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Texas Tech Baseball: Breaking Down The Lubbock Regional

By Matthew Conner

BREWSTER, MA - AUGUST 11: Zac Susi of the Bourne Braves warms up in the on deck circle during game one of the Cape Cod League Championship Series against the Brewster Whitecaps at Stony Brook Field on August 11, 2017 in Brewster, Massachusetts. The Cape Cod League was founded in 1885 and is the premier summer baseball league for college athletes. Over 1100 of these student athletes have gone on to compete in MLB including Chris Sale, Carlton Fisk, Joe Girardi, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. The chance to see future big league stars up close makes Cape Cod League games a popular activity for the families in each of the 10 towns on the Cape to host a team. Each team is a non-profit organization, relying on labor from volunteers and donations from spectators to run each year. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BREWSTER, MA - AUGUST 11: Zac Susi of the Bourne Braves warms up in the on deck circle during game one of the Cape Cod League Championship Series against the Brewster Whitecaps at Stony Brook Field on August 11, 2017 in Brewster, Massachusetts. The Cape Cod League was founded in 1885 and is the premier summer baseball league for college athletes. Over 1100 of these student athletes have gone on to compete in MLB including Chris Sale, Carlton Fisk, Joe Girardi, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. The chance to see future big league stars up close makes Cape Cod League games a popular activity for the families in each of the 10 towns on the Cape to host a team. Each team is a non-profit organization, relying on labor from volunteers and donations from spectators to run each year. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech baseball team is hosting the Lubbock regional in the NCAA Tournament this weekend.  Here’s a breakdown of the four teams that will battle it out at Rip Griffin Park.

For the third-consecutive year, the Texas tech baseball team is hosting a regional in the NCAA Tournament.  The winner of the four-team bracket will advance to the Super Regional to face the winner of the Athens, Georgia regional.

This will be the 14th time Texas Tech has been to the NCAA Tournament and the sixth time Lubbock has been a regional host site.  Regionals were also held in Lubbock in 1996, 1997, 1999,  2016 and 2017 in addition to this season.

For the  weekend, Texas Tech will face off with Louisville, Kent State and New Mexico State.  Tech split a pair of road games with Louisville earlier this season winning the first game 8-4 and losing the second game 7-4.

The Red Raiders also faced New Mexico state this year sweeping two games from the Aggies.  Tech shut out NMSU 12-0 at home in February and took a 2-1 walk-off win in April in Midland.

Tim Tadlock’s Red Raider squad is trying to find some consistency as the NCAA Tournament begins.  Having lost 9 of the last 16 games, Texas Tech is trying to find the form it displayed earlier in the season.

The past two weeks have been a microcosm of the team’s maddening inconsistency.  To end the regular season, Tech swept Oklahoma State on the road before dropping two of three games in the Big 12 Tournament in blowout fashion.

Tech has one of the most dangerous lineups in the nation averaging over 8.3 runs per game.  There are five regulars in the lineups hitting over .330 on the season making the Tech lineup daunting.

On the mound, Texas Tech’s pitching staff has a collective ERA of 4.36.  The bullpen has talent and is deep but the starting rotation has lacked consistency and ace Davis Martin has been awful down the stretch.

Now, the question is whether the Red Raiders can finally put together a run where its potent offense and  talented pitching staff can finally perform up to expectations at the same time.   If that happens, Tech should be able to advance to the Super Regional round.

One huge advantage for the Red Raiders is playing at home.  Texas Tech is 23-5 at home this year while just 14-10 on the road.

However, the path through the weekend will be tough with three quality teams standing in the way.  Here’s a look at each of the teams Texas Tech may face this weekend.

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