Texas Tech Baseball is Set to Host NCAA Regional and Play Army
The Texas Tech Red Raiders Baseball Team is back in action on Friday, June 4th at 11 am. The team will look to bounce back after a disappointing Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament. Where the team only played three games. This is Texas Tech’s fifth year to host the NCAA Regional Tournament and will again look to win the four-team tournament.
The four teams competing in the tournament at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park are a very hot UCLA (University of California in Los Angeles), Army at West Point, and UNC (University of North Carolina). In the first game of the tournament the Texas Tech Red Raiders will take on the Army Black Knights. In a rematch from two seasons ago. Then following UNC will play UCLA and the winner of each contest will compete against each other in the championship game. The games are now a do or die situation. As Texas Tech looks to keep their season alive and get back to Omaha.
Game One Versus Army
The first game of the week that Tech will host in the NCAA Regional Tournament will be played against Army at West Point who are having a solid season. Currently the Black Knights are 28-23 on the season and went 13-10 in the Patriot League. Now on a hot streak after winning the Patriot League Tournament. The Black Knights after beating Lafayette College and Lehigh the Black Knights will look to keep up the momentum. Texas Tech on the other hand has much different plans.
Players To Keep an Eye On
With Army having a fair season they also have an arsenal of players who can pose as a potential threat. The Black Knights currently only have eight players on their roster that have played more than 75% of the games. Out of all eight of those players all eight are hitting above a .250 for the season. Two of those players are hitting above .300. Those players being Ross Friedick and Anthony Giachin. With a strong batting core, the Red Raiders will have to have a strong game when up to the mound to keep the Black Knights off the board.
Anthony Giachin is a senior from Livingston New Jersey. He has played at Army all four years of his collegiate career. He has quite a resume and has been a key factor since he began playing for the Black Knights. With making the Patriot League First Team, Academic team and then to add several All-American team selections. He poses as a serious threat towards the Red Raiders. Giachin also leads the team when up to bat and has started 50 of the 51 games he has played in. Which is also the most for any player on the roster.
Overall, he leads the team in most batting categories and is arguably one of the biggest threats on the team. Currently he has a .305 batting average on the season and is second on the team in the category. And has the potential to be big threat when up to bat. Keep an eye on Giachin to be an issue for the Red Raiders as they will have to perform well at the mound and keep the ball away from him as Tech hosts the NCAA Regional Tournament.
The other player to keep an eye on for the Black Knights is Ross Friedrick. Friedrick is a sophomore from Alpharetta, Georgia and plays catcher. Standing at 6’4” and 230 pounds and playing in his first full season Friedrick has been phenomenal. Playing in 41 games and starting in 33 of them he leads the team in batting average at .327. Now with their season on the line Freidrick will look to continue his dominant season. From both on and behind home plate.
Key to stopping the Black Knights
The key to stopping the Black Knights is going to come from a strong pitching performance. In the Big 12 Tournament the Red Raiders came out strong with one of their best pitching performances early in the contest. Then in the next two game the team struggled from both ends of the ball. With sloppy pitching and inconsistent in the last two games. The Red Raiders will have to correct their play and have a solid game against the Black Knights.
While Tech has been fair throughout the season about minimizing errors their pitching performance. From here out in the NCAA Regional game that they will host. They will have to be stellar if they are to beat Army. On the other side of the ball the team will look to players such as Cal Conley, Dru Baker and Jace Jung to make big plays to keep the team ahead. The three have either come up clutch or batted lights out on the season and will need to continue to do so. If able to handle the Black Knights, then the Red Raiders will more than likely face the UCLA Bruins who have been on a hot streak as of late.
Overall
Make sure to either show up to Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park or tune into ESPN and Texas Tech Sports Network for the Texas Tech Red Raiders first NCAA Regional game. The game is slated to begin Friday, June 4th at 11am and the winner of the contest will play the winner of the UNC and UCLA to dictate who moves on and seeded. The road to Omaha has begun for the Red Raiders and with their season coming to an end will need to play their best ball to play in a national championship.
For more Texas Tech articles checkout: https://campuslivettu.com/
For Texas Tech’s entire baseball schedule checkout: https://texastech.com/sports/baseball/schedule/2021
Written by Campus Live Intern Trinity Porter