Texas Tech Athletics
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Kansas
Preview: Tech welcomes KU for final home series
May 17, 2023 | Baseball
KANSAS at TEXAS TECH
Lubbock, Texas | Rip Griffin Park
May 18-20, 2023
- Thursday, 6:30 p.m.: Watch | Listen | Stats | Tickets
- Friday, 6:30 p.m.: Watch | Listen | Stats | Tickets
- Saturday, 2 p.m.: Watch | Listen | Stats | Tickets
STARTERS
The last regular season series has arrived for the 2023 Red Raiders, which will be capped on Saturday by honoring six seniors prior to the finale. Tech will host Kansas with still much at stake as the Red Raiders could finish anywhere from second to eighth in the league going into the final three games in a season that the Big 12 standings have seen little to no separation.Â
Coverage will be provided via Big 12 Now on ESPN+. John Harris will be on the mic for play-by-play duties while former Red Raider baseball player Mike Gustafson will provide the analysis for all three games. All broadcasts can be accessed from any desktop or laptop computer, personal cellular device and television streaming services using the ESPN app. Registration for the subscription service can be found at ESPNPlus.com.
Texas Tech Sports Network will also broadcast the game over 46 affiliates throughout the state of Texas and New Mexico as well as on the web via the Varsity App. Geoff Haxton will have the call alongside Jamie Lent.
TEXAS TECHÂ IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Despite Texas Tech continuing to climb in the RPI, the Red Raiders have dipped out of every poll this week outside of the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association Top 30. The Red Raiders were ranked No. 14 in the D1Baseball poll and owned an RPI of No. 66 on Thursday, April 27 going into its matchup versus K-State. After dropping two of three to the Wildcats, Tech dropped out of the D1Baseball poll but remained in the Baseball America, Coaches poll and NCBWA poll. While unranked in all but one on May 17, the Red Raiders RPI has improved to No. 41 during that stretch.
- NCBWA: No. 28Â (-4)
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PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
- Thursday, May 18: LHP Mason Molina (4-2, 4.20 ERA) vs. RHP Collin Baumgartner (5-1, 3.95 ERA)
- Friday, May 19: RHP Trendan Parish (3-2, 5.74 ERA) vs. TBA
- Saturday, May 20: TBA vs. TBA
SENIOR SALUTE
A Senior Day ceremony will be held prior to Saturday's May 20 regular-season finale versus Kansas at 2 p.m. Tech will honor the six-member senior class, which includes Bo Blessie (2nd yr. at Tech/Midland College/Midland, TX), Ty Coleman (2nd yr. at Tech/Texas A&M/Midland, TX), Ethan Coombes (1st yr. at Tech/Lubbock Christian/Roswell, NM), Garrett Crowley (2nd yr. at Tech/Fordham/Queens, NY), Nolen Hester (1st yr. at Tech/Wofford/Mount Pleasant, TX) and Zac Vooletich (2nd yr. at Tech/Navarro College/San Antonio, TX).
KANSAS SENIOR SENDOFF
Just as they were on their last visit in 2021, Kansas will be in town for the Red Raiders' senior weekend. In the 2021 version of the TTU-KU series, the Jayhawks won the first game, 7-4, before the Red Raiders went on to win 13-4 the next day and clinched the series win on Senior Day with a 5-0 shutout. Tech had just one senior in 2021 to celebrate, right-handed pitcher Connor Queen who arrived from Odessa College prior to the 2018 season.
THIS IS IT; BIG 12 REGULAR SEASON FINALE
All of a sudden it's about time for the postseason. The Red Raiders enter their final Big 12 regular season series 10-11 in league play and will need a sweep versus Kansas to avoid its worst conference mark since 2013 (9-15). Tech went 13-11 in Big 12 play in 2015.
Tech was a winner of four of its first five Big 12 series and stood 8-7 in league play entering back-to-back road Big 12 series at K-State (April 28-30) and at No. 6 West Virginia (May 12-14) and fell victim to back-to-back series losses going 2-4 combined in those games. There is still much at stake as the Red Raiders could finish anywhere from second to eighth in the league going into the final three games in a season that the Big 12 standings have seen little to no separation. If Tech can rebound, it would extend its claim as the only school in the conference to finish in the Top 3 every season since 2016.
- The Red Raiders have not lost a home Big 12 series this season, or any series, going 3-for-3 in Big 12 series and are 8-for-8 overall in weekend series this season at Rip Griffin Park.
THE RPI DISCUSSION
While Texas Tech has dropped out of the D1Baseball poll, it has been trending up in the RPI, which is heavily used in the NCAA selection process for the postseason. The Red Raiders enter the weekend series No. 41 in the RPI which is a good position to be in to extend their streak of regional bids to seven straight seasons.
- Why the RPI focus? The RPI, (rating percentage index) is heavily factored into the NCAA tournament selection process at the end of the season when selecting the 64 participants and the 16 regional hosts.
30 WINS; NOT TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED
Texas Tech reached 30 wins this season at Kansas State on April 29. It marks the ninth-straight completed season that a Tim Tadlock ball club reached at least 30 wins. The skipper is responsible for nine of the all-time 31 30-win seasons and five of the 16 all-time 40-win seasons. The current streak of nine-straight 30-win seasons is only short of the program-best 14-season streak of 30+ wins earned from 1994-2006. The Red Raiders had just one 30-win season (2011) between 2007-2013.
- Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and TCU are the only three Big 12 schools that can claim nine-straight 30-win seasons, dating back to 2014.Â
TEXAS TECH-KANSAS SERIES HISTORY
- Thursday's meeting will be the 79th all-time between the two programs.
- The series dates back to 1981 when the teams first met in Edinburg, Texas with Tech winning 2-of-3.
- The 1981 three-game series was the only prior matchup until the formation of the Big 12.
- Since the Big 12 was formed, Tech is 48-27 all-time against Kansas.
- The Red Raiders have won seven consecutive series against the Jayhawks since 2015.
- Since 2015, Tech is 17-5 against Kansas.
- The two clubs have seen each other just one time in the Big 12 Tournament coming May 24, 2019 (W, 7-5).
2022 TEXAS TECH-KANSAS FLASHBACK
The Red Raiders outscored the Jayhawks 36-4 over the first two games in Lawrence last season to clinch the series before falling in the Sunday contest, 8-5. While there was a ton of offense in the first two games, it was a late start in the Friday night opener as Kansas led 2-1 after the first six innings. The Red Raiders exploded for four runs in the seventh and three more in the ninth to comfortably win the first game of the series, 8-2. In the seventh inning, three of the first four Red Raiders reached base to load them up for Cole Stilwell. Stilwell tied the game with a sac fly before Jace Jung ripped a three-run home run approximately 15 feet above the fence onto the batter's eye to hang a four-spot in the seventh. On Saturday, Tech erupted for 28 runs, marking the eighth time the program has ever scored 28 or better in a game. Twelve different Red Raiders registered a hit, led by Hudson White's career-high five hits (5-for-6). Not to be outdone, Brandon Birdsell tossed a gem. He exited his second game of the 2022 season without allowing a hit. Birdsell's final line was 5.0 inning pitched, zero hits, zero runs, eight strikeouts and two walks. The right-hander also pitched a no-hit game at Rice over 6.0 innings on March 12. On Sunday, Tech fell behind 7-2 until cutting into the deficit in the top of the seventh with three runs, but the rally ended, and the Jayhawks tacked on an insurance run in the eighth to avoid being swept.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPÂ
The 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, will be hosted at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, May 24-28.Â
Wed., May 24Â
Game 1: No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed - 9 a.m.Â
Game 2: No. 1 Seed vs. No. 8 Seed - 12:30 p.m.Â
Game 3: No. 2 Seed vs. No. 7 Seed - 4 p.m.Â
Game 4: No. 3 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed - 7:30 p.m.Â
Thu., May 25Â
Game 5: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 9 a.m.Â
Game 6: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser - 12:30 p.m.Â
Game 7: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner - 4 p.m.Â
Game 8: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner - 7:30 p.m.Â
Fri., May 26Â
Game 9: Game 7 Loser vs. Game 5 Winner - 3 p.m.Â
Game 10: Game 8 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner - 6:30 p.m.Â
Sat., May 27Â
Game 11: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner - 9 a.m.Â
Game 12: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner - 12:30 p.m.Â
*Game 13: If Necessary - 4 p.m.Â
*Game 14: If Necessary - 7:30 p.m.Â
Sun., May 28Â
Game 15: Championship Game - 5 p.m.
--TECH--
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