Weekend Preview: TCU, Texas Tech Throw Down

Separated by two games in the Big 12 Conference standings and five spots in the RPI, No. 7 Texas Christian and No. 13 Texas Tech have established themselves as the league’s top two teams. This weekend in Fort Worth, they will square off in a high-profile series that will have significant implications for the conference’s regular-season championship and the race for national seeds and host spots in the NCAA Tournament.

Top 25 Series

(1) Florida at (6) South Carolina

(2) Texas A&M at Arkansas

(3) Mississippi State at Alabama

Florida A&M at (4) Miami

(5) Florida State at Clemson

(13) Texas Tech at (7) Texas Christian

(8) Louisiana State at (9) Mississippi

St. John’s at (10) Louisville

Georgia at (11) Vanderbilt

Duke at (12) North Carolina State

(14) Southern Mississippi at Florida Atlantic

Charlotte at (15) Rice

Michigan State at (16) Michigan

Hawaii at (17) UC Santa Barbara

Stanford at (18) Oregon State

(19) Coastal Carolina at Georgia Tech

Houston at (20) Tulane

Cincinnati at (21) East Carolina

(22) Virginia at Pittsburgh

(23) Louisiana-Lafayette at Texas-Arlington

(24) Minnesota at Illinois

(25) Oklahoma State at Texas

Outside of a chance of rain Friday night, the weekend is shaping up to be an ideal spectacle. Texas Christian coach Jim Schlossnagle said they are expecting sellout crowds at Lupton Field this weekend.

“Texas Tech is the first-place team in the league and they’re having a great season,” Schlossnagle said. “It’ll be a regional/super regional kind of atmosphere, which is good for a young team. This is another growth opportunity for them.”

Texas Tech (32-12) holds a two-game lead on TCU (29-10) in the Big 12 standings. The Red Raiders are trying to win their first conference regular-season title since 1997 and, with only three conference series left on the schedule for both teams, this weekend represents a chance to solidify their spot atop the standings. With an RPI of 14, Texas Tech is also in the mix for a national seed, but may need to win the Big 12 to secure that honor.

Coach Tim Tadlock said he knows where Texas Tech stands in the NCAA Tournament picture, but his focus remains on getting his team to play its best baseball.

“I’m guilty of looking at it, probably just because it’s human nature to look at it,” Tadlock said. “But the biggest thing as far as the team is we really just need to get back to playing good baseball. We know if we go in there get two of three at TCU, it puts us in a good position. We want to run toward those expectations, not run from them.”

A series victory would keep the Horned Frogs within striking distance of the Red Raiders, and is likely a necessity to capture a national seed. Schlossnagle said he knows what’s at stake this weekend, but won’t put too much on this series. After all, as he noted, the last four national champions were not national seeds.

“We just need to play good baseball,” Schlossnagle said. “Just like every other coach, we talk more about process than results.

“There are still three weeks of baseball to play after this weekend. There are a lot of different ways to extend your postseason. Who knows what our story’s going to be? But we’ll have to see how it plays out.”

TCU will be without star freshman Luken Baker (3-1, 1.70) on the mound this weekend. The righthander left his start last Friday at Oklahoma State in the second inning with a strain in his arm and is considered week-to-week. The injury does not prevent Baker (.363/.462/.493) from hitting, so the Horned Frogs are able to keep their second-leading hitter in the lineup. Lefthander Rex Hill (2-2, 5.40) will fill Baker’s place in the rotation.

Getting more from its starting pitching this weekend will be a key for the Horned Frogs. Baker’s injury and a short start from righthander Brian Howard forced TCU to use its bullpen for 17 innings last weekend in a series loss at Oklahoma State. It won the only game it got a quality start, when freshman Dalton Horton went seven innings on Saturday.

“We need to get quality starting pitching,” Schlossnagle said. “In weekends when we get a solid five to six innings out of our starting pitchers, normally we do really well.”

Texas Tech is also coming off a series loss. It lost the final two games of its series at home to Texas, including a 17-1 rout Sunday that Tadlock called “humbling.” It was the Red Raiders’ first conference series loss of the season, and only their second losing weekend overall.

After the loss, Tadlock said Texas Tech got in a good practice Tuesday and then defeated Abilene Christian, 5-4, on Wednesday in Midland, Texas. It was the kind of response Tadlock wanted to see.

“We need to get back to playing good baseball,” Tadlock said. “We didn’t do that last weekend on Saturday or Sunday. The conference race is whatever it is. We’re not in the position we’re in because we’re talking about that stuff. We’ve just been playing good baseball up until Saturday.”

---

Coasting To A Regional Host Bid?

Coastal Carolina heads to Georgia Tech for a three-game set that could go a long way toward the Chanticleers’ landing a home regional and a top-eight national seed, as they were projected this week. Coastal leads the Big South with a 13-2 league record and sits No. 10 in the RPI on WarrenNolan.com.

But, bring up such matters to Coastal head coach Gary Gilmore and he’ll dismiss them almost immediately.

 “A lot of people pay attention to that stuff,” Gilmore said. “I’m all about us winning, and I feel like it’ll all take care of itself. But shoot, it’s an opportunity to play one of the better programs in the country who’s also having a very good year. So it’s a big weekend for us, no doubt about it. I’m sure they look at it the same way.”

Gilmore’s right about that. Georgia Tech would need a hot finish, given its 10-10 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but the Yellow Jackets are a solid No. 22 in the RPI and haven’t given up on the hope of hosting a regional themselves. Tech head coach Danny Hall is keenly aware of what Coastal’s playing for this weekend, of what beating ACC team on the road would do for them, but he’s also quick to point out his team has plenty to gain itself.

“We look at it—they’re ranked higher than we are, their RPI is better than ours,” Hall said. “So if we win the series, then it just sends a message to the NCAA baseball committee that we’re worthy. . . . I think we look at it that we’ve got the same things riding on it that they do.”

As for what it’ll take to win this weekend, the answer for both teams figures to be the same—offense. The Chanticleers and Yellow Jackets both rank among the top 40 nationally in scoring, each averaging better than seven runs per game, while their pitching staffs are missing significant pieces. Coastal will be without Sunday starter Tyler Poole, who posted a 2.93 ERA in nine starts before going out with a back injury, while Tech has had to piece its rotation together for much of the season after losing two starters, Jonathan Hughes and Jonathan King, early on.

Versatile junior righthander Andrew Beckwith filled in capably for Poole in the Monday rubber game of Coastal’s series with High Point, throwing seven shutout innings, but the Chanticleers hadn’t yet committed to whether he’d reprise that role this weekend or go back to the bullpen, where he’s been so valuable as either a long man or in a setup role. On the other side, with Hughes and King out, Tech has tried seven different starting pitchers in conference play, searching for answers behind established Friday starter Brandon Gold. Senior Cole Pitts and freshman Jake Lee got the Saturday and Sunday starts last weekend against Clemson, and Hall expected they would again this time around.

“The fact that we lost two of our starting pitchers has made us really reshuffle our pitching,” Hall said. “We’re still trying to figure out exactly who needs to be pitching as a starter and who needs to be in our bullpen. There’s days where it looks like we might have it solved, and there’s other days like (Tuesday’s 13-5 loss to Georgia) where it’s not even close to being solved.”

If the games do become slugfests, neither team should be out of its element. Tech has scored at least five runs in every game since junior shortstop Connor Justus was moved to the leadoff spot on April 17, with a premier power threat anchoring the middle in Kel Johnson and four other players batting over .300. Hall is particularly excited about freshman Tristin English (.346/.393/.526), a mature-beyond-his-years hitter who also began showing some power with two home runs last weekend at Clemson.

Coastal already has three players with double figure home run totals—Connor Owings, G.K. Young and Michael Paez—and a veteran lineup that can beat teams in a variety of ways even if the ball isn’t flying. The Chants rank third in the nation with 55 homers as a group—their park does favor offense—but they’ve also stolen 71 bases and rank 10th in the country in sac bunts with 47.

“It’s a fun team to coach,” Gilmore said. “It’s going to be interesting to see at the end how we stack up across the board. It is truly a great group. It’s a lot of older guys. It’s kind of funny. I think 90 percent of the time when I tell them something, they’ve already figured it out. That’s the best part. They coach themselves in a lot of ways.”

— Jim Shonerd

---

Cal A Test For Huskies

Lindsay Meggs and his Washington Huskies knew when they began this season that they didn’t have the same pro talent or veteran depth they’ve had in years past. They didn’t have the likes of Austin Rei or Braden Bishop—both third-round picks last June—on which to lean.

So they crafted a plan early on, a team mantra from Day One: “None of us are as good as all of us.”

The Huskies have emphasized team baseball, playing unselfishly, and it has worked. They come into this weekend tied for first place in the Pac-12 with Utah, at 9-6 in the conference and 23-14 overall. The Huskies are the current frontrunners in a conference that has thus far been defined by injury and unpredictability.

Meggs points to the development and leadership of third baseman Chris Baker (.301/.358/.493, six home runs), catcher Joey Morgan (.321/.415/.500) and his son, outfielder Jack Meggs (.293/.381/.357) as guiding forces. But he also said his team doesn’t harp on individual achievements.

“I think it’s a compliment to our guys,” Meggs said. “They really have hung together, and they really are as unselfish a group as I’ve ever had. And at the end of the day all they care about is, ‘Did we win or lose?’ It’s not about who got their hits or who got their innings, and that gives us the best chance to be successful.

“That might seem trivial, but in this day and age, that’s an important part of this game.”

Even still, Meggs knows the Huskies can’t get too comfortable quite yet. The conference standings are tightly packed, and Washington will face a stiff test this weekend on the road against California, 9-9 in the Pac-12 and 23-14 overall.

The Bears, a preseason top 10 team, have fallen out of the Top 25 after three consecutive losing weekends—the last a sweep against Arizona. But the banged-up Bears are also starting to get healthier, and Meggs said he isn’t taking them lightly.

Washington will send sophomore righthander Noah Bremer (4-3, 2.34) to the mound on Friday, and he’s been one of the steadiest aces in the Pac-12 this season. Bremer has added about 25 pounds since last year, using the summer for strengthening. Last season, Bremer wasn’t strong enough to pitch beyond the fifth or sixth inning, Meggs said. But this year, he’s provided much-needed length on the mound, allowing the Huskies to empty out their bullpen on Sundays.

Saturday belongs to hard-throwing freshman righthander Joe DeMers (3-2, 5.23), who has had an inconsistent first college season but who also has the stuff to shut down a lineup on any given day.

“His stuff is really electric, and he’s gotten better every weekend,” Meggs said. “He’s learning how to pitch in the Pac-12, and for the first time in his life when he makes a mistake it costs him, and he’s had to recover from some of those difficult innings, and I don’t think he’s ever had to deal with that before. He’s learning how to bounce back.”

For Cal coach David Esquer, piecing together a pitching staff over the last few weeks has been a tougher task. Ace righthander Daulton Jefferies (6-0, 1.29), a top college draft prospect, hasn’t pitched since March 24 against Oregon State. Esquer said Jefferies, who is trying to come back from a strained right subcapsular muscle, played catch Tuesday and “felt the best he’s felt.” But there’s no firm timetable for his return.

Cal was also without senior righthander Ryan Mason (5-2, 2.91) last weekend against Arizona as he missed a Friday start due to a strained pronator muscle.

The Bears have undoubtedly gone through a rough patch, Esquer said, but there’s optimism going forward.

Mason is slated to return to the mound Friday against Washington. And the Cal pitching staff has also received a boost in the form of junior righthander Alex Schick, the preseason projected closer who debuted Saturday against Arizona after battling a knee injury. Meanwhile, the pitching injuries have accelerated the development of freshman righthander Tanner Dodson (1-3, 3.15), a talented arm who has filled in as closer at times and who will make his fifth start of the season Saturday.

“The visions of getting healthy are out there,” Esquer said. “None of these (injuries) are season-ending. There is a conceivable future where Mason, Jefferies and Schick will all be back.

“I mentioned to our guys, if their aspirations are to get themselves in position to win the league, then this weekend is huge, obviously. But the residual effect is, if we’re healthy by the end of the year, we’ll be a dangerous team in the field of 64.”

The Bears have handled the challenge of losing their top two starters well, Esquer said, but he added that his offense might have pressed somewhat last weekend in an attempt to make up for it.  The Bears have a veteran core, led by Mitchell “El Gaucho” Kranson (.314/.353/.484) and sophomore catcher Brett Cumberland, who has blossomed offensively, leading the team with a .374/.506/.715 slash line and 11 home runs.

The Bears are coming off a midweek win against Cal Poly, a team that just swept Big West leader UC Santa Barbara last weekend. Esquer said he was pleased with what that win did for the Bears morale-wise and resume-wise, but he knows it won’t get any easier against a Washington team that is playing well—and playing together.

“Just visually, I think they’re a really cohesive unit,” Esquer said. “And I think that’s part of what we’ll face and one of the challenges. They look like they’re really playing team baseball, and that’s an added advantage.

“Our kids want to be in position to win the league. And we have a stretch here where we have to weather the storm a little bit.”

— Michael Lananna