To say that Texas Tech baseball's last few weeks haven't gone as desired would be an understatement.
Tim Tadlock and the boys simply haven't put their best foot forward, going 3-7 in their last 10 games, stumbling a bit as they prepare for postseason play. Timely hitting at the plate has been hit or miss, free passes for opposing lineups have been plentiful, and defensive mistakes - particularly behind the plate - have allowed for cheap runs. A team that was once a lock for a national seed is now in jeopardy - even if slight - of losing their opportunity to host a regional, needing a few wins to stabilize the ship.
This weekend presents a perfect opportunity for this team to find their footing, as the Red Raiders head to Stillwater to take on Big 12 leader and conference favorite Oklahoma State. While Tech's out of the running for a first place finish in the race for the league title, Tech can still find momentum with a series win.
Coach Tadlock's team has had the last nine days off due to finals, giving the team a bit of a moment to regroup and reset the deck before a crucial stretch at Oklahoma State and in the Big 12 tourney. The head coach feels like that break may have been just what the doctor ordered.
"I think for the guys, the break came at a good time. I think the guys, to a man, they took a little time to get away, take finals, concentrate on their studies, but also just step back and take a breath. These guys have traveled quite a bit this year, and I think that's probably the first time we've welcomed the break. As far as did we get out of it what we wanted to get out of it? We'll see. But, I think the guys are refreshed," said Tadlock. "I feel like they're excited about going to Stillwater."
The break allowed Tadlock and the staff to reassess the weekend rotation, and there's been a major shakeup as a result. Davis Martin and Caleb Kilian move back from game 1 and 2 to games 2 and 3 respectively in the rotation. Meanwhile, Ryan Shetter and John McMillon - who had taken turns in the game 3 role - have both been pushed to the pen, senior lefty Dylan Dusek now starting in their place, albeit as the game 1 starter on Thursday.
With a rotation of Dusek, Martin, and Kilian, Tech appears to be pitching their weekend in a reverse, something Tadlock's rarely done in his time in Lubbock. He feels good about the move, especially with what it adds to the bullpen.
"Really the goal is to win each day, and that's kind of why you want to make the change. That obviously adds a bullet to the bullpen with McMillon, obviously a power arm back there to go with Freeman, Quezada, and all those guys back there. So, you feel like you know what you're getting with all those guys, and really excited about watching them go pitch."
So, why Dylan Dusek? Why does he get the nod as the new starter in the rotation?
"We pitch him once a weekend, and it's just one of those deals where we felt like why not just pitch him where we know he's going to pitch? There's been some times where, even against Texas in the last three game series we had, we kind of wished we would've got him in there and we didn't. It cost us. We also just thought he's seen everything you can see in college baseball for the most part. There's no venue he hasn't pitched in. I think our guys are excited to get to play defense behind him, and if he goes out and pitches the way he's capable of, there's no telling what happens. He can be very efficient in five or six innings."
And it's plenty clear what Dusek is capable of when he's pitching at his best. Dusek was a mid-week, workhorse stud as a freshman back in 2014, starting 14 games with an 8-0 record and 1.94 ERA as a key piece in Tech's firs ever run to the College World Series. But injury ended Dusek's 2015 season early, he missed the entire 2016 season while trying to get back healthy, and then he was used sparingly in 2017, still suffering from setbacks physically.
That hasn't been the case in 2018, however. The senior has played by far his best baseball since his freshman campaign, holding a 3-0 record and 2.89 ERA in 24.1 innings of work as a reliever. Now, Dusek will get his first start since 2015, a chance to prove he's back and ready for a major role on the mound headed into the postseason.
Like Dusek, this team has an opportunity this weekend to show people that they're ready to take a big step forward. Coach Tadlock feels that, no matter what happens, this Tech team is ready for the challenge this weekend.
"This team hasn't played their best baseball yet. We're still chasing that," said Tadlock. "This is what you play for. You play the whole year, practice the whole fall, and everything you do, you do it to get to this point in the year. The opportunity to compete each day is special, and you want to go out and treat it that way, embrace each day, and guys are excited about playing and have been excited about playing. Baseball is a tough game sometimes. Sometimes if you're not just right, it can beat you up a little bit. It's a game of failure. But, the guys are in a good spot it seems like to me."
