No. 6 Tech Set For Home Weekend Series Against UTSA

Friday, March 10

Lubbock, Texas

6:30 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

San Antonio

No. 6 Tech Set For Home Weekend Series Against UTSA

March 09, 2017 | Baseball

Texas Tech Notes UTSA Notes Live Stats Live Stream

The Red Raiders will take on UTSA on March 10-12 at Rip Griffin Park

LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 6 Texas Tech baseball team continues its four-game home stretch with a weekend series against UTSA on March 10-12 at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

Friday's tilt with the Roadrunners (7-5) will be played under the lights at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday's game is set for a 2 p.m. start, with Sunday's finale slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

All three games will air live on TexasTech.TV and on the Texas Tech Sports Network on 97.3 FM, with live stats available via TexasTech.Statbroadcast.com.

Friday's contest will be the second night game of the year for the Red Raiders (12-2). The first came on Tuesday night in the form of the first top-10 matchup in Lubbock since March 28-30, 1997, back when the No. 9 Red Raiders took two of three from No. 10 Oklahoma State. On Tuesday, No. 6 Tech hosted No. 4 Arizona and ran past the Wildcats after scoring in five consecutive innings for a 13-1 victory.

It was the first top-five win for the Red Raiders at Rip Griffin Park since a 5-1 defeat of No. 2 TCU on April 3, 2015. Arizona was ranked fourth by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and appeared at No. 1 in the first NCAA RPI poll of the season. Not only was Tuesday's contest a billing of top-10 teams, but was also a battle of 2016 College World Series teams, as Tech and the Wildcats were on opposite sides of last year's Omaha bracket.

Tuesday's win was the third-straight top-10 victory for the Red Raiders, who took down No. 8 Ole Miss, 5-1, and No. 2 LSU, 5-4, last weekend at the 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic. It was the first time Tech has posted three consecutive wins over top-10 teams since 2014, when the Red Raiders won three-straight against No. 3 Indiana.

The Red Raiders and the Roadrunners have met eight times in the two program's histories, as Tech holds the overall advantage at 7-1. The first two meetings came in Lubbock in 2000, when Tech defeated UTSA, 8-6 and 15-12. It was also the last time the two met in west Texas. In 2011, the Red Raiders picked up a two-game series sweep with scores of 8-2 and 11-6 in San Angelo, the last time the two programs squared off.

February was a good month for the Red Raiders, as they opened the season with a 9-1 record. Tech began the 2017 campaign on the road in Starkville, splitting their two-game set with Mississippi State and sweeping Western Illinois. The Red Raiders returned home to and posted a 16-1 showing over New Mexico State in the Lubbock opener, before sweeping a four-game weekend with Cal. Tech wrapped up the six-game home stand with a 7-2 win over New Mexico last Tuesday to start out 6-0 at Rip Griffin Park. With Tuesday's victory, Tech has improved to 7-0 to start the year.

With a 12-2 start to the season, the Red Raiders have found their way into the top-10 of four different polls, moving up in five from last week's rankings. For the fourth-straight week, D1 Baseball has Tech ranked highest among the six publications at No. 6. Perfect Game (No. 8), the USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 9) and the National College Baseball Writers Association (No. 9) all have the Red Raiders inside the top-10 of their respective polls. Rounding out the other publications are Collegiate Baseball at No. 12 and Baseball America at No. 14. The Red Raiders have been ranked inside the top six in each of the last two seasons.

On Tuesday, the Red Raiders called upon freshman right-hander John Henry Gonzalez for his third start of the season. The Edinburg native tossed 3.2 innings, giving up only one run on two hits, walking five but striking out four. It was the third-straight start to allow two hits and second time giving up just one run. He gave way to junior lefty Jacob Patterson who dealt 1.1 IP to earn this third victory of the season. Sophomore left-hander Erikson Lanning and freshman righty Caleb Freeman tossed the final four frames, combining for two strikeouts and one walk over the scoreless four innings.

Tech's pitching staff was outstanding yet again, allowing only one run for the fifth time in 2017. It was the 10^th time this year two or fewer runs have been scored on the Red Raiders, as Arizona stranded 13 on the base path.

The Red Raider bats exploded for 13 runs on Tuesday against the Wildcats, making it the fifth time this season to score 10 or more runs in a game. Nine different Red Raiders recorded a hit in the contest, as four put up multi-hit performances. Leading the charge was freshman catcher Michael Berglund, who posted his first three-hit game of his career, racking up three singles and a walk, while driving in two runners and scoring two as well. Sophomore designated hitter Cameron Warren delivered two doubles, with three RBI and one run, along with a walk.

Senior infielder Hunter Hargrove and junior outfielder Tanner Gardner both put up two hits and three runs scored, while Gardner was also issued two walks, one intentional. Hargrove's two-hit day not only continued his hitting streak to 14 games, but also moved him into a tie for the team-high in multi-hit games with five, while Gardner trails closely with four. Gardner also has recorded a hit in each of the last six games, which is the second-longest streak this season behind Hargrove's.

This weekend, the Red Raiders will roll out RHP Davis Martin, LHP Steven Gingery and RHP Ryan Shetter against the Roadrunners. The trio has combined for a 5-1 record this season, as Tech has gone 8-1 when they start a game on the hill. They've also totaled a nasty strikeout total of 55, while walking only nine batters.

After the three-game weekend, Texas Tech will head over to Globe Life Park in Arlington to take on UT-Arlington on Tuesday, March 14, at 7 p.m. The Red Raiders will then head south to Austin to open up conference play against Texas on March 17-19.