On Deck | Arkansas

STATE FARM COLLEGE BASEBALL SHOWDOWN

Game 1

Texas Tech vs. Arkansas

WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Globe Life Field | Arlington

2020 RECORDS: Texas Tech 16-3, Arkansas 11-5

LAST MEETING/SERIES: Arkansas leads 46-15 against its old Southwest Conference foe but the teams have met only five times since 2000. The Red Raiders claimed the last matchup, 5-4 at the 2019 College World Series, to snap a four-game skid against the Razorbacks in the games played this century.

RANKINGS: Texas Tech – No. 4 DIBaseball.com, No. 4 USA Today (coaches); Arkansas – No. 8/No. 8

RADIO: 97.3-FM (DoubleT973FM.com)

TV: None

LIVESTREAM: FloBaseball.com

INTERNET: RedRaiderDugout.com

TWITTER: @RandyRosetta, @RedRaiderDugout

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS

Texas Tech – LH Patrick Monteverde (did not pitch in 2020 at Seton Hill University; 4-3, 2.92 ERA, 78 K in 71 IP as a freshman in 2018)

Arkansas – RH Zebulon Vermillion (2020: 1-0, 1 save, 7.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 12 K)

LINEUP LEADERS

Texas Tech

CF Dylan Neuse (2020: .355/.438/.487, 22 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 12 RBIs, 12-12 SB)

IF Cole Stilwell (2020: .345/.500/.564, 15 R, 6 2B, 2 HR, 18 RBIs)

DH/C/1B Nate Rombach (2020: .308/.440/.677, 20 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 27 RBIs)

OF Dru Baker (2020: .266/.392/.469, 13 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 14 BB, 3-4 SB)

Arkansas

CF Christian Franklin (2020: .381/.467/.619, 21 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBIs, 10 BB)

LF Braydon Webb (2020: .340/.452/.400, 14 R, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 10 BB)

DH Matt Goodheart (.302/.400/.492, 14 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 18 RBIs, 10 BB)

UP NEXT

Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss, 3 p.m. Sunday

Arkansas vs. Texas, 7 p.m. Saturday

AROUND THE HORN

• Texas Tech’s roster is a blend of 24 returning lettermen and 20 newcomers – larger than usual in the aftermath of the 2020 season being blunted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Before a UCL injury put him on the shelf for most of 2019 and all last season, Monteverde logged 11 victories between his time at Virginia Wesleyan with 138 strikeouts in 153.2 innings of work. He and Connor Queen are the Red Raiders’ lone seniors.
• This weekend features three games for Texas Tech against ranked opponents – with four Big 12 series looming against teams that begin the season in the polls. SEC coaches pegged the three opponents to finish 1-2-3 in the league’s powerful Western Division (Ole Miss-Mississippi State-Arkansas).
• Red Raiders’ coach Tim Tadlock begins his 9^th season 17 victories short of climbing into second place on the program’s all-time win list. He is third with 301 behind Larry Hays (813) and Kal Segrist (3-17).