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Why Texas Tech baseball has historically struggled in Omaha

By Matthew Conner

OMAHA, NE - JUNE 24: A general view to the entrance to TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, prior to game one of the College World Series Championship Series between the Michigan Wolverines and the Vanderbilt Commodores on June 24, 2019 at in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - JUNE 24: A general view to the entrance to TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, prior to game one of the College World Series Championship Series between the Michigan Wolverines and the Vanderbilt Commodores on June 24, 2019 at in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
(Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /

There are a number of factors contributing to the Texas Tech baseball team’s struggles in Omaha.

Though the Texas Tech baseball team won two games at the College World Series this year for the first time in program history, the Red Raiders still came up short of their ultimate goal once again.  Goin 2-2 in Omaha, Tim Tadlock saw his team fail the put up a winning record in the double-elimination tournament for the fourth-consecutive appearance as the program’s first national title remains elusive.

The good news is that you can make a case that each trip to the CWS has yielded improving results.  In 2014, the Red Raiders were swept out of Omaha dropping games to TCU and Ole Miss.  In 2016, Tech again lost its first game of the CWS to TCU but managed to score the program’s first ever win at T.D. Ameritrade Park by taking down No. 1 seed Florida.

But that run ended in the next game when the eventual national champs, Costal Carolina, beat the Red Raiders 7-5.  In 2018, Tech finally opened the CWS with a win over No. 1 seeded Florida but could not capitalize, dropping the next game to Arkansas before being eliminated by the Gators in their third game.

This year, Tech was able to rebound from a disappointing 5-3 loss to Michigan in the opener by winning back-to-back games in Omaha for the first time in program history before being humbled by the Wolverines in their fourth game of the week.  Going 2-2 in Omaha this year, the Red Raiders are now just 4-8 at the College World Series causing some fans to become frustrated at the lack of success on the game’s biggest stage.

Certainly, there is plenty of work to do once a team reaches the CWS.  Unlike in other championship events in college sports, a minimum of five wins is required to win it all in Omaha.  That’s one more than the Red Raider baseball program has managed to come up with in four combined appearances.

So why do the Red Raiders’ seem to struggle so mightily in Omaha?  That’s the question many Tech fans have been asking since Friday’s humiliating 15-3 loss to Michigan that ended Tech’s run to the national semifinals.

There’s no easy answer but some factors are beginning to crop up frequently enough to warrant a closer look.  So let’s take a look at some theories as to why the Texas Tech baseball team has been unable to win it all in Omaha thus far.

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