Tech welcomes BYU for weekend series

Thursday, March 21

Lubbock, TX

6:30 p.m. CT

Texas Tech Athletics

BYU

Tickets

March 20, 2024 | Baseball

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The Red Raiders and Cougars will meet as conference foes for the first time this weekend

By: Andrew Stern

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech Baseball continues a five-game homestand this weekend when they welcome BYU for a Thursday-Saturday series.

The weekend series with BYU will be the first all-time matchup between the two schools as conference foes, as the Cougars joined the Big 12 ahead of the 2023-24 season.

INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:

GAME ONE:
MATCHUP: Texas Tech (15-6, 2-4 Big 12) vs. BYU (10-8, 3-3 Big 12)
DATE: Thursday, Mar. 21, 2024
TIME: 6:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Rip Griffin Park at Dan Law Field (Lubbock, Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: RHP Mac Heuer (2-1, 4.66 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Hansen (2-2, 6.20 ERA)

GAME TWO:
MATCHUP: Texas Tech (15-6, 2-4 Big 12) vs. BYU (10-8, 3-3 Big 12)
DATE: Friday, Mar. 22, 2024
TIME: 6:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Rip Griffin Park at Dan Law Field (Lubbock, Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: RHP Kyle Robinson (3-2, 5.76 ERA) vs. RHP Bryce Robison (2-1, 3.09 ERA)

GAME THREE:
MATCHUP: Texas Tech (15-6, 2-4 Big 12) vs. BYU (10-8, 3-3 Big 12)
DATE: Saturday, Mar. 23, 2024
TIME: 2 p.m.
LOCATION: Rip Griffin Park at Dan Law Field (Lubbock, Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: TBD vs. Cutter Clawson (0-3, 7.29 ERA)

1-2-3 HEADLINES:

* The Texas Tech Red Raiders continue a five-game homestand this weekend when they welcome BYU for the first all-time meeting as conference foes. The weeknd series begins with a pair of 6:30 p.m. first pitches on Thursday and Friday and concludes with a 2:00 p.m. first pitch on Saturday.

* The Red Raiders are hoping it's home-sweet-home this week as after hitting just 16-95 (.168) in wet and humid Waco over the weekend. So far this season the Red Raiders have scored 169 runs in 12 home games (14.5/game) and are hitting .384 at Rip Griffin Park with 78 extra-base hits. The Red Raiders managed just two extra-base hits and 16 total hits in Waco.

* The Red Raiders will turn to Freshman Mac Heuer to open the series on Thursday night. Heuer who has started on Saturday the last three weekends will start a series opener for the first time in his career. The Red Raiders will next turn to Kyle Robinson on Friday. Heuer has excelled when pitching at 'The Rip' this season, as the freshman has allowed just four runs in 13 innings pitched. Hitters are hitting just .220 off Heuer at home as he has struck out 11 and walked just one in his 13 innings at home this season. The Red Raiders have not decided a starting pitcher for Saturday's series finale yet.

WEEKEND NOTES:

HISTORY WILL BE MADE

This weekend series with the Cougars will be the first all-time meeting between the two schools as conference foes. BYU of course joined the Big 12 back in July of 2023 along with Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston.

THREE STRAIGHT VERSUS NEW FOES

This weekends series against BYU will mark the first of three straight Big 12 srries against newcomers to the Big 12 Conference. Tech will next travel to UCF next week before opening the month of April with a weekend series against the Cougars of Houston.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE

BYU and Tech are meeting this weekend for the first time since the 2014 season when BYU extended a weekend stay in the State of Texas with a midweek contest in Lubbock. BYU had spent the weekend in Corpus Christi at the Kleberg Bank College Classic. That contest came a year after BYU went to Lubbock to take place in the Brook Wallace Memorial Classic in 2013. BYU also appeared in the Brooks Wallace Memorial Classic in 2011.

BACK-TO-BACK WEEKENDS WITH THE COUGS

In an ironic and schedule 'oddity' the Red Raiders will now host the Cougars in back-to-back home weekends as Houston pays a visit to Lubbock in two weekends. The series with Houston will also be the first all-time matchup between the two schools.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY-SATURDAY X2

In accordance with BYU campus policy and to accommodate that policy this weekends series will begin on Thursday and end on Saturday. This weekend series is not the only time that Tech will play a Thurs-Sat series next weekend at UCF due to Easter next Sunday.

MARCH MADNESS BUT MAKE IT BASEBALL

When this weekend series ends with BYU the Red Raiders will have concluded a stretch of 17 games in the first 23 days of March. That 23-day stretch will include four-weekend series, three Big 12 series and four midweek contests.

WEEKEND SWITCH-UP

After starting Kyle Robinson the opening game of all four weekend series and opening night against Tennessee, the Red Raiders will instead turn to Freshman Mac Heuer for the first game on Thursday night. The move will leave Robinson in his customary Friday night role and give the righty an extra day of rest after he tossed a career-high 114 pitches in the 2-0 win over Baylor. The move also makes sense as Heuer threw just 63 pitches before Saturday's contest against Baylor was suspended.

BRAVO. DAMIAN BRAVO.
Damian Bravo has been suburb in his second season in Lubbock, as the Sophomore has hit a team-best .440 over the season's first 20 games. Bravo has also recorded and on-base percentage of .505 and has a team-best 29 RBIs and 14 doubles. More importantly, Bravo has driven in at least one run in 15-of-19 games. Bravo driving in a run has been good for the Red Raiders as Tech is an impressive 14-1 when the outfielder contributes at least one RBI. The lone contest the Red Raiders didnt win this season was two Friday's ago against UT when Bravo homered in the fouth. Bravo sits second in the Big 12 in RBIs behind Brady Day of Kansas State.

DYLAN TO THE MAX
Catcher Dylan Maxcey has seized his opportunity for extended playing time with Kevin Bazzell sidelined. Maxcey led the Red Raiders in batting average over the week ending in 3-10, as the catcher hit 5-for-12 with four runs scored a homer run and seven RBIs. Maxcey drove in three runs in the win over New Mexico last Tuesday when he pinch-hit. In Saturday's win over Texas, Maxcey drove in four runs and hit his second home run of the season. In the midweek against NM State, Maxcey went 4-for-8 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Since Bazzell has gone down, Maxcey is 13-for-37 (.351) with two home runs and 13 RBIs. Maxcey drove in a key run in Friday's 2-0 win at Baylor and has now caught eight straight games and 10 of the last 11 games. Of the last 70 innings that Tech has played, Maxcey has caught 67 of those.

TWO WITH 25
The Red Raiders currently have two players in Damian Bravo and TJ Pompey with at least 25 RBIs. Pompey recorded his th RBI in the win over NM State. Bravo has driven in 29 runs this season through the first 17 games. Bravo leads the Big 12 in RBIs, while the duo are the only two players in the Big 12 to each record 25 RBIs.

ROLLIN' IN THE DEEP
Another pitcher who changed his warmup song in 2024 was senior Josh Sanders, who will now warmup to Adelle's Rolling in the Deep. So far it seems the warmup song is working for Sanders, as the righty has pitched 14.2 innings thus far, allowing just 10 hits and five runs (three earned). Sanders has now struck out 16 batters in his 14.2 innings of work. Hitters are hitting just .185 against him. Sanders had a strong opener to the series as the righty needed just 25 pitches over two innings of work to record his first save of the season. The righty did allow an earned run on Sunday as he saw a six inning scoreless streak snapped in the loss to Baylor.

MCGEES BEEN ON BASE AND HIT A LOT
Former Freshman All-American and Gonzaga transfer Cade McGee continues to provide a different and unique approach to the lineup this season. McGee has played and started in every game yet only has recorded 62 official at-bats because he has walked 20 times and been hit by 15 pitches. When you add it up, McGee has come to the plate 97 times through the first 21 games of the season and he has reached base safely in 62 of those at-bats. His on-base percentage sits at an eye-popping .535.

LOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK
After falling in a weekend series to Baylor, Tech returns to the friendly confines of Rip Griffin Park at Dan Law Field for the next five games that includes singular games against in-state foes in ACU and SFA as well as the first all-time series against BYU. The Rip has been kind to the Red Raiders as Tech is 10-2 this season so far at home. In the weekend series at Baylor the Red Raiders managed just 16 hits over 95 at-bats (.168) and two extra base hits (a homer from Drew Woodcox and a double from Dylan Maxcey). The Red Raiders had been scoring at an elite clip as the team saw a streak of 12 straight games with at least seven runs snapped over the weekend. After scoring 207 runs over the first 17 games, Tech mustered just five in the weekend in Waco. The good news for the Red Raiders is that Rip Griffin Park has produced strong offensive results as Tech has banged out at least seven runs in all 12 home games and double-figure hits in at least nine home games. So far this season the Red Raiders are hitting .384 at home with 28 home runs and 147 RBIs. Tech has outscored opponents 160-76 at home this season an average of 7.6 runs per game. Another Red Raider looking to bounce back will be freshman Mac Heuer who allowed five runs in three innings in the game two loss to Baylor. Heuer suffered his first career loss in the contest. Heuer will return to the mound at home for the first time since a six inning gem against Texas. Heuer is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in 13 innings this season at home.

WOODYS BIG WEEK
Junior outifielder Drew Woodcox had one of the best weeek's of his Tech career last week as the outfielder saw action in three of the five games. Woodcox recorded at least one hit in all three contests he played in as he went 5-9 (.555) with two home runs and three RBIs. Woodcox also excelled on the defensive end as he played a strong outfield making six putouts including a highlight reel catch in last Wednesday's win over New Mexico State. Woodcox is now hitting 11-29 (.414) this season with five home runs and 12 RBIs. After homering in Sunday's third game in Waco and Tuesday's win over ACU, Woodcox has now hit a career-high five homers. Woodcox had just five career home runs in 95 at-bats before this season.

K-ROB+SANDY = Shutout
Right-handers Kyle Robinson and Josh Sanders combined on a four-hit shutout in Friday's win over Baylor. Robinson handled the first seven innings of the combined shutout as he allowed just three hits in a career-high seven innings. Robinson tied his career-high in strikeouts (8) and became the first Red Raider this season to pitch into the seventh inning this season. The seven innings pitched were a new career-high. Sanders allowed just one hit in the eighth and ninth to record his first save of the season.

UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders close the five-game homestand on Tuesday night against Stephen F. Austin. First pitch between the Red Raiders and Lumberjacks is set for 6:30 p.m.