No. 5 Texas Tech baseball enters the second half of Big 12 play this weekend with a three-game home series against Baylor at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
The series begins Friday at 6:30 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and Sunday. All three games can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and heard on the Texas Tech Sports Network.
The Red Raiders (26-8; 7-5) are looking to stay in the hunt for the Big 12 title entering the final month of the regular season. Tech is currently three games behind No. 3 Texas and No. 8 TCU in the league standings with a matchup against the Longhorns on deck next weekend. Tech took 2-of-3 from the Horned Frogs in Lubbock earlier this month.
Despite a rough stretch of injury luck, the Red Raiders have won six of their last seven games entering the weekend following a series win at West Virginia. The club has been off since Sunday as its midweek matchup against Oklahoma in Amarillo was postponed to next month because of weather.
Baylor (24-12; 5-7) heads into Lubbock looking to stay connected to the top-half of the league. The Bears are 11-2 in their last 13 games with back-to-back Big 12 series wins against West Virginia and at Kansas.
Friday's meeting will be the 172nd all-time in the history of the two programs. The Red Raiders have played more games against Baylor than all but one team in its history (TCU). The series dates back to 1928 with Tech holding an 89-82 advantage overall and a 57-27 series lead in Lubbock. Tech has won five out of seven series against the Bears under Tadlock and five consecutive series overall in Lubbock.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Game 1: LHP Patrick Monteverde (6-1, 2.24 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Thomas (4-2, 1.95 ERA)
Game 2: RHP Micah Dallas (1-2, 3.66 ERA) vs. RHP Hayden Kettler (3-2, 3.99 ERA)
Game 3: LHP Mason Montgomery (2-1, 3.66 ERA) vs. TBA
LAST TIME VS BAYLOR
The Red Raiders and Bears last locked up during the 2019 season with Tech taking 2-of-3 for the series win in Lubbock. Tech battled back from an 11-10 loss in 11 innings on Thursday night to win the next two games behind sold out crowds at Rip Griffin Park. It was the first ranked clash between the two clubs since 2003 as the Red Raiders were ranked No. 16 and Baylor was No. 18. Tech trailed the opener, 9-3, before rallying to force extras. In the middle game, Cody Masters hit a walk-off single in the ninth to even the series. In the rubber match, Tech jumped out to a 9-0 lead and ran away with a 13-3 run-rule win.
The Baylor series proved to be a turning point for Tech that season as it came into the series at 23-12 overall, 6-6 in Big 12 play and losers of four of six. Tech went on to win 13 of its next 15 down the stretch to finish 36-15 overall and 16-8 in the Big 12 to win the conference title.
HOME DOMINANCE
Texas Tech is 20-2 at home this season and has won 32 of its last 34 home games dating back to 2019. The home success is nothing new for the Red Raiders, who are 208-54 at home under Tadlock, including 60-30 at home against Big 12 opponents. Earlier this season, Tech carried the nation's longest home winning streak at 23 consecutive home wins before dropping the opener to No. 15 Oklahoma State. The streak was the second longest home winning streak in program history behind a 24-game streak by the 1996 club. Tech has won 16 straight weekend series at home, including 7 straight against Big 12 teams (including the 2019 Super Regional against Oklahoma State).
MONTEVERDE, MONTGOMERY EARN AWARDS
Starting left-handers Mason Montgomery and Patrick Monteverde were honored by the league office on Monday as Montgomery was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week as well as National Pitcher of the Week honors from the National College Baseball HOF Foundation. Monteverde, meanwhile, collected Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the second time after delivering 7.0 shutout innings in the series-opening victory.
Montgomery's 12 strikeouts were the most by anyone in a Big 12 game this season and the most by a Red Raider in a Big 12 game since 2010. He also became the first Red Raider to strikeout at least two batters in five different innings of a game since Corey Taylor in 2013.
SWITCH SLAMS
Shortstop Cal Conley pulled off a feat in the series finale at West Virginia that hadn't been done by a Red Raider since 1998. The switch hitter went yard from both sides of the plate Sunday with a two-run homer in the fifth from the right side and a two-run blast in the sixth from the left side. It marked the first time a Red Raider has homered from both sides of the plate since Josh Bard did so against Kansas on April 10, 1998.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Texas Tech has been in the top 10 of at least one of the six major polls every week this season. The Red Raiders moved up three spots this week in the D1Baseball poll to No. 5. Tech is a consensus top-10 team this week, slotted at No. 6 by the USA Today Coaches Poll and NCBWA, No. 7 by Perfect Game and No. 10 by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
