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Texas Tech baseball: Newcomers steal the show on opening weekend

By Matthew Conner

CORAL GABLES, FL - MAY 30: Head coach Tim Tadlock #6 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks on as the Columbia Lions take fielding and batting practice prior to the start of the Coral Gables Regional at the NCAA Baseball Tournament on May 30, 2014 at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
CORAL GABLES, FL - MAY 30: Head coach Tim Tadlock #6 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks on as the Columbia Lions take fielding and batting practice prior to the start of the Coral Gables Regional at the NCAA Baseball Tournament on May 30, 2014 at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /
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Nate Rombach earned National Player of the Week honors

If we followed baseball recruiting as closely and as passionately as we do football and basketball recruiting, we’d have been chomping at the bit all offseason to get a look at Nate Rombach.  The 6-foot-4, 225-pound native of Mansfield, Texas was the No. 1 ranked catcher in Texas and the No. 23 overall player in the state in the class of 2019 making him one of the most prized recruits of the Tim Tadlock era.

Playing some at catcher, some at first base, and some at designated hitter, he was the biggest bat in the Red Raider lineup all weekend.  Finishing the four-game set with five homers, 15 RBI, and two doubles, he also scored nine runs and drew a pair of walks.   That performance earned him a pair of National Player of the Week honors as well as Big 12 Player of the Week recognition.

What’s most fascinating to consider is that he did virtually all of his damage in the final three games.  In fact, he had a rather quiet debut going 0-3 and leaving six men on base in Friday’s 5-1 victory over Houston Baptist.

But on Saturday, he got hot.  In the first game of the double-header, he was 3-4 with seven RBI and each of his hits cleared the fence.

Becoming the first Red Raider in 16 years to hit three homers in a game, he displayed the type of prodigious power that we thought might be missing from this year’s team with the departures of Cam Warren and Josh Jung from last year’s College World Series Squad.

In game two on Saturday, he was 2-4 with four RBI a homer and a double.  On Sunday, he closed out the weekend by going 2-3 with another homer and four more RBI.

Also impressive was his plate discipline, which is something that young power hitters often struggle with.  In 14 official at-bats, he struck out just twice.  Meanwhile, he also drew two walks.

Of course, he isn’t going to be able to maintain a .500 batting average all season (he was 7-14 at the plate), especially as the competition improves.  But what he showed in the opening weekend of the season is that the hype surrounding him as a recruit was justified and that he’s ready to be an immediate contributor.

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