Rankings Roundup | Week 4 - Red Raider Dugout

Rankings Roundup | Week 4

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WEEKLY THOUGHTS

The Red Raiders headed out on a five-game road trip and came home with a 4-1 record over that span to improve to 14-3 on the season. Tech split a tough two-game midweek with the #23 Mississippi State Bulldogs at the home of the AA Biloxi Shuckers in Biloxi, MS. Despite being a neutral site, it was undoubtedly a Bulldog-heavy crowd and after posting a nine-run 4th inning, Mississippi State rolled to an 11-5 victory Tuesday. Tech responded well Wednesday with a five-run second inning and rode that big frame to a 7-2 victory behind strong pitching from starter Jamie Hitt and a solid combined bullpen performance.

Tech headed to Houston to take on the Rice Owls in Reckling Park, a venue Tech hasn’t won in since 1996. The Friday offering boasted 25-30mph winds and a wind chill of 29 degrees by the end of the game. Andrew Morris and Josh Sanders combined for a one-run outing and after a solo shot on Tuesday, Parker Kelly continued the hit parade with another solo dinger Friday night to make it 6 home runs for him in less than a week. Tech rolled 10-1 and never trailed in the blustery weather, they were aided by 5 errors from the Rice defense as well.

Saturday and Sunday saw closer contests with Tech taking the lead in the ninth Saturday and Trendan Parish earning his first win of the season in 1.1 innings of work. Parish got the win but it was Brandon Birdsell who set it up with 15K over 6 innings of almost perfect work, only two baserunners reached in Birdsell’s appearances, both on errors. Dalton Porter reached on all of his plate appearances in that one with a walk (run), ROE, RBI 2B, HBP, HBP. Sunday, the Red Raiders came from behind posting 9 of their 13 hits in the final five innings to come back from a 4-1 deficit and win 7-4. Hudson White led the way going 3-4, 2 2B, RBI, 3 R, BB.

Two positions appear to continue to be in flux for Texas Tech. Left field has yet to solidify with Porter and Zac Vooletich both seeing starts there over the weekend and Vooletich continuing to rotate in at DH as well. Additionally, the batting order continues to see movement as Head Coach Tim Tadlock seeks the answer in the leadoff. On the road trip, Dillon Carter and Vooletich combined to go 3-23, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, with the majority of that stat line coming from a multi-hit day from Vooletich on Sunday.

In the first three weeks, Tech has cleaned up in the awards department.
Week 2 | Ty Coleman: Big 12 Player of the Week & Big 12 Newcomer of the Week
Week 3 | Parker Kelly: Big 12 Player of the Week, Golden Spikes Performance of the Week, Owen Washburn: Big 12 Newcomer of the week
Week 4 | Brandon Birdsell: Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Week, Golden Spikes Performance of the Week

Did you miss last week’s action? You can read the recaps of each game to catch up!

MISSISSIPPI STATE RECAPS
Bulldogs Snap Tech’s Nine-Game Win Streak
Hitt Deals, Kelly Rakes, and Tech Gets Revenge

RICE RECAPS
Morris & Sanders Fan the Owls
Birdsell Dominates in the Owls’ House
Bullpen Secures the Sweep in Houston

NOTE: The below statistics are not updated to reflect the midweek wins over New Mexico.

A few things about the rankings:

DO THEY ALL MATTER?

No, absolutely not, most of them are worthless and only exist because a baseball/statistics nerd decided to make them. Some are an attempt by various outlets to keep RPI live rather than updated weekly by the NCAA. Many are wholly subjective in the case of those from various news outlets or composites of many rankings affected by outliers. Some also update at odd times, like on Friday. Finally, rankings basically never matter. What is more useless than mid-season rankings with no consideration in a post-season selection process? The whole point of rankings and polls are for conversation, so enjoy the conversation starter. 

WHICH ONES ARE MOST IMPORTANT?

There are six rankings in college baseball that are recognized and most respected: D1 Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, NCBWA, and the USA Today Coaches Poll. This year, the College Baseball Foundation has begun releasing the College Baseball Hall of Fame Power Poll, I’m excited to see this one get some publicity. 

DOES THAT MEAN I WON’T INCLUDE THEM?

Also, absolutely not. I’m going to include every ranking, RPI, composite, and strength of schedule I can find. It doesn’t matter how “legit” they are, I’m going to put them on the list. I like seeing them change and move fluidly over time. It’s also nice to see that even some of the top recognized lists are subject to knee-jerk reactions.

WHY INCLUDE IT IF IT DOESN’T MATTER?

We count everything in baseball. – Billy Chapel

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