The Texas Tech baseball team will take on the Oklahoma Sooners 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hodgetown ballpark in Amarillo for what will officially be ruled as a non-conference matchup.
The Red Raiders are coming into the mid-week matchup after a series sweep of Kansas State, including a walk-off two-run home run from Jace Jung to complete Sunday’s comeback, moving them to 27-8 overall and 7-2 in Big 12 play.
The Sooners head to Amarillo with a record of 18-12 after dropping back-to-back games to lose the weekend series against Oklahoma State after taking the first matchup on Friday.
Pitching:
The Sooners are likely to send left-hander Braden Carmichael to the mound who has struggled this season in his 18.2 innings of work. Carmichael holds an 8.20 ERA and 1.93 WHIP with hitters carrying a .354 batting average while facing the junior.
Oklahoma’s bullpen has two standouts as Trevin Michael and Carter Campbell have amassed team leading ERAs of 2.92 and 3.07, respectively.
Michael, the Lamar College transfer, has gathered a team leading five saves and has struck out 37 batters in his 24.2 innings of work.
Campbell has been less dominant in the back end of the bullpen but has been a solid option for Skip Johnson to deploy. Campbell carries a WHIP of 0.95 and has only allowed one walk during his 14.2 innings.
The Red Raiders options are quite a bit more clouded, as usual mid-week starter Chase Hampton was given the ball on Sunday before regular Sunday starter Mason Molina took over for him in relief.
With Molina and Hampton likely unavailable, the Red Raiders have a few options for Tuesday’s starter.
Austin Becker, Andrew Devine, and Jamie Hitt have all gotten starts during a mid-week matchup this season and none of the trio have seen action since the mid-week series against Grand Canyon last week.
Devine got a start most recently as he went three innings and allowing three earned runs in the 8-7 loss against the Lopes on April 6th.
Hitting:
Tech’s offense had been going through a slump before seemingly breaking out of it over the weekend with Saturday's 14-0 thumping of the Wildcats and the walk-off victory on Sunday.
One of the Red Raiders hottest hitters, Easton Murrell (.411 AVG, 1.427 OPS), is expected to be in Tuesday’s lineup after missing all three games against Kansas State after sliding into the wall and sustaining an injury that required stiches against Grand Canyon.
On the other hand, the Sooners offense is led by first baseman Blake Robinson who carries a .996 OPS despite not hitting a home run this season.
Oklahoma’s shortstop Peyton Graham is the team leader in home runs with seven and has garnered a .928 OPS in 112 at bats.
As a team, the Sooners are very active on the basepaths, averaging 2.17 stolen bases a game and are successful 78.3 percent of the time.
The neutral-site game will not be televised and serves as a quick turnaround for the Red Raiders as they play TCU in Fort Worth on Thursday.
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