Red Raider Baseball | Texas Tech vs. Kansas | Weekend Open Thread

Hitting the Road: As Texas Tech hits the road, the last road trip for the Red Raiders, they face a dangerous Kansas team that wouldn’t mind playing spoiler (via LAJ and DT). From the LAJ, Texas Tech is looking to solidify their post-season resume:

The Red Raiders (36-13, 11-7) have won five of the previous eight Big 12 series at Hoglund Ballpark, but have lost three of the last four. In none of those series, however, has Tech been in the position it finds itself now — trying to solidify its postseason resume (NCAA RPI of 11) and possibly move up into the discussion of hosting an NCAA regional. "Any game that we win is important, especially in the Big 12," pitcher Dominc Moreno said after Tech’s 14-4 sweep-clinching win over Oklahoma on Sunday. "It’s hard to sit here and say, ‘Hey, I’m really excited, really ready to go.’ I’m obviously excited but there’s still six more (Big 12) games left. We still gotta go to Kansas and then come back here for West Virginia. We’ve got some work to do."

Jayhawks Continue to Work: Kansas was picked near the end, but they continue to work. They don’t have the best record, but they’re at .500 in the conference despite being picked 9th before the season (via LAJ):

With so many changes and adjustments, and with some relative unknowns offensively going into the year, the Jayhawks were picked to finish last in the league by its coaches. But all Price has done is brought KU to a .500 league record at 9-9 (27-20) overall with the possibility of a strong finish ahead. The Jayhawks play six of their final nine games at home, including their last two Big 12 series starting Friday against the Red Raiders (36-13, 11-7).

OUTFIELD: LF: Tyler Neslony| CF: Stephen Smith | RF: Adam Kirsch
INFIELD: 3B: Jake Barrios | SS: Tim Proudfoot | 2B: Bryant Burleson | 1B Eric Gutierrez | C: Hunter Redman | DH: Matt Broadbent

Game 1: Friday, May 2nd @ 6:00 pm
Texas Tech Starting Pitcher: RHP Ryan Moseley (1-1, 2.78)
Kansas Starting Pitcher: RHP Jordan Piche (5-5, 5.26)
Final Score & Box Score: Texas Tech 3, Kansas 11 - Recap - Box Score - LAJ

Yeesh. Texas Tech pretty much got run by Jordan Piche, who was pitching well recently. Ryan Moseley got the spot, but his biggest problem was free passes, including 5 walks in 5 innings, as well as 3 hits and 7 strikeouts. Again, Moseley is a true freshmen, but this was a rough outing. Matt Withrow didn't exactly stop down Kansas as he allowed 5 runs, on 3 hits, 3 walks and 5 strikeouts.  That's 8 free passes, which is incredibly problematic.  The offense was stagnant at best, managing only 7 hits all night and of the 3 runs, they didn't do much to pressure Piche. Bryant Burleson and Tyler Neslony were each 2-4, while Adam Kirsch hit his 7th home run of the year.

Game 2: Saturday, May 3rd @ 2:00 pm
Texas Tech Starting Pitcher: LHP Chris Sadberry (4-1, 2.78)
Kansas Starting Pitcher: RHP Robert Kahana (3-5, 2.74)
Final Score & Box Score: Texas Tech 4, Kansas 6 - Recap - Box Score - LAJ

The conference records between Kansas and Texas Tech are the same, 11-9, heading into Sunday's showdown, and the more I get the chance to write about baseball and figure it out, the more I think the difference between going to the NCAA Tournament and not is winning those mid-week games. They're important too. Really important. Would be really good for Texas Tech to pull itself out of this ditch and get a win on Sunday.

Chris Sadberry was less than good, only managing 3.2 innings of work, givin gup 6 hits, 5 runs, 3 walks, and only 2 strikeouts. This is not normally what we can expect from him. Dominic Moreno pitched in relief, going 4.1 innings, allowing 1 run, unearned, 3 hits, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. The offense had 13 hits and left 10 runners on base, which means that the usually reliable and opportunistic offense didn't pull through. Bryant Burleson managed 3 hits, while Stephen Smith, Matt Broadbent, Eric Gutierrez and Tim Proudfoot all had 2 hits.

Game 3: Sunday, May 4th @ 1:00 pm
Texas Tech Starting Pitcher: TBA
Kansas Starting Pitcher: RHP Rank Duncan (5-2, 2.13)
Final Score & Box Score: -