Thursday, March 29
Lubbock, Texas
7:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Texas Tech
Mountaineers Travel to No. 7 Texas Tech
March 28, 2018 05:42 PM | Baseball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Big 12 Conference play continues for the West Virginia University baseball team with a three-game series at No. 7 Texas Tech, from March 29-31, in Lubbock, Texas.
The series at Dan Law Field commences on Thursday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT, and continues on Friday night, also at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT. The finale is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT.
Friday's game will air nationally on FS1, WVU's first nationally-televised game of the season. Additionally, Thursday's game will air on Fox Sports Southwest and Saturday's is on FSSW+.
Friday, March 29, 7:30 p.m. ET – FSSW | Radio | Stats
Saturday, March 30, 7:30 p.m. ET – FS1 | Radio | Stats
Sunday, March 31, 3 p.m. ET – FSSW+ | Radio | Stats
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The Mountaineers (9-12, 0-3 Big 12) are playing a ranked opponent for the first time this season. Last year, West Virginia went 10-8 against ranked foes, with all but six games coming on the road. That included a 2-2 mark against TTU, who was in the top 5 at the time.
The Red Raiders (21-5, 1-2 Big 12) are ranked in the top 11 in all six major polls. Texas Tech begins its second weekend of Big 12 play with a 1-2 record after a series loss at Baylor two weeks ago. TTU won the Big 12 regular-season title in 2016 and '17.
After one weekend of Big 12 action, West Virginia is in eighth place, with an 0-3 record, while Texas Tech is in sixth, at 1-2. Both teams had their midweek contests postponed, as the Mountaineers were set to host Pitt and the Red Raiders scheduled to travel to New Mexico State.
Right-handed pitchers will make every start for both teams in the series. Sophomore Isaiah Kearns (0-1, 4.66 ERA) takes the mound on Thursday for WVU, while TTU will start junior Davis Martin (4-1, 2.70). On Friday, sophomore Alek Manoah (1-3, 3.86) toes the rubber for the Mountaineers against fellow sophomore Caleb Kilian (2-1, 0.93). A pair of sophomores also will start on Sunday, as West Virginia's Kade Strowd (2-3, 3.67) faces Texas Tech's John McMillon (4-0, 2.56)
FOLLOWING ALONG
All three games will air on TV, with Friday's game slated for a national television broadcast on FS1. The series also will feature video streams, radio broadcast and live stats.
SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
No. 7 Texas Tech owns a 21-5 record and is a perfect 14-0 at home. The Red Raiders are 1-2 in Big 12 play after opening the conference slate with a series loss at Baylor. Last weekend, TTU swept a four-game series against Northeastern.
Josh Jung paces the team with a .398 average, 41 hits, five home runs and 33 RBIs. Grant Little is second with a .392 average and adds 38 hits, 25 RBIs and a team-best 10 doubles.
John McMillon and Davis Martin each have four wins and have made six starts, while McMillon leads the team with 38 strikeouts. Caleb Kilian has a 0.93 ERA in 19.1 innings and nine appearances with one start.
Tim Tadlock is in his sixth season at the helm in Lubbock. The 2014 College Baseball Hall of Fame Coach of the Year, he has led Texas Tech to back-to-back Big 12 titles and a College World Series appearance in 2016. Tadlock has compiled a career record of 650-244 in 19 seasons, while he is 215-116 at TTU.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE RED RAIDERS
West Virginia is 8-9 all-time vs. Texas Tech, with all 17 meetings coming since WVU joined the Big 12 in 2013. The Mountaineers are 5-4 at home, 1-5 on the road and 2-0 at a neutral site, with wins at the Big 12 Championship in 2016 and '17.
West Virginia has won four of the last six in the series and is 2-2 against TTU in each of the last two years, with the Red Raiders ranked in the top five both years. Five of the last six regular-season games have been one-run affairs.
In 2016, WVU lost a 2-1 opener at No. 5 TTU before a 4-2 defeat the next day. The Mountaineers posted an 8-7 win in the finale, the highest-ranked opponent they had beaten in coach Randy Mazey's tenure at the time. West Virginia followed it up with a 9-4 win the following week at the Big 12 Championship.
Last year at home, West Virginia lost a rain-filled series against No. 4 Texas Tech from May 6-7. All three games against the Red Raiders were decided by just one run, and the Mountaineers held the Big 12's best offense to five earned runs on 24 hits in the three-game series. TTU swept a doubleheader on May 6, 1-0 and 4-3, while WVU won the finale, 3-2, on May 7.
WVU again added a win in the postseason, a 12-7 triumph in 10 innings against the third-ranked Red Raiders in Oklahoma City. It was the Mountaineers' fourth win of the season over a top-five team.
ON DECK: MIDWEEK CONTEST AT PENN STATE
West Virginia plays its last of seven consecutive games on the road when it travels to Penn State on Tuesday, April 3. The midweek matchup will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network, and first pitch is at 6:30 p.m. ET.
LAST TIME OUT: CONFERENCE OPENER
Last week, West Virginia opened Big 12 action with a three-game series at Oklahoma. WVU lost the opener, 19-6 on March 23, as nine different Mountaineers accounted for the team's nine hits and Marques Inman had two RBIs as part of a four-run sixth for West Virginia. Playing a doubleheader to close the series the following day, WVU suffered a 10-2 loss in the day's first game, as the Mountaineers scored two in the fourth but gave up seven runs, five unearned, in the bottom half. In the final game of the series, West Virginia was edge by Oklahoma, 2-1, as Darius Hill recorded a pair of hits.
Single game tickets and mini-packages for the 2018 season are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets at WVUGAME.com, call 1-800-WVU GAME or visit the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum. The 2018 schedule, with game times, can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com. A printable PDF and schedule breakdown also are available on WVUsports.com.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit WVUsports.com.
The series at Dan Law Field commences on Thursday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT, and continues on Friday night, also at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT. The finale is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT.
Friday's game will air nationally on FS1, WVU's first nationally-televised game of the season. Additionally, Thursday's game will air on Fox Sports Southwest and Saturday's is on FSSW+.
Friday, March 29, 7:30 p.m. ET – FSSW | Radio | Stats
Saturday, March 30, 7:30 p.m. ET – FS1 | Radio | Stats
Sunday, March 31, 3 p.m. ET – FSSW+ | Radio | Stats
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
The Mountaineers (9-12, 0-3 Big 12) are playing a ranked opponent for the first time this season. Last year, West Virginia went 10-8 against ranked foes, with all but six games coming on the road. That included a 2-2 mark against TTU, who was in the top 5 at the time.
The Red Raiders (21-5, 1-2 Big 12) are ranked in the top 11 in all six major polls. Texas Tech begins its second weekend of Big 12 play with a 1-2 record after a series loss at Baylor two weeks ago. TTU won the Big 12 regular-season title in 2016 and '17.
After one weekend of Big 12 action, West Virginia is in eighth place, with an 0-3 record, while Texas Tech is in sixth, at 1-2. Both teams had their midweek contests postponed, as the Mountaineers were set to host Pitt and the Red Raiders scheduled to travel to New Mexico State.
Right-handed pitchers will make every start for both teams in the series. Sophomore Isaiah Kearns (0-1, 4.66 ERA) takes the mound on Thursday for WVU, while TTU will start junior Davis Martin (4-1, 2.70). On Friday, sophomore Alek Manoah (1-3, 3.86) toes the rubber for the Mountaineers against fellow sophomore Caleb Kilian (2-1, 0.93). A pair of sophomores also will start on Sunday, as West Virginia's Kade Strowd (2-3, 3.67) faces Texas Tech's John McMillon (4-0, 2.56)
FOLLOWING ALONG
All three games will air on TV, with Friday's game slated for a national television broadcast on FS1. The series also will feature video streams, radio broadcast and live stats.
- Thursday night's game will air on Fox Sports Southwest, while Friday's contest will be broadcast nationally on FS1. Saturday's finale is slated for a Fox Sports Southwest Plus telecast. All three games also can be viewed via FOX Sports GO to subscribers.
- Fans can listen to the games on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG on various affiliates throughout the state, while fans across the country can tune in to the broadcast online at WVUsports.com and on the WVU Gameday App and the TuneIn App on their mobile device.
- Direct links to video streams, radio broadcasts and live stats can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com.
- Additional behind-the-scenes updates, news and notes from Lubbock can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @WVUBaseball.
SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
No. 7 Texas Tech owns a 21-5 record and is a perfect 14-0 at home. The Red Raiders are 1-2 in Big 12 play after opening the conference slate with a series loss at Baylor. Last weekend, TTU swept a four-game series against Northeastern.
Josh Jung paces the team with a .398 average, 41 hits, five home runs and 33 RBIs. Grant Little is second with a .392 average and adds 38 hits, 25 RBIs and a team-best 10 doubles.
John McMillon and Davis Martin each have four wins and have made six starts, while McMillon leads the team with 38 strikeouts. Caleb Kilian has a 0.93 ERA in 19.1 innings and nine appearances with one start.
Tim Tadlock is in his sixth season at the helm in Lubbock. The 2014 College Baseball Hall of Fame Coach of the Year, he has led Texas Tech to back-to-back Big 12 titles and a College World Series appearance in 2016. Tadlock has compiled a career record of 650-244 in 19 seasons, while he is 215-116 at TTU.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE RED RAIDERS
West Virginia is 8-9 all-time vs. Texas Tech, with all 17 meetings coming since WVU joined the Big 12 in 2013. The Mountaineers are 5-4 at home, 1-5 on the road and 2-0 at a neutral site, with wins at the Big 12 Championship in 2016 and '17.
West Virginia has won four of the last six in the series and is 2-2 against TTU in each of the last two years, with the Red Raiders ranked in the top five both years. Five of the last six regular-season games have been one-run affairs.
In 2016, WVU lost a 2-1 opener at No. 5 TTU before a 4-2 defeat the next day. The Mountaineers posted an 8-7 win in the finale, the highest-ranked opponent they had beaten in coach Randy Mazey's tenure at the time. West Virginia followed it up with a 9-4 win the following week at the Big 12 Championship.
Last year at home, West Virginia lost a rain-filled series against No. 4 Texas Tech from May 6-7. All three games against the Red Raiders were decided by just one run, and the Mountaineers held the Big 12's best offense to five earned runs on 24 hits in the three-game series. TTU swept a doubleheader on May 6, 1-0 and 4-3, while WVU won the finale, 3-2, on May 7.
WVU again added a win in the postseason, a 12-7 triumph in 10 innings against the third-ranked Red Raiders in Oklahoma City. It was the Mountaineers' fourth win of the season over a top-five team.
ON DECK: MIDWEEK CONTEST AT PENN STATE
West Virginia plays its last of seven consecutive games on the road when it travels to Penn State on Tuesday, April 3. The midweek matchup will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network, and first pitch is at 6:30 p.m. ET.
LAST TIME OUT: CONFERENCE OPENER
Last week, West Virginia opened Big 12 action with a three-game series at Oklahoma. WVU lost the opener, 19-6 on March 23, as nine different Mountaineers accounted for the team's nine hits and Marques Inman had two RBIs as part of a four-run sixth for West Virginia. Playing a doubleheader to close the series the following day, WVU suffered a 10-2 loss in the day's first game, as the Mountaineers scored two in the fourth but gave up seven runs, five unearned, in the bottom half. In the final game of the series, West Virginia was edge by Oklahoma, 2-1, as Darius Hill recorded a pair of hits.
- West Virginia suffered a weekend series sweep for the first time since March 18-20, 2016, in a three-game series at No. 7 TCU.
- WVU played its first true doubleheader of the season on Saturday.
- Nick Denicola recorded his first career hit and RBI with an eighth-inning double on Friday.
- Ivan Gonzalez had two hits in Saturday's first game, his team-high-tying sixth multi-hit game of the season and 39th of his career.
- Sam Kessler pitched a scoreless 2.0 innings in relief in Saturday's finale, and has not allowed a run on just four hits in 8.2 innings to start the 2018 season.
- Braden Zarbnisky failed to reach base in his two at-bats on Friday, snapping his career-long and team-leading reached-base streak at 14 consecutive games, a stretch that began at the end of the 2017 season.
Single game tickets and mini-packages for the 2018 season are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets at WVUGAME.com, call 1-800-WVU GAME or visit the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum. The 2018 schedule, with game times, can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com. A printable PDF and schedule breakdown also are available on WVUsports.com.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit WVUsports.com.
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