Following their sweep of Cal in Berkeley, #8 Stanford baseball will welcome #22 Texas Tech to Sunken Diamond for a two-game mini-series that will take place on Monday at 6:05 PM PT and Tuesday at 2:05 PM PT. Monday’s game will air on Pac-12 Networks and KZSU radio while Tuesday’s game will air on Pac-12 Insider and KZSU radio. Stanford comes in at 21-7 overall and 10-2 in the Pac-12 while Texas Tech comes in at 22-10 overall and 4-5 in the Big XII.
Last time out: Stanford defeated Cal 5-3 on Saturday night courtesy of a game-winning three-run homer by Cole Hinkelman. This secured a three-game sweep for the Cardinal over the Golden Bears in Berkeley.
RECAP: #8 Stanford BSB sweeps Cal in Big Series
Probable pitchers: On Monday, it’ll be Stanford freshman right-handed pitcher Nick Dugan (0-0, 9.31 ERA, 18K) vs. Texas Tech freshman right-handed pitcher Jacob Rogers (1-1, 5.40 ERA, 6K). On Tuesday, the pitching matchup is TBD.
On Texas Tech: The Red Raiders got off to a hot 10-0 start to the season with wins over Gonzaga, Western Illinois, and Air Force. Since that 10-0 start, they are 12-10 overall, so they’ve been kinda hot and cold as of late.
The top contact and power hitter on this Red Raiders team is sophomore infielder Gavin Kash, who is batting .397 for 13 home runs, 49 RBIs, a .794 slugging percentage, and a .455 on base percentage. The number two contact and power hitter is junior infielder/outfielder Austin Green, who is batting .367 for 7 home runs, 29 RBIs, a .684 slugging percentage, and a .500 on base percentage.
As a team, the Red Raiders hit .321 for 48 home runs, and 292 RBIs while also having a .535 slugging percentage, and a .432 on base percentage. Their opponents are hitting .256 for 37 home runs, 176 RBIs, a .426 slugging percentage, and a .361 on base percentage. Their pitching staff has a 4.54 ERA while their opponents have an 8.80 ERA.
Keys to the series: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Kash and Green. Those two guys are the ones who really make this Red Raiders offense go. If Stanford can bog them down, it’s going to be tough for the Raiders to find offense from other places.
The second thing for Stanford is their pitching needs to hold. These midweek games are dangerous for them because they’re not going with their usual pitching rotation. The bullpen has been shaky all year and they’re going to have to be the ones to get the Cardinal across the finish line.
Finally, Stanford needs to go yard. The long ball needs to be a big part of their offense in this one. If Stanford is hitting homers, that will really help them weather any storm that might come as a result of their pitching. If they are not hitting home runs, it’s going to be tough for them to win or even split this series.
Prediction: I’m picking a split here. I think Stanford will win one game and Texas Tech will win another. Texas Tech is a good team and these midweek games have been tough for Stanford. Stanford also could have easily lost one or even two games to Cal, but fortunately were able to pull out the sweep. So, I think a split here would be a good result for the Cardinal.
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