March 20, 2008
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
(10-8; 1-2 Big 12)
Larry Hays (1,494-838-4)
THE OPPONENT
No. 13 Texas Longhorns
(14-5; 2-1 Big 12)
Augie Garrido (1,643-760-8)
GAME/SERIES LOCATION
Dan Law Field (5,050)
Lubbock, Texas
DATES/TIMES
Thursday, March 20; 6:05 p.m.
Friday, March 21; 6:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 22; Noon
SERIES HISTORY
Texas leads the all-time series 93-32 and holds a 41-17 advantage in Lubbock.
LAST MEETING
Texas 4, Texas Tech 2, April 15, 2007
(Austin, Texas)
TELEVISION
None
RADIO
Texas Tech Sports Network
KKAM-1340 AM in Lubbock
Robert Giovannetti (Play-by-Play)
Matt Miller (Color)
Steve Pitz (Engineer)
LIVE STATS
www.texastech.com
LIVE AUDIO/VIDEO
Live audio and video will be available through RaiderVision All-Access at texastech.com.
Complete Texas Tech Release in PDF Format 
SETTING THE SCENE
The road tested Texas Tech Red Raiders finally return home on Thursday for the start of a three-game Big 12 series against rival Texas at Dan Law Field. The series will signal the start of a 10-game homestand for the Red Raiders and one where they will be in Lubbock for the next 15 days after playing 16 of their first 18 games on the road. The three-game series gets underway at 6:05 p.m. on Thursday and resumes at 6:05 p.m. on Friday before concluding at noon on Saturday. The series is being played Thursday-Saturday due to the Easter Holiday on Sunday.
Texas Tech's first win in the series against Texas will be a memorable one as head coach Larry Hays will earn the 800th win of his Red Raider career. He took over as the head coach at Texas Tech in 1987 and is the school's winningest coach with a record of 799-457-3. In the bigger picture, he is also just six wins shy of picking up the 1,500th win in his 38th season as a collegiate head coach.
Aside from giving Hays his 800th win at Tech, the Red Raiders will be looking to make up some ground in Big 12 Conference play after dropping a close series this past weekend at then 22-ranked Texas A&M. The Aggies snuck away with a 6-5 win in 12 innings in the opener on Friday and clinched the series with a 12-1 decision on Saturday. Tech avoided the series sweep by riding the arm of Chad Bettis as the Red Raiders left College Station with a 9-3 win on Sunday afternoon.
All three games of the Texas series will be carried live on the Texas Tech Sports Network (KKAM 1340 in Lubbock) with Robert Giovannetti and Matt Miller calling the action live from Dan Law Field. Live audio and video will be available on the official website of Texas Tech Athletics, www.texastech.com. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Texas Tech Athletics Ticket Office at (806) 742-TECH or at the Dan Law Field Box Office on game day.
HAYS JUST ONE WIN SHY OF 800, SIX FROM 1,500
The legendary career of Texas Tech Head Coach Larry Hays only seems to get more impressive each year. The 22nd-year skipper of the Red Raiders will be seeking to become just the third head coach in NCAA history to reach the 1,500-win plateau (six wins away). Only Texas' Augie Garrido and Wichita State's Gene Stephenson have reached the 1,500-win mark and both have already exceeded 1,600 wins. Hays is the winningest coach in school history with a mark of 799-453-3 and is just one win shy of the 800 mark at Texas Tech. He has led the Red Raiders to nine NCAA Tournament appearances and four conference titles.
Quickest To 1,500
Augie Garrido (Texas) - Defeated Youngstown State 8-0 on Feb. 27, 2005
Gene Stephenson (Wichita State) - Defeated Bradley 3-0 on May 21, 2005
HOME SWEET HOME
When the NCAA decided to condense the schedule to 13 weeks beginning this season, the college baseball world began to brace for noticeable change. The Red Raiders, however, weren't quite prepared for the changes that they would be dealt. Just under a month into the season, Tech has had to cancel eight home games (two weekend series) and been forced to hit the road at the last minute both times in order to find games. The season opener against Northern Illinois was canceled back in late February after the university suspended all athletics events in the wake of a tragic shooting that claimed the lives of five students. The weekend of March 7-9, another team from Illinois canceled a series after they were unable to make the trip to Lubbock due to conditions that prevented them from flying into Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport. Tech hit the road at the beginning of the season and was able to get a spot in the UTSA Baseball Classic in San Antonio and two weeks later took part in a round robin in San Marcos against Texas State and Northern Illinois.
Texas Tech now returns home to Dan Law Field where the Red Raiders open up a 10-game homestand against the Texas Longhorns on Thursday evening. The Red Raiders will spend the next 15 days in Lubbock.
Breaking It Down
Prior to the opener against Texas, the Red Raiders have spent 16 nights in hotel rooms compared to only 10 nights at home.
The Red Raiders have played just two home games this season (midweek series against Central Arkansas) and will have their Big 12 home opener on Thursday against Texas. Tech has played the other 16 games on the road or at neutral sites.
Tech will now only play 24 total home games versus the originally scheduled 32.
THENNIS FINDING HIS SWING
After getting off to a slow start to the 2008 season, Doug Thennis has caught fire over the last five games. He has led the squad with a .450 batting average while driving in seven runs and delivering five doubles. Thennis has also drawn three walks and two hit-by-pitches for an on-base percentage of .560. Prior to his recent surge at the plate, he was hitting just .240 on the season with eight RBIs. This five-game stretch has raised his batting average 60 points as he is now hitting .300 for the year.
RED RAIDERS IN BIG 12 HOME OPENERS
Texas Tech opens up the home portion of its 2008 Big 12 schedule on Thursday evening against 13th-ranked Texas. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1997, Texas Tech has posted a 7-4 record in its league home opener and a 18-12 mark in league-opening series'. The series against Texas will mark the fifth time that Tech has opened its home conference season against the Longhorns and Tech owns a 2-2 record in the opening game and a 5-4 mark in the combined series.
TEXAS TECH vs. TEXAS
Thursday night's game between Texas Tech and Texas will signal the 126th all-time meeting on the diamond between these two in-state rivals. The series dates back to 1968 when the Longhorns posted a 7-5 win in Lubbock on March 22. Texas has won nine of the last 10 meetings and if all three games of the series are played it will mark the first time that has happened in Lubbock since 2002. The last two series in Lubbock have been shortened due to weather.
SCOUTING THE LONGHORNS
The Texas Longhorns come to Lubbock with a 14-5 overall record and ranked as high as No. 13 nationally. They have won four of their last five contests and are tied for second in the Big 12 with a 2-1 record. They took a 9-6 win over Texas State on Tuesday after winning 2-of-3 against Kansas over the weekend.
Offensively, the Longhorns come into the series with a .332 team batting average (second in Big 12) and are led by Brandon Belt's .413 clip. Belt leads the Longhorns and the Big 12 with 33 RBIs and 10 doubles. Freshman catcher Cameron Rupp is in the middle of a 14-game hit streak while Jordan Danks has hit safely in the last 12.
On the mound, Texas owns a 3.91 staff ERA which ranks sixth in the Big 12. They are led by Thursday starter Austin Wood who is 2-1 on the year with a 3.18 ERA over 22 2/3 innings.
