Texas Tech baseball needs these players to come up big in Omaha
The Texas Tech baseball team is back in the College World Series for the fourth time in six years. But for the Red Raiders to finally make a deep run in Omaha, these players must come up big.
For the Texas Tech baseball program and its fans, the novelty of simply reaching Omaha and the College World Series has begun to fade. Certainly, every trip to the sport’s biggest event is worth appreciating and celebrating but now that the Red Raiders are making their fourth CWS appearance in six years, it is time for Tim Tadlock’s team to finally make some serious noise.
In 2014, Tech was swept out of Omaha by dropping two one-run games. The Red Raiders fell 3-2 to TCU in the opener and 2-1 to Ole Miss in game-two. But being as that was the program’s first trip to Omaha, many were overjoyed with simply going where Texas Tech baseball had never gone before.
Two years later, the Red Raiders again fell to TCU to open the CWS, this time 5-3. But in the next game, Tech was able to finally notch a win in Omaha by beating No. 1 Florida 3-2 to stave off elimination. Unfortunately, a sloppy 7-5 loss to eventual champ Costal Carolina would end the Raiders’ second stint CWS appearance.
And last year, Tech got off to a great start by finally winning their opening game. By taking down No. 1 Florida 6-3, the Red Raiders took the first step towards finally making a serious run at reaching the championship series. But Tech lost the next two games, 7-4 to Arkansas and 9-6 to Florida to once again fall short of winning a national title.
The key to success in the College World Series is to win your first two games. Doing so not only puts a team just one win away from reaching the 3-game championship series, it also leads to three days off between game two and game three allowing the pitching staff to rest and come into game three at full strength.
Tech opens with Michigan on Saturday and then will play either Arkansas or Florida State on Monday. Should the Red Raiders win their first two games, they will not only have matched the program’s all-time win total in Omaha, they will also be one win from playing for the title.
To get to that point, some key players must come up big. Obviously, Tech will need its best hitters in Cameron Warren and Josh Jung (both All-American honorees this year) to lead the way. But those players alone can’t carry Tech to a title. Let’s look at some other players that must elevate their game if Tech’s stay in Omaha is finally going to last more than just a few short days.