Texas Tech at Kansas State
WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Tointon Family Stadium | Manhattan, Kansas
RECORDS: Texas Tech 19-4, 2-1 Big 12 Conference; K-State 13-10, 0-3
RANKINGS: Texas Tech – No. 4 D1Baseball, No. 4 USA Today/coaches’ poll
LAST MEETING/SERIES: The Red Raiders topped the Wildcats 7-4 at the 2019 Big 12 Tournament after taking the season series (2-1) in Manhattan in late March of that season. Texas Tech leads the series 45-28-1 and has won 17 of the last 20 matchups since the program’s first College World Series season in 2014. The Red Raiders have won the last three series in Manhattan but have not escaped without a loss in any of them.
LAST TIME OUT: Texas Tech wrapped up a sweep of South Florida with a grind-it-out 7-4 triumph on Sunday. K-State fell to Oklahoma State, 8-2 on Sunday to finish the weekend 0-3.
USF RECAPS: Game 2 | Game 3
PODCAST: Sweeping the Bulls on the Way to Manhattan | Dinger Derby
RADIO: 97.3-FM | TuneIn Radio App
TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
INTERNET: RedRaiderDugout.com
TWITTER: @RandyRosetta | @RedRaiderDugout | @KeithBPatrick
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Thursday – Texas Tech RH Brandon Birdsell (3-1, 27.2 IP, 3.25 ERA, 30 SO/8 BB, .221 BAA) vs. K-State LH Jordan Wicks (4-1, 37.1 IP, 2.65 ERA, 51 SO/10 BB, .214 BAA)
Friday – Texas Tech LH Patrick Monteverde (5-0, 36 IP, 0.75 ERA, 39 SO/3 BB, .171 opponent BA) vs. RH Carson Seymour (1-2, 30 IP, 4.50 ERA, 25 SO/16 BB, .254 BAA)
Saturday – Texas Tech LH Mason Montgomery (1-0, 27 IP, 4.00 ERA, 28 SO/14 BB, .229 BAA) vs. RH Connor McCullough (1-1, 30.2 IP, 3.23 ERA, 31 SO/11 BB, .254 BAA)
OUT OF THE BULLPEN
Texas Tech
RH Micah Dallas (1-1, 1 save, 20.2 IP, 1.74 ERA, 24 SO/6 BB, .227 BAA)
RH Chase Hampton (1-0, 1 save, 14 IP, 3.86 ERA, 8 SO/8 BB, .191 BAA)
RH Ryan Sublette (3-0, 1 save, 14 IP, 3.86 ERA, 21 SO/5 BB, .208 BAA)
RH Connor Queen (1-0, 3 saves, 7 IP, 3.86 ERA, 5 SO/3 BB, .280 opponent BAA)
RH Hayde Key (1-0, 8.2 IP, 5.19 ERA, 12 SO/4 BB, .235 BAA)
RH Brendan Girton (1-0, 1 save, 9.1 IP, 5.79 ERA, 12 SO/5 BB, .316 BAA)
K-State
RH Tyler Eckberg (1-2, 3 saves, 13 IP, 1.38 ERA, 12 SO/2 BB .260 BAA)
RH Caleb Littlejim (1-2, 1 save, 12.2 IP, 3.55 ERA, 17 SO/10 BB, .214 BAA)
LH Eric Torres (2-0, 10.1 IP, 7.84 ERA, 11 SO/2 BB, .295 BAA)
RH Jaxon Passino (1-0, 10 IP, 8.10 ERA, 14 SO/6 BB, .347 BAA)
RH Zak Herbers (1-1, 8 IP, 3.38 ERA, 4 SO/3 BB, .333 BAA)
LINEUP LEADERS
Texas Tech
LF Dru Baker (.442/.518/.558, 32 R, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 14 RBIs, 14 BB, 11-13 SB)
2B Jace Jung (.388/.505/.741, 22 R, 6 2B, 8 HR, 31 RBIs, 20 BB)
SS Cal Conley (.359/.425/.587, 16 R, 9 2B, 4 HR, 24 RBIs, 5-6 SB)
C Braxton Fulford (.286/.384/.683, 5 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 19 RBIs)
CF Dylan Neuse (.277/.444/.410, 26 R, 4 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBIs, 20 BB, 8-9 SB)
K-State
LF Dylan Phillips (.341/.431/.588, 20 R, 6 2B, 5 HR, 25 RBIs, 12 BB, 4-5 SB)
SS Kamron Willman (.322/.423/.492, 10 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBIs, 10 BB)
RF Zach Kokoska (.313/.431/.687, 24 R, 4 2B, 9 HR, 24 RBIs, 15 BB)
2B Nick Goodwin (.295/.386/.500, 20 R, 6 2B, 4 HR, 14 RBIs, 12 BB, 7-9 SB)
UP NEXT
TCU at Texas Tech | April 9-11
AROUND THE HORN
- This weekend marks Texas Tech’s first true road trip of the season and first foray outside of Texas all season. This is the latest the Red Raiders’ latest true road game of the season since 1961.
- Between them, Texas Tech’s Dru Baker and Jace Jung rank first or second in the Big 12 Conference in eight statistical categories. Baker stands first in the league in runs (32) and stolen bases (11), while Jung is the Big 12’s leader in RBIs (31). Baker is second in hits (42) and batting average (.442), with Jung second in total bases (63) and home runs (8). K-State’s Zack Kokoska is the league-leader with 9 homers.
- Baker has been tabbed the Big 12 Player of the Week two weeks in a row and enters the weekend as one of the hottest hitters in the country. He was 10-for-14 against South Florida after going 7-for-13 vs. Oklahoma State in the Big 12-opening series. He has a 10-game hitting streak, with seven games in a row with multi-hits.
- Texas Tech hit .361 as a team in the sweep of South Florida and produced double-digit hit totals in each game.
- The Wildcats come in slumping offensively with only 10 runs scored during a four-game losing streak, their longest this season. In the three losses to Oklahoma State, K-State was abysmal with runners in scoring position (3 for 28) and with two outs (4 for 32).
- Starting pitching has been a strength for the Wildcats this season: In 120.2 innings, starters own a 2.98 ERA. But the bullpen has been shaky with a 4.30 ERA in 81.2 IP – but was much better in March with a 2.93 ERA.
