A Glance at The Week Ahead
In this week’s Texas Tech baseball recap and preview, we take look at a rough weekend at home and what to look forward to. The Texas Tech Baseball team will look to bounce back this week. In a four-game week, the Red Raiders will take on the New Mexico Lobos Wednesday, April 28th. Then in a road series, the team will travel to Austin to take on No. 4 ranked Texas in a three-game series this weekend.
Baylor Series Baseball Recap
In a home series in Lubbock at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park, the Texas Tech Red Raiders took on the Baylor Bears in a three-game series. The series did not go well for the Red Raiders while not being able to hit the broad side of a barn. On the other side of things, the Bears were not missing when up at-bat. Leading them to score 26 runs over the weekend and taking the series 2-1.
The series began Friday, April 23rd, at 6:30 pm on a warm evening in Lubbock. The game started with Baylor coming out to bat in the second with six runs. Then the momentum from the second carried on through the rest of the game. The 11 runs allowed were the most the team has allowed all season against any Big 12 team. The first game matchup ended up in a Texas Tech loss by 12-4. The team would then look to bounce in the next game of the series.
In the second game of the series on Saturday, April 24th, the Red Raiders came to play. With a slow start at the beginning of the game, the team would go on in the eighth to hit a double. That would bring the Red Raiders three runs. Those three runs would be enough to go on to win. On the other side of the ball, Micah Dallas had a day as well. By tossing ten strikeouts in seven innings, Dallas was able to keep the Bears at bay to go on to win the game 4-1.
Tie-Breaker Recap
In the last game of the series on Sunday, April 25th, the Baylor Bears had a repeat from Friday. The game began with the Bears opening up the can of worms by hitting two home runs. The Red Raiders didn’t get on the scoreboard until the sixth inning, by that time, the Bears already had a four-run lead. The Red Raiders only had one error on Sunday. The error would cause them to go onto lose the contest 13-3 and lose the series 1-2.
It was the first time since 2010 that the Baylor Bears had taken a home series against Texas Tech. It was also the first Big 12 series loss at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park since 2018. With the loss, the Red Raiders then will look forward to a big week ahead.
New Mexico Series
Moving on from our baseball recap we look to a single-game series in Lubbock when Texas Tech takes on the New Mexico Lobos. The Lobos are currently 9-16 on the season and looking to turn their season around with a win in Lubbock. The Lobos currently have two players batting above .350 in Kyler Castillo and Mack Chambers.
Kyler Castillo is a junior Texas Native from Midlothian, Texas, and currently batting a .353 average for the Lobos. The junior played prior at Odessa College in Odessa, Texas, and has played in 23 games this season. Also, playing outfield Castillo can be a threat from both sides of the ball .
The other player to keep an eye on for the Lobos is sophomore Mack Chambers from Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Before playing at New Mexico, he played at Seminole St. College but currently plays shortstop for the Lobos. In addition to his speed and coordination on the defensive side of the ball. Chambers is also one of the biggest threats for the Lobos when up at-bat. Chambers currently has a .368 batting average and leads the Lobos in batting average.
With five players all batting above .300, the New Mexico Lobos are a serious threat. The key to stopping the Lobos when at-bat is consistency. The Red Raiders have to consistently either find a rotation of pitchers that work or have a player step up to make big players.
Texas Series
Arguably, the biggest matchup of the Big 12 baseball season. The Texas Longhorns take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Austin, Texas, at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The Longhorns currently are sitting first in the Big 12 at 33-9 overall and 12-3 in the conference. Like the Red Raiders, the Longhorns will look to take the series to stay in the running to win the conference. The series is scheduled to begin Friday, April 30th. Then open up the month of May on the first and second, with both games scheduled at 2:30 pm.
The Texas Longhorns currently have two players above a .325 batting average in Ivan Melendez and Mitchell Daly. In total they have four players hitting above a .300. Both Melendez and Daly have been consistent playmakers for the Longhorns and will look to keep it up this weekend.
Ivan Melendez is a redshirt sophomore from El Paso, Texas, and plays infielder for the Longhorns. Before playing at Texas, he played at Odessa College. Melendez was a part of a record season where he helped the team to a 21-1 record. Before the season was canceled due to the pandemic. Now a Texas Longhorn, Melendez leads the team in batting with a .368 batting average and has played 35 games this season.
The other player to keep an eye on is Mitchell Daly, a freshman from Madison, Alabama. As a freshman, Daly is second on the team in batting average with a .347 on the season. He will look to continue his first college season with the longhorns.
With the weapons the Texas Longhorns have matched up against the Red Raiders, look for the matchup to be an intense meeting.
Red Raiders to Keep an Eye On
Texas Tech Baseball this season is loaded with talent and is looking to bounce back after dropping a rare at-home series. Although we mention other players in our baseball recap there are specific players who are constantly brought up. The three players leading the Red Raiders when up at bat are Dru Baker, Jace Jung, and Cal Conley, who all three have had spectacular seasons and will only look to improve moving forward.
Dru Baker
After coming out the gates hot early in the season, Dru Baker has since fought adversity through injuries and a tough schedule. Now starting to come back after a rough patch Baker who has a .388 batting average, will look to improve on the statistic and the season. The sophomore from Tomball, Texas, also led the team in many categories last season before the season ended due to the pandemic.
Jace Jung
The second player to keep an eye on and perhaps the most consistent is Jace Jung. The freshman who made a significant impact in his year first year is hungry and trying to fill his brother’s shoes and thus far has not disappointed. The Texas native from San Antonio, Texas, currently has a .379 batting average on the season and has played in all 37 games of the season for the Red Raiders. Look for Jung to step up big on a big stage this weekend.
Cal Conley
The last player to keep an eye on for the Red Raiders is Cal Conley, who arguably has been the most clutch player for the team with two walk-off wins this season. The Redshirt Freshman from Mount Carmel, Ohio, and infielder has had a record year for himself. Currently batting a .336 for the season, Conley will look to show out for his team and stay consistent in the upcoming Texas series.
The team has several playmakers, and the Red Raiders will be looking for someone to step up next as the team takes on No. 4 Texas.
Summary over Baseball Recap and Preview
Overall, the Texas Tech Red Raider Baseball Team will look to recover in. four-game week starting against the New Mexico Lobos Wednesday at home in Lubbock. Then turn around and travel to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns in an away series for the Red Raiders. Keep an eye on the Red Raiders to have one of their best weeks of the season, and they look to prove to themselves and the rest of the world that they are a top 5 team.
To see the rest of Texas Tech Baseball schedule check out: https://texastech.com/sports/baseball/schedule/2021
Check out all of the other baseball recap at: https://campuslivettu.com/
Written by Trinity Porter, Campus Live Intern