No. 14 TEXAS TECH at KANSAS STATE

Manhattan, Kan. | Tointon Family Stadium

April 25, 2023

Texas Tech Game Notes (PDF) | Kansas State Game Notes (PDF)

STARTERS

As the calendar nears the start of May, the Big 12 race is heating up and Texas Tech and Kansas State are on a collision course to potentially shake up the standings this weekend. The two teams are among five in the league that owns a conference winning percentage of .500 or better. One game separates the Red Raiders (8-7) and Wildcats (9-6) in the conference standings entering Friday night’s game and both have ample opportunity in front of them to continue to climb the standings after this weekend’s heavyweight fight as Tech’s two series in front of them are current-No. 1 West Virginia (road) and Kansas (home) while K-State has current-No. 2 Oklahoma State (road) and TCU (home) ahead of them. 

Coverage will be provided by ESPN+. On the mic for the broadcast in the Little Apple will be Brian Smoller handling play-by-play duties while Mike Clark will provide the analysis over the weekend. 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 TECH IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

After the 4-1 week between two-midweek wins versus Grand Canyon and winning their series versus Baylor, the Red Raiders climbed in five of the six national baseball Top 25 rankings, released on April 24/Week10. Of the six polls – D1Baseball, Baseball America, NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball, USA Today Coaches and Perfect Game – Texas Tech has been ranked inside the top 25 of all six polls with the exception of a one-week absence from the D1Baseball poll in the March 6/Week 3 poll. 

• D1Baseball: No. 14 (+2)
• Baseball America: No. 10 (+5)
• NCBWA: No. 15 (+3)
• Collegiate Baseball: 22 (+1)
• USA Coaches: No. 15 (+4)
• Perfect Game: No. 13 (-)

The Big 12 recognizes D1Baseball for its primary rankings therefore when one ranking is needed, Texas Tech follows suit with the conference in those scenarios.
 

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS

• Friday, April 28: LHP Mason Molina (4-2, 3.96 ERA) vs. LHP Owen Boerema (5-1, 4.37 ERA)
• Saturday, April 29: RHP Trendan Parish (2-0, 5.36 ERA) vs. RHP German Fajardo (2-1, 4.99 ERA)
• Saturday, April 30: TBA vs. RHP Collin Rothermel (1-2, 4.50 ERA)

BIG 12 CHAOS

Much remains to be sorted out in the Big 12 as the five teams jumbled atop the standings with a winning percentage better than .500 have not played an equal amount of conference games, and two teams sit right on the quintet’s heels with a 7-8 record. Big 12 leader West Virginia has played just 12 league games and is the only team in the conference that faces a weekend Big 12 schedule for the remainder of the season.

WINNERS OF FOUR OF FIVE BIG 12 SERIES

Texas Tech has won four of the five Big 12 series they’ve played, which started against the top half of the league’s preseason poll until hosting Baylor last weekend. The Red Raiders own series wins this season over TCU, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Baylor. Texas Tech’s one series loss was to Texas, which was a series sweep that has plagued the Red Raiders since March 26. 

THE RPI DISCUSSION

While the rankings created by people have the Red Raiders a consensus Top 25 team and the top-ranked team in the Big 12, checking in at No. 14 in the D1Baseball poll – the primary ranking system acknowledged by the NCAA and the Big 12 conference. The computers are not so fond of Texas Tech as they sit at No. 66 in the RPI through games on April 26 on NCAA.com.  Six of the Top 10 RPI teams hail from the SEC while the top Big 12 team in the latest RPI is West Virginia at No. 17. The Red Raiders climbed as high as No. 22 in the RPI, entering their series versus Texas (March 24-26), but have not recovered since losing that series. 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.

– Said ESPN’s Mike Rooney during the ESPN telecast of Texas Tech versus Baylor on April 21, “That’s where the RPI can be infuriating, quite honestly. Because you can’t look at Texas Tech with your eyeballs open and tell me this is not a regional team.”

BIG WINS, TOUGH LOSSES

Red Raider fans have been treated to their fair share of comfortable wins as the Texas Tech baseball team has won 20 games this season by more than five runs. On the flip side, Tech has lost its fair share of close games giving Red Raider fans much heartache. Eight of Texas Tech’s 13 losses have come by two runs or less this season.

ONE OF THE NATION’S BEST OFFENSES

Entering Friday’s game, Tech ranks in the NCAA Top 10 in 10 different statistical categories 

(NCAA stat report following games played Wednesday, April 26):

• No. 2 in hits (484)
• No. 2 in double plays (42)
• No. 2 in sacrifice flies (32)
• No. 5 in runs (386)
• No. 7 in doubles (102)
• No. 7 in triples (18)
• No. 7 in double plays per game (1.00)
• No. 8 in batting average (.322)
• No. 9 in walks (249)
• No. 10 in runs per game (9.2)

  

SERIES HISTORY – KANSAS STATE

• Friday’s meeting will be the 83rd all-time between the two programs.
• These two teams saw each other five times last season; Tech won four of five. 
• Tim Tadlock is 22-11 all-time against Kansas State. Tadlock is 12-0 in games against KSU in Lubbock versus 7-8 in games in Manhattan. The Red Raiders are 3-3 in that span in Big 12 tournament games.
• Under Tadlock, Texas Tech has won seven of the nine weekend series; including seven of the last eight series. 
• Tech dropped its final two last time visiting K-State in 2021, suffering its first series loss to KSU since 2013.
• Kansas State eliminated Tech from the last two Big 12 tournaments. 
• Tech has not lost at home to Kansas State since May 18, 2012.
• The series dates back to 1993 when Tech earned a win in the only matchup prior to the formation of the Big 12.

LAST YEAR VS. KANSAS STATE

Last year in Lubbock, Tech clung to a 1-0 lead until the top of the sixth in game one of the series until K-State used a sacrifice fly to tie the game and a timely two-out, two-strike single to score a pair to put the Red Raiders behind, 3-1. Texas Tech answered the bell the next half inning, scoring four in the home half of the sixth and one more in the seventh for a 6-3 win. The Red Raiders cruised to the series win the following day with a 14-0 rout spurred by a dominant pitching performance from Brandon Birdsell, who allowed one hit and struck out 12 against three walks. Sunday was not so easy as Tech rallied, scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth, to walk-off K-State and earn the series sweep. Jace Jung provided the walk-off home run. Texas Tech kicked off the 2022 Big 12 Championship as the 2-seed versus the team they swept in the regular season, 7-seeded Kansas State. The Red Raiders won that opening game of the tournament to make it 4-for-4 on the season but the two met once again in Arlington and it was K-State who ended the Red Raiders Big 12 tournament run, edging out the Red Raiders with an extra-innings 6-5 win.

TEXAS TECH-KANSAS STATE CONNECTIONS

• Kansas State’s Shay Hartis was a member of Texas Tech’s roster in 2022. Hartis also shared the same roster at Grayson College with Ryan Free and Dax Dathe in 2021. 
• Texas Tech’s Ryan Free and Dax Dathe both played at Grayson College with Kansas State’s Dalton Beck (2022) and Clayton Broeder (2021-22). 
• Texas Tech’s Zac Vooletich and Kansas State’s Cash Rugely both played at Navarro College in 2021. 

MOTHER NATURE AGAINST THE TEXAS TECH-ACU SERIES

Last time out on April 25, intense lightning around Crutcher Scott Field halted the Red Raiders’ game at Abilene Christian. The game was suspended in the fourth inning and after approximately an hour delay, it was determined the game would not resume. Following three innings of a pitcher’s duel that saw no runs and one hit between the two teams, ACU exploded for six runs off five hits in the bottom of the fourth. The game was halted with one out and a runner on second base. The two teams have yet to decide on how the game will proceed. ACU is scheduled to visit Texas Tech on May 9 for a make-up game from April 4 when that game in Lubbock was postponed due to weather.

BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP 

The 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, will be hosted at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, May 24-28. For info on attending and tickets, visit Big12Sports.com.

–TECH–