Due to the Easter holiday, the series will take place Thursday through Sunday. The Red Raiders (19-4 Overall, 2-1 Big 12) and Wildcats (13-10 Overall, 0-3 Big 12) open things up with 6 p.m., starts on Thursday and Friday before a 4 p.m., first pitch on Saturday for the finale.
The entire series can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Fans can also tune in to the radio call on the Texas Tech Sports Network from Jamie Lent and former Red Raider All-American Cameron Warren.
TOINTON FAMILY STADIUM
Opened in 2001 as the home of K-State Baseball, a renovated and expanded Tointon Family Stadium debuted in the shortened 2020 season after completion of a $15 million project finalizing a two-year refurbishment of the facility that showcases improvements from the playing field and bullpens, to spacious clubhouse and offices to new chairback seating throughout the grandstand and a towering videoboard in right field.
K-State is currently allowing 25 percent capacity at the facility. This week's series will serve as the Big 12 home opener for the Wildcats, who are 8-3 at home this season.
LATELY
The Red Raiders are coming off a three-game sweep of South Florida over the weekend that capped off an 11-1 home stand and a 16-1 month of March. Tech enters the weekend having won 19 of its last 20 games overall, including a Big 12 series win over No. 15 Oklahoma State to open conference play two weeks ago.
Kansas State enters the weekend after being swept by Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., by scored of 5-1, 14-5 and 4-2. The Wildcats are 4-6 in their last 10 games.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Gm 1: RHP Brandon Birdsell (3-1, 3.25 ERA) vs. LHP Jordan Wicks (4-1, 2.65 ERA)
Gm 2: LHP Patrick Monteverde (5-0, 0.75 ERA) vs. RHP Carson Seymore (1-2, 4.50 ERA)
Gm 3: LHP Mason Montgomery (1-0, 4.00 ERA) vs. RHP Connor McCullough (1-1, 3.23 ERA)
TADLOCK TAKES OVER SECOND PLACE
In 2016, Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock took over the No. 3 spot in the all-time career wins records at Texas Tech. Five years later, he now stands in second place after picking up career win No. 318 on Friday, March 26. The Red Raiders beat South Florida, 16-6, to move Tadlock past the late Kal Segrist for the second most wins in school history.
16-1 MONTH OF MARCH
The Red Raiders went 16-1 during the month of March and outscored their opponents 138-63. It finished as the best month of March of the Tim Tadlock era, topping the 2017 club, which went 15-4 in the month. Overall, it was the fourth time under Tadlock the Red Raiders have won at least 14 games in the month.
FIRST ROAD TEST
The trip to Manhattan is Tech's first "away" game of the season and its first trip outside the state of Texas. Thursday's opener will mark the latest in the calendar year that the Red Raiders have played their first true road game since 1961. Tech has previously played at least one road game prior to the month of April for the last 59 years until this season, which presented a challenge to schedule games out of state due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
EASTER SHORTENED-WEEK
Texas Tech has traditionally handled the week of Easter well under Tim Tadlock with the shifted schedule. Tech has won 4-of-5 Easter series under Tadlock and is 13-5 overall. The only time Tech has traveled on a shortened-Easter week was to K-State in 2017, when the Red Raiders won the series, 2-1.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Thursday's meeting between Texas Tech and K-State will be the 75th all-time. Texas Tech holds a 45-28-1 lead in the series and is 17-18 all-time in Manhattan. Under Tadlock, the Red Raiders have won their last six series against the Wildcats and are 17-7 overall, including wins in eight of the last nine matchups. Tech went 3-1 against the Wildcats in 2019, winning 2-of-3 in Manhattan and adding a win at the Big 12 Tournament.
BAKER ON FIRE
Third-year sophomore outfielder Dru Baker has been on an absolute tear as of late, becoming the first Big 12 player since 2016 to be named Big 12 Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks. He went 10-for-14 (.714) against USF after hitting 7-for-13 (.538) in the series win over No. 15 OSU. He enters the weekend with a 10-game hitting streak, along with a streak of seven-consecutive multi-hit games.
DEFENSIVE MINDSET
The Red Raiders had a rough start to the season defensively, but have since turned things around both with their play in the field and with their starting pitching. Tech enters the weekend as the national leader in double plays with 24 on the year, including at least one in 17 of 23 games played. Tech's starting pitching as also shown steady improvement and currently holds an 11-2 record with a 2.38 ERA and 116 strikeouts to 38 walks.
OFFENSE IS PRETTY GOOD TOO
The Red Raiders rank in the Top-10 nationally in five offensive categories, including runs (4th), home runs (5th), base on balls (5th), on base percentage (5th) and slugging percentage (8th). Tech is also just outside the Top-10 in scoring (11th) at 8.4 runs per game. Tech leads the conference in each category except for base on balls (2nd).
IN THE RANKINGS
Texas Tech continued to climb the national rankings for the fifth-straight week. The Red Raiders, who have been ranked in the top 10 by at least one of the six major polls all season, come in at No. 4 in the D1Baseball poll, and are slotted as high as No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball.
For the latest on Texas Tech Baseball follow @TTU_Baseball on Twitter.
March 31, 2021 at 11:49PM
https://texastech.com/news/2021/3/31/baseball-no-4-red-raiders-resume-big-12-play-at-k-state.aspx
No. 4 Red Raiders Resume Big 12 Play at K-State - Texas Tech Red Raiders - TexasTech.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=Red&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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