No. 6 Red Raiders Host USF to Conclude Home Stand

LUBBOCK, Texas – No. 6 Texas Tech baseball closes its 12-game home stand with a three-game set against South Florida this weekend at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

The Red Raiders (16-4 Overall, 2-1 Big 12) and Bulls (9-9 Overall, 0-0 American) will meet for the first time in the history of the two programs on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. The series continues at 2 p.m., Saturday and concludes with a 1 p.m., finale on Sunday.

The entire series can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Geoff Haxton and Mike Gustafson on the call. Fans can also tune in to the radio call on the Texas Tech Sports Network from Jamie Lent and former Red Raider All-American Cameron Warren.

TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
Fans are encouraged to check www.TexasTech.com for ticket availability for upcoming home games. Season ticket holders who are unable to attend a game in which they have tickets are encouraged to utilize Texas Tech's mobile ticketing transfer platform to ensure their seats are used on gameday.

Friday is '90s night at Rip Griffin Park. On Sunday, Texas Tech will be handing out 'Kal Segrist Jersey Koozies' to the first 500 fans in attendance.

LATELY
The Red Raiders are coming off a series win over No. 15 Oklahoma State in the conference opener for both teams and have won 16 of their last 17 overall. Tech won the final two games on the weekend to earn its fifth series win in eight Big 12 opening weekends under head coach Tim Tadlock.

South Florida enters the weekend after a series win over (RV) Florida Atlantic, winning 4-0 on Saturday and 6-5 in 11 innings on Sunday. The Bulls dropped a one-run midweek battle to North Florida on Tuesday and are 4-6 in their last 10 games. Six of their nine losses this season have come against Florida Gulf Coast.

PITCHING MATCHUP
Gm 1: RHP Brandon Birdsell (2-1, 3.57 ERA) vs. RHP Jack Jasiak (2-2, 1.64 ERA)
Gm 2: LHP Patrick Monteverde (4-0, 0.93 ERA) vs. RHP Dylan Burns (1-2, 3.38 ERA)
Gm 3: LHP Mason Montgomery (1-0, 3.18 ERA) vs. RHP Collin Sullivan (0-0, 6.30 ERA)

TADLOCK 1 WIN AWAY FROM 2^ND PLACE
In 2016, Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock took over the No. 3 spot on the all-time career wins records at Texas Tech. He enters Friday just one win away from taking over second place on the school's all-time career wins list. Tadlock's win against OSU on Sunday placed him in a tie for second place with Kal Segrist at 317 wins.

MARCHING ALONG
The weekend series with USF closes the month of March, a month where the Red Raiders have compiled a 13-1 record entering Friday. It is on pace for the best March in the Tadlock era, besting the 2017 club, which finished 15-4. Tech has won 14 games during the month of March twice under Tadlock (2014, 2018) and 15 games in 2017.

HOME DOMINANCE
Texas Tech is off to a 13-1 start at home this season and has won 25 of its last 26 home games dating back to 2019. The home success is nothing new for the Red Raiders, who are 201-53 at home under Tadlock, including 143-24 at home against non-conference competition. Tech had the nation's longest home winning streak come to an end last weekend at 23 straight games, marking the second longest home winning streak in program history behind a 24-game streak by the 1996 club. Tech enters the weekend having won 26 consecutive home games against teams outside of the Big 12 with its last loss coming on April 30, 2019 to UTRGV.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday will be the first meeting all-time between Texas Tech and South Florida. The Bulls, a member of the American Athletic Conference, are traveling to the state of Texas for the first time since a matchup at Houston in 2018. Tech is 10-3 under Tadlock against members of the AAC.

IN THE RANKINGS
Texas Tech continued to climb the national rankings for the fourth-straight week. The Red Raiders, who have been ranked in the top 10 by at least one of the six major polls all season, come in at No. 6 in the D1Baseball poll, and are slotted as high as No. 4 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Collegiate Baseball.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore outfielder Dru Baker became the third Red Raider this season to be honored by the Big 12 with a weekly award. He was tabbed Big 12 Player of the Week, joining Jace Jung (Player of the Week) and Patrick Monteverde (Newcomer of the Week) to receive honors. Baker hit .538 in the series win over OSU, .529 for the four-game week, and was responsible for a go-ahead three-run home run Monday against UConn and an RBI double in the deciding game of the OSU series.

DEFENSIVE MINDSET
The Red Raiders had a rough start to the season defensively, but have since turned things around both with their play in the field and with their starting pitching. Tech enters the weekend as the national leader in double plays with 22 on the year, including at least one in 15 of 20 games played. Tech's starting pitching as also shown steady improvement and currently holds a 9-2 record with a 2.31 ERA and 95 strikeouts to 30 walks.

TECH BASEBALL IN HIGH DEMAND
Texas Tech routinely boasts one of the top home field advantages in the nation, and that trend looks to continue in 2021 despite COVID-capacity limitations as Tech is one of just four schools in the nation to eclipse 4,000 fans for a home game this season (Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas).

For the latest on Texas Tech Baseball follow @TTU_Baseball on Twitter.

No. 6 Red Raiders Host USF to Conclude Home Stand

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Players Mentioned

Dru Baker

Brandon Birdsell

Jace Jung

Patrick Monteverde

Mason Montgomery

Texas Tech University Athletics