Red Raiders continue key road trip against TCU in Fort Worth

After a win on Wednesday night in Abilene over Abilene Christian, where Texas Tech faced it's former infielder Cade McGarrh on the mound enroute to a 21-3 win where Tech broke the single game home run record with nine in the game.

Tech has won seven games in a row dating back to the Sunday win over UCF in Orlando and sits at 25-9 on the season, and above .500 in Big 12 play at 8-7 for the first time all season after the weekend sweep of Houston.

The Red Raiders now continue a key stretch on the road with a three game series in Fort Worth this weekend against TCU.

The Horned Frogs enter the weekend at 20-11 on the year and 5-10 in Big 12 play, having struggled in the first half of Big 12 play despite the electric start to the season, reaching as high as No. 5 in the D1Baseball Top 25 poll after three weeks.

Tech and TCU will square off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night before a pair of afternoon games on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will be nationally televised on ESPNU while Friday and Sunday's games will be on ESPN+.

Friday: LHP Ryan Free (6.63 ERA) v. LHP Payton Tolle (3.74 ERA)

Saturday: RHP Kyle Robinson (4.10 ERA) v. RHP Louis Rodriguez (3.14 ERA)

Sunday: RHP Mac Heuer (5.03 ERA) v. RHP Kole Klecker (6.68 ERA)

This will be an interesting weekend on the mound as Tolle and Klecker are two highly regarded arms for the Horned Frogs.

Tolle, the two-way phenom from Wichita State has been the Frogs Friday night starter all season and has been their best starting arm throughout the season, shifting his focus to the mound since the start of conference play, with only 13 at bats in Big 12 competition.

On Saturday, it is a question of who the Frogs may eventually throw against Tech's Robinson. Rodriguez started last Saturday for TCU but was "piggy-backed" by RHP Mason Bixby, who has been strong in limited work.

RHP Ben Hampton, who left the rotation three weeks ago, is also an option for the Frogs.

On Sunday, Kole Klecker is back for another start against the Red Raiders after getting roughed up for six earned on seven hits during his freshman campaign last season at Dan Law Field. It's been a disappointing season thus far for Klecker, who finished with a 3.72 ERA in 2023.

It's been a disappointing year for the TCU lineup after the hot start in February as the Frogs best hitter in Big 12 play, OF Logan Maxwell, carries a .864 OPS through 50 at bats. Maxwell has a team-leading 34 hits in 96 ABs this season with 11 extra-base hits.

For SS Anthony Silva, the highly touted draft-eligible sophomore, it's been a bit of a let down from his strong freshman campaign in Fort Worth, carrying a .798 OPS into the weekend with one homer.

Big 12 Schedule 4/11-4/14:

Baylor @ BYU: (Thr-Sat) 7 p.m, 7 p.m., 2 p.m. (ESPN+)

UCF @ West Virginia: 5:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Pacific @ Kansas: 6 p.m., 2 p.m, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)

Kansas State @ Oklahoma: 6:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 2 p.m. (ESPN+)

Texas Tech @ TCU: 6:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 1 p.m. (ESPN+, ESPNU, ESPN+)

Texas @ Houston: 6:30 p.m, 6:30 p.m., 1 p.m. (ESPN+)

Cincinnati @ Oklahoma State: 6 p.m., 6 p.m., 1 p.m. (ESPN+)