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The Baseball Team is Doing Good. Quite Good: The Texas Tech baseball team is being ranked all of the place, including being ranked #21 by Baseball America for the first time since 2005 (via Baseball America) and is also ranked #23 by Perfect Game (via Perfect Game). In fact, Texas Tech is ranked in all five major polls (via Texas Tech). George Watson writes that Texas Tech baseball is no mirage (via LAJ):
With Sunday’s win, according to Boyd, Tech can finish with no worse than a Top 32 RPI. With about four more wins, the Red Raiders could even clinch a Top 16 RPI, and then you’re not just talking about making the NCAA postseason, you’re talking about hosting a regional, which Tech hasn’t done since 1999. With eight games remaining, winning four isn’t a stretch at all.
One more thing, Eric Gutierrez was given the Big 12 Player of the Week (via Big 12):
Gutierrez blasted his eighth, ninth and 10th home runs of the season during the final two games of a series leading Texas Tech to its first Big 12 sweep over Oklahoma since 2002. Tech has now swept three straight series, including two during Big 12 play. On the week, Gutierrez batted .368 (7-for-19) with six runs, three homers, two walks and a .435 on-base percentage and .842 slugging percentage while finishing the week with three straight multi-hit games in series sweep over Oklahoma. Against Oklahoma, the sophomore totaled six hits and 10 RBI along with the three home runs plus five runs scored. Gutierrez became the first Red Raider to homer twice in a home game since 2010 while guiding Tech to a 14-4 win in the series finale during a seven-inning run-rule contest. Gutierrez currently leads the Big 12 in home runs (10), RBI (48), total bases (104) and slugging percentage (.601).
Marquez Focused on Football: IR Bradley Marquez is focused on football and wants to reach his potential in that sport (via SAEN):
"I want to go out and try to reach my potential in football," Marquez said. "I feel like I definitely have a lot more left in me that I can give to this program. So it's something I'm excited about."
And head coach Kliff Kingsbury talks about what Marquez brings to the table:
"Brad is a faster, smaller version," Kingsbury said. "We'll be a little smaller across the board this season, but the speed will pick up, and I think Brad will translate well into that position. We'll do different things with him than we asked Jace to do. We've got to be good in adapting to our personnel."
It's also interesting in that Kingsbury said that Marquez wants to leave it all on the table this year and leave no regrets about whether or not he's given football his full attention.
Big Five Conference Thoughts from a Basketball School: In my never ending quest to try to understand as many perspectives about how the new Big Five conferences are shaping the rest of athletics, I enjoyed reading this article about how this new proposal affects small schools and how they just won't be able to keep up (via Providence Journal). Of course, there are plenty of schools in the Big Five that might not be able to keep up either. Definitely gave me some perspective.
Moore to Texas Sports High School Football Hall of Fame: This is probably a blast from the past for some of you as Donald Moore, a defensive back that played high school football at Splendora from 1976-1979 is being inducted into the Texas Sports High School Football Hall of Fame this weekend as he holds the record in Texas for most interceptions as a high school player at 59 (via Waco Tribune). The photo in the article is a classic.
Links:
Ubben clearly despises you as he only has Texas Tech ranked 5th in his post spring Big 12 Power Rankings (via Fox Sports).
A somewhat generic recruiting scorecard for every Big 12 team (via ESPN).
Totally Texas Tech with a photo update of the new SWC Bonfire Circle (via Totally Texas Tech). They've poured the concrete!
A post spring breakdown of the Big 12 quarterbacks (via ESPN).
Both tennis teams await their NCAA fate tonight as they will have a watching party at the Texas Tech Club tonight (via Texas Tech).
