No. 5 Tech Opens Big 12 Championship Wednesday

Wednesday, May 26

Oklahoma City / Bricktown Ballpark

9 AM

Texas Tech Athletics

Baylor

No. 5 Tech Opens Big 12 Championship Wednesday

May 25, 2021 | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)Tickets Championship Central Bracket Big 12 Game Program

No. 3-seeded Red Raiders square off with No. 6-seeded Baylor at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Oklahoma City

By: Ty Parker, Texas Tech Athletics Communications

OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 5 Texas Tech baseball begins play at the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Wednesday against Baylor at 9 a.m. from Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

The Red Raiders (35-13; 14-10) enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed and open with the sixth-seeded Bears (31-18; 11-13) in the second game of the event following Tuesday night's No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup. The early-morning contest is the only game Wednesday that will appear on ESPNU.

Texas Tech is looking for its second Big 12 Tournament title in program history, taking home the title in 1998. The two clubs are matched up with No. 2 seed TCU and No. 7 seed Kansas State on their side of the bracket. Baylor and K-State are the only two teams to claim series wins over the Red Raiders this season.

Wednesday will be the 175th all-time meeting between Texas Tech and Baylor and the 8th time the two teams have met at the conference tournament. The Red Raiders are 3-4 in seven matchups with the Bears at the event. The last meeting came in 2017 with Tech eliminating the Bears by a score of 4-1.

Texas Tech has earned one of the top three seeds in the tournament five straight times dating back to 2016 when it secured the top seed. The Red Raiders locked up the No. 3 seed on Friday with its 13-4 win over Kansas.

Texas Tech is 22-38 all-time at the Big 12 Championship, including 20-32 in Oklahoma City and 8-14 under head coach Tim Tadlock. Tech has only won the tournament title once, coming in 1998. The Red Raiders reached the semifinals in 2019, recording three wins along the way, the first time recording multiple wins since 2000. Tech has qualified for the event for eight straight seasons and is 7-12 in openers.

Texas Tech is ranked as high as No. 5 by three different polls at the conclusion of the regular season. The Red Raiders won six out of eight Big 12 series, highlighted by series wins against No. 3 Texas in Austin and No. 10 TCU in Lubbock. Tech won three of its four Big 12 road series and finished the year with three-consecutive series victories.

Tech made the cut as one of 20 potential regional hosts, the NCAA D-I Baseball Committee announced earlier this month. The Red Raiders have hosted an NCAA Regional every year since 2016, the nation's longest active streak.

For the fourth time since 2016, a Red Raider was named Big 12 Player of the Year as Jace Jung received the award Monday. He joins older brother Josh Jung (2019) as the only sibling duo to win the award and becomes the first underclassman recipient since 2011. While four Red Raiders have received the honor since 2016, no other school has received more than one in the same time period.

Tech had a total of seven players receive All-Big 12 recognition. Jung was also one of three unanimous selections to the All-Big 12 First Team, where he was joined by Dru Baker (OF) and Cal Conley (INF). Micah Dallas (RHP) and Braxton Fulford (C) were named to the second team, while Ryan Sublette (RHP) and Patrick Monteverde (LHP) received honorable mention honors. It was the second time Dallas and Fulford have been in honored in their careers.

PITCHING MATCHUP
Wednesday: LHP Mason Montgomery (3-3, 4.36 ERA) vs. LHP Cam Caley (2-1, 4.15 ERA)

TICKETS
All-session tickets for the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City are on sale now. The championship will begin with a play-in game between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds on Tuesday, May 25. The double-elimination format begins with the eight remaining teams on Wednesday, May 26 and culminates with the championship game on Sunday, May 30.

All-session tickets can be purchased by visiting Big12Sports.com/BuyTickets and include all games of the championship, including if-necessary games, totaling 16 contests. Tickets start as low as $69.00 for terrace seats, with field level $99.00 and club seats available for $169.00.

MONTGOMERY TO START WEDNESDAY
Texas Tech sophomore Mason Montgomery will get the nod for the Red Raiders on Wednesday. The left-hander has started 11 games this season, appearing in the weekend rotation for all but two series - against TCU in April and against Kansas the last week of the regular season. He has allowed one earned run or less in six of his 11 starts and pitched at least five complete innings in five starts, including three of his last four. He has been especially strong over his last five appearances, starting with a relief outing against TCU in which he allowed one unearned run on one hit and struck out seven over five frames. Over his last five outings, he is 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA, 36 strikeouts and seven walks over 26.0 innings with an opponent's batting average of .207.

THE NUMBERS ON JUNG
Jace Jung's numbers rank among the very best in the country this season. He leads the Big 12 and is tied for the national lead with 65 RBI. He also leads the Big 12 and ranks top-5 nationally in home runs with 20 on the year. He is the first Red Raider since Josh Brady in 2004 to hit 20 home runs and the first Big 12 freshman since Matt Hopper (Nebraska) in 2000 to reach the number. Overall, Jung leads the Big 12 or ranks second in five categories, including home runs, RBI, slugging, on-base percentage and walks. Jung has also reached base safely in all 48 games this season - the nation's longest active streak - and in 62-of-64 starts in his career overall.

TOP-3 FINISH IN CONFERENCE
Texas Tech is the only program in the Big 12 to finish in the top three of the league standings every year since 2016. The Red Raiders wrapped up conference play at 14-10, including series wins over No. 3 Texas and No. 10 TCU. Tech won six of its eight Big 12 series, including three out of the four it played on the road. The Red Raiders finished the regular season strong with series wins in three of its last four series. Tech was especially strong on the back-end of weekend series this season, going a combined 11-5 in middle games and series finales. You could look to a lack of midweek games as a potential reason for a poor record in series openers as the Red Raiders were 2-0 in Big 12 openers following midweek games and just 1-5 in openers following no midweek game.

THREE-HEADED ATTACK
The Texas Tech boasts one of the nation's top offenses once again, ranking in the top-10 nationally in scoring, home runs, slugging, and base on balls. Leading the attack are All-Big 12 First Team selections Jace Jung, Dru Baker and Cal Conley. Tech is the only Big 12 school with three of the top 11 hitters in the conference as all three enter the Big 12 Tournament hitting at least .345 on the year with 64 hits or more.

FULFORD, STILWELL, MURRELL PROVIDE SUPPORT
Junior catcher Braxton Fulford has had his best season yet, receiving All-Big 12 Second Team honors. His 13 home runs help form a power-hitting trio with Jung and Conley that has combined for a league-best 46 dingers. In fact, of the top 7 home run hitters in the league, three are Red Raiders. Sophomore Cole Stilwell has come on as he leads the team in hitting (.347) and doubles (8) since the start of April. Quietly, junior Easton Murrell, has been solid as well throughout the year, ranking tenth in the league in getting on base, reaching in 33-of-36 starts this season.

NEW TEAM FACILITY ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK
On May 20, Texas Tech Athletics unveiled plans for a new $12.5 million baseball team facility at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. As part of the project, Texas Tech will greatly enhance the student-athlete amenities inside the baseball clubhouse, providing the Red Raiders a first-class locker room, a dedicated team lounge and an enlarged indoor training facility. The renovation will double the Red Raiders' square footage within the clubhouse, giving Texas Tech one of the top team facilities in college baseball.

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