) in the first game of the best of three series on Saturday, June 9, at 2 p.m. on ESPNU. Game two of the set will be Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPNU and the Monday if necessary contest is slated for 3 p.m. on ESPN2.

All of the weekend's games can also be streamed on the ESPN app or on WatchESPN.com. As always, Tech games can be heard on 97.3 FM, the 97.3 app, the TuneIn app and online at TexasTech.com. Fans wishing to listen to the game in-stadium can tune in to 89.5 FM for a delay-free call of the games.

The 2018 postseason marks the 13^th appearance for the Red Raiders and the third year Tech has advanced to Super Regional action. The previous two came in 2014 and 2016, as both clubs won the Supers to continue their seasons.

The Red Raiders have secured a berth in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament in every even year since 2014, which was the first in school history. Tech clinched its first Supers at the Coral Gables Regional in 2014, defeating Columbia (3-2) before taking on Miami for three contests. The Red Raiders won the first contest, 3-0, to move to the catbird seat, but fell, 2-1, to force a winner-take-all game seven. In that matchup, Tech posted a 4-0 shutout of the Hurricanes to host its first Super Regional in school history. In 2016, the Red Raiders earned No. 5 National Seed and hosted Dallas Baptist, New Mexico and Fairfield. Tech claimed the first game over Fairfield, 12-1, before defeating UNM, 4-3, to move to 2-0 in the regional. However, a 10-6 loss to DBU forced another game seven, which Tech won, 5-3, to advance to the next weekend.

Tech has held a 2-0 mark in all four Regionals under head coach Tim Tadlock. Last year, Tech defeated Delaware & Sam Houston State to reach the catbird seat in the Lubbock Regional. This postseason, the Red Raiders rolled past New Mexico State, 9-2, in the opener before powering past Louisville, 10-4, in the 1-0 contest. It was the first time Tech had swept a Regional, using an 11-6 victory on Sunday night to clinch a berth in this weekend's Supers.

In 2014, the Red Raiders defeated College of Charleston in a pair of 1-0 games to advance to the program's first College World Series. Two years later, Tech would return to Omaha, needing three games to move past East Carolina to accomplish the feat. After falling in the opening contest, 8-6, the Red Raiders won a wild 3-1 middle game in 13 innings before downing the Pirates, 11-0, to clinch their second berth at the CWS.

This year's Super Regional will feature another first-time opponent for the Red Raiders in Duke, who earned its trip to Lubbock after taking the hard path to the Athens Regional title in five games. The Blue Devils fell, 6-0, in the first contest of the weekend, then rattled off four-straight wins over Campbell (16-8), Troy (15-6) and Georgia twice (8-5 & 8-4) to claim the Regional.

The Red Raiders reached the second weekend of postseason play after sweeping the Lubbock Regional for the first time in school history. Tech picked up a 9-2 victory in game one over New Mexico State, then moved into catbird seat with a 10-4 win over Louisville in the 1-0 contest. After the Cardinals staved off elimination against Kent State, the Red Raiders threw down 11 runs in their second game against Louisville for an 11-6 victory to advance with a clean 3-0 slate.

Tech was selected as the No. 9 national seed by the NCAA Selection Committee, making it the third-straight year Tech was named a national seed for the tournament. The Red Raiders have spent the entire 2018 season ranked in the top 10 via both nationally-voted on polls & the NCAA RPI Rankings.

The Blue Devils roll into Lubbock hitting .278 this season as a squad, with six above the team average. Joey Loperfido leads Duke with a .308 clip at the plate, while Zack Kone paces the squad with 74 hits. Griffin Conine has driven in the most runs this year with 52 RBI, with Jimmy Herron scoring the most with 59 runs. The Blue Devils have tagged opposing pitchers for a 6.28 team ERA, while its own pitching staff has a 3.91 earned run average and has held opponents to a .245 mark at the plate.

The Red Raiders offense continues to lead the Big 12 and ranks seventh in the country with a .310 overall clip, as six starters are hitting above the team line. Sophomore Josh Jung paces the class with 91 hits, 77 RBI and 68 runs scored. Sophomore Grant Little & Freshman Gabe Holt follow closely with 84 & 83 hits, respectively. Tech's hitters have tagged opposing pitchers for an 8.09 ERA this season, while the Red Raider pitching staff has hold opponents to a .240 average at the plate for a 4.34 team ERA.

Eleven Red Raiders were selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft this week, the most in program history. Grant Little (74^th – San Diego Padres), Steven Gingery (123^rd – St. Louis Cardinals), Ryan Shetter (262^nd – Atlanta Braves), Jose Quezada (291^st – San Diego Padres), Davis Martin (408^th – Chicago White Sox), Ty Harpenau (472^nd – Atlanta Braves), Caleb Kilian (595^th – Baltimore Orioles), Cody Farhat (703^rd – Cleveland Indians), Michael Davis (724^th – Minnesota Twins), Dylan Dusek (796^th – San Francisco Giants) and Zach Rheams (800^th – New York Mets) were all taken in this year's class, which had the most of any D-I program through the first 30 rounds of the draft.

The winner of the 2018 NCAA Lubbock Super Regional will head to Omaha, Nebraska, for the 2018 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park.

No. 9 Tech Set For NCAA Lubbock Super Regional

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Players Mentioned

Michael Davis

Dylan Dusek

Cody Farhat

Steven Gingery

Ty Harpenau

Gabe Holt

Josh Jung

Caleb Kilian

Grant Little

Davis Martin

Jose Quezada

Zach Rheams

Ryan Shetter