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Philips 66 Big 12 championships
Arlington, Texas | Globe life field
From May 24-28, 2023
Texas Tech (37-19, 12-12) / Big 12 Tournament No. 6 seed
Game 1 – Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. vs. 3-seed West Virginia
Game 2 – Thursday, 12:30 or 7:30 p.m. vs. 2-seed Oklahoma State or 7-seed Oklahoma
Schedule remaining, TBD
STARTERS
Texas Tech It enters the 2023 Big 12 Championship as a 6-seed and kicks things off on Wednesday against No. 3-seed West Virginia in its final Big 12 road trip of the season. For the first time since 2015, Texas Tech is not a top 3 seed in the Big 12 tournament. The Red Raiders entered the year as the only Big 12 team to finish in the league’s top standings every year since 2016, but for good or bad seeding, the Red Raiders haven’t won the tournament since 1998.
Depending on the time slot, coverage will be provided by Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and ESPNU from Globe Life Field. Games over five days will be called in the broadcast booth with Victor Rojas, Clay Matvic and Keith Moreland handling the play-by-play duties. The commentator’s role will be split between Greg Swindell and Mike Rooney over the length of the tournament. Using the ESPN app, all broadcasts can be accessed from any desktop or laptop computer, personal cellular device, and television streaming service. Subscription to the subscription service can be found at ESPNPlus.com.
The Texas Tech Sports Network will broadcast the game on 46 affiliates in the state of Texas and New Mexico as Geoff Haxton calls the call with analyst Jamie Lint.
Bracket fracture
The Big 12 Baseball Championship consists of eight teams and two divisions. The winner of each division will play in the winner-take-all championship game on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Section A
- No. 1 Texas
- No. 4 TCU
- No. 5 Kansas State
- No. 8 Kansas
Part B
Scheduled pitching matches
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Wednesday, May 24: LHP Mason Molina (4-2, 3.91 ERA) vs. RHP David Hagaman (1-1, 2.30 ERA).
The Red Raiders were well represented in the Big 12 postseason awards.
Kevin Bazel and Gavin Cash were both given first-team All-Big 12 selections Tuesday, headlining the Red Raiders’ portion of the annual postseason baseball awards. Senior Nolen Hester and sophomore pitcher Mason Molina each made the All-Big 12 second team. Junior Brandon Beckel, freshman Gage Harrelson and catcher Hudson White each received All-Big 12 honorable mention nods in their respective seasons. The Big 12 All-Freshman team includes the Red Raiders’ Bazzle, Unanimous, and Harrelson.
New tourney state for the Red Raiders
For the first time since 2015, Texas Tech is not a top 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. The Red Raiders entered this season having finished in the top 3 of the Big 12 league rankings every year since 2016. Under head coach Tim Tadlock, the Red Raiders’ No. 6 seed is their lowest ranking this season. 8-seed in 2013 leading the way from the first year in postseason competition. In the year Tech was the No. 4 seed in 2014 and 2015 and has risen to a top 3 seed every year since.
- The Red Raiders made their deepest run at the Big 12 Championship in Tadlock in 2019 with the one seed. Tech has won three games, its most since 1998 in the conference tournament. The championship game is one game away. The Red Raiders played West Virginia twice that day, marking the last time the Red Raiders played the Mountaineers in the tournament. Tech won the first game of the afternoon, its only win over WVU in tournament history, forcing an elimination game in the evening to play in the championship game that Tech faced on short notice.
Big 12 Championship history as a 6-seed
There have been two No. 6 seeds in Big 12 championship history to win the tournament – the 2006 Kansas Jayhawks (4-0) and the 2012 Missouri Tigers (4-0). Meanwhile, six other teams advanced to the championship game. 2013 Kansas Jayhawks (3-1), 2017 Texas Longhorns (3-2) and 2018 TCU Horned Frogs (3-1).
- Kansas and Missouri won their respective titles as No. 6-seeds. It’s not the lower-seeded teams that win the championship. A No. 7-seed has never won the championship, however, two No. 8-seeds have won it all, as Missouri did in 2011 and Oklahoma State in 2017.
6-Direct regions and counting
For five straight postseasons, the Red Raiders were one of 16 host sites selected by the NCAA Selection Committee to host a regional round. Texas Tech enters the 2022 season as the only program in the country to host every year since 2016. It is the first time in school history that Tech has hosted an NCAA Regional in five straight seasons. The Red Raiders have hosted regional action a total of eight times in Lubbock – 1996, 1997, 1999, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. While that streak continues, the tradition of regional appearances continues as the Red Raiders travel for the team. Statesboro regional as the No. 3 seed last year. Since 2014, Tadlock teams have qualified for regionals in seven of the last eight seasons (DNQ-2015/COVID-2020).
- In each of those six games, Tech has reached the regional finals at least every year.
Discussion of RPI
If Texas Tech is to reach its seventh straight regional, RPI should continue to trend in the direction it went in May. The Red Raiders saw them improve 22 places from 66th to 44th in May. In the most recent Week 10 poll (released April 24), Texas Tech was ranked No. 14 in the D1baseball poll but enters its final road series at Kansas State (April 28-30) with a No. 66 RPI. The Red Raiders dropped that series 1-2 and fell from the rankings but moved up to No. 61 in the RPI. Since that trip, Texas Tech has continued to climb in the most important rankings, with an RPI ranking of No. 44 (44 as of May 21).
Four-1 notes (from the regular season)
- Texas Tech is one of 31 teams in the NCAA with 10 or more four-1 wins.
- Eight of Tech’s 11 Quad-1 losses have come away from Lubbock.
- Six of Tech’s 11 Quad-1 losses have been by two runs or fewer.
- Tech’s 21 Quad-1 matches are tied for T-31st in the NCAA for most.
KA$H SMASH
Texas Tech’s Gavin Cash is having a historically good season for hitting home runs. The sophomore became the sixth Red Raider in program history to hit 20 home runs on April 21 against Baylor. On May 5, Cash hit his 22nd home run of the season, tying Jace Jung’s 21-hit streak in the 2021 season for the only season homers in program history. In the year He nearly tied John Grimes’ 24 home run streak in 1984, going seven games into a season before hitting 23.
- Cash’s 23 home runs are the most by a Red Raider since Joe Dillon hit a streak of 33 in the 1997 season.
Look for him on base.
Nolen Hester was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Monday, May 22. The fifth-year senior transfer reached base in every game of the series, reaching four of six times on Friday and all five times at the plate on Saturday, ending the three-game series with a .667 on-base percentage. But that’s no surprise since Hester’s Big 12-best 42-game hitting streak has hit the bases. In fact, in 55-of-56 games during the regular season, Tech’s opening game against Rice at Minute Maid Park was the only time it reached base. Hester’s streak is the longest by a Red Raider since Jess Jung reached 50 consecutive games safely on base in 2021.
Bazzel’s bat popped up.
While everyone is well aware of Gavin Cash’s ability to hit home runs, his teammate Kevin Buzzell, who shares All-Big 12 first team distinction, has recently found his power. Last time out, Bazzle became the first Red Raider to hit three home runs in the same game at Kansas since 2022, when Parker Kelly hit it on March 5 against Merrimack. Jace Jung on April 11, 2021 after hitting a 3 in the same game against TCU. Bazz has hit four home runs in the first 47 games of the 2023 season and has hit six home runs in the last eight games.
Strong second half
Zach Voletic wasn’t an everyday starter until the second half of the season, when he became one because his hitting skills failed to get him out of the lineup. In his 24 starts, Vooletich has successfully hit at least one base hit in 15 of his 24 starts. He had a team-best 16-game hitting streak and went on to hit 21 of his last 22 games. His show kicked off on Friday, May 12 in West Virginia.
–tech–
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