2012 TEXAS TECH BASEBALL SEASON REVIEW A NOBLE DEBUT Texas Tech freshman Duke von Schamann made his first appearance on the mound in fashion as he became the first Texas Tech freshman to win a collegiate debut as a starter since Chad Bettis defeated Army (16-2) on February 24, 2008. von Schamann, who made a predetermined start, tossed three shutout innings without allowing a walk while scattering three hits with one strikeout and throwing just 38 pitches. FIRST COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN WHEN TRAILING AFTER EIGHT INNINGS SINCE... Texas Tech trailed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5-4 after eight innings on Saturday, March 13, before scoring two runs in the ninth inning to mark Tech’s first come-from-behind win when trailing after eight innings since April 11, 2010. On that day, Tech trailed 3-2 at Oklahoma State before Scott LeJeune hit a two-out, three-run homer in the top of the ninth to help give Tech a 5-3 win in Stillwater. MAKE THAT TWO COME-FROM-BEHIND WINS WHEN TRAILING AFTER 8 INNINGS Texas Tech did it again in the series finale against No. 14 Baylor in Waco as the Red Raiders trailed 6-3 after six, 6-4 after seven and 6-5 after eight innings. Tech then plated the tying run in the ninth on Andre Wheeler’s single to left field and then scored four runs in the 10th to secure the win. 18-GAME HOMESTAND TO OPEN THE SEASON IS A SCHOOL RECORD Texas Tech opened the season playing 18 consecutive home games - which is the longest homestand to open a season in school history. Tech finished 12-6 on the homestand. It matches the longest homestand in school history, which was first done in 1988 (Feb. 19-March 16), as the 1988 squad went 16-2 with a 15-game win streak to open the stand. On the other side, Tech has had some notable road swings to begin a campaign which includes playing 16 in a row to open the 1972 season (9-7) and playing 25 of its first 28 games on the road to begin the 1976 season (14-11). MOST FANS AT DAN LAW FIELD SINCE 2006 The first game of Tech’s series with No. 8 TCU saw 4,173 fans enter the gates at Dan Law Field. It marked the most fans at Dan Law Field since March 18, 2006, when 4,244 fans watched Texas Tech defeat No. 16 Texas, 2-1. SHOWING THE SUPPORT Texas Tech fans packed Dan Law Field when No. 8 TCU played in Lubbock (Mar. 4-6) with at least 3,000 fans at each game during the three-game series. Total, 10,351 fans entered the gates, averaging 3,450 fans per game. It was only the second time during the last four years with at least 3,000 fans at each game in a three-game home series. The last time it happened was in 2010 when 11,584 fans attended the series with No. 8 Texas with an average of 3,861 fans attending per game. BARNES’ HIT STREAK SNAPPED AT 15 GAMES Sophomore Barrett Barnes saw his 15-game hit streak snapped after an 0-for-4 against No. 8 TCU on Friday night. Barnes finished the 2010 season with a five game streak and hit safely in the first 10 games this season. During his streak Barnes batted .340 (18-for-53) with 15 runs, five doubles, four home runs, 11 RBI and 13 walks. It is the longest hit streak for a Red Raider since Scott LeJeune recorded a 17-game hit streak in 2010. JAMODRICK McGRUDER NAMED BROOKS WALLACE MEMORIAL CLASSIC MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER Sophomore Jamodrick McGruder earned most outstanding player recognition at the Brooks Wallace Memorial Classic after leading the way for Texas Tech to a 3-1 record while batting .583 (7-for-12) with five runs, four extra-base hits (three 3B), two RBI, 14 total bases, a 1.167 slugging percentage, a .750 on-base percentage and with two stolen bases. SEVEN TECH PLAYERS MAKE BROOKS WALLACE CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Seven Tech players, including Jamodrick McGruder - the Most Outstanding Player at the classic, were named to the Brooks Wallace Memorial Classic All-Tournament team following completion of the four-day classic. Bo Altobelli (catcher), Kelby Tomlinson (shortstop), Jamodrick McGruder (outfield), Barrett Barnes (outfield), Reid Redman (utility), Robbie Kilcrease (starting pitcher) and Daniel Coulombe (starting pitcher) all earned recognition. McGRUDER IS ROUNDING SECOND AND HEADING FOR THIRD Jamodrick McGruder is fast, and earlier this season he showed how fast while picking up three triples in the two final games of the Brooks Wallace Memorial Classic. When hitting his first triple on Sunday, he became the first Tech player since Willie Rueda in 2008 to hit triples in consecutive games. Then, in his third plate appearance on Sunday, McGruder tripled again marking the first time since last season (when he accomplished it) a Tech player notched two triples in one game. McGruder hit a pair of triples at TCU on March 12 during his freshman season. McGruder is the only Texas Tech player to hit two triples twice in his career in over 10 years. In fact, he is the only Tech player since 2001 (Jason Rainey - school record three triples) to hit two triples in a game. COULOMBE DIALS UP 9 K’S IN 2ND START - MOST BY A RED RAIDER THIS SEASON Daniel Coulombe was named to the Brooks Wallace Memorial Classic All-Tournament team after striking out nine batters in just five innings of work against BYU (2/25). Coulombe did take the loss in his second start of the season, but it had nothing to do with his ability to miss the barrel as he struck out two in the first, two in the second, one in the third, two in the fourth and two in the fifth. In addition, seven of his nine strikeouts were swinging. His nine strikeouts were the most by a Texas Tech pitcher this season and the most by a Red Raider since Chad Bettis struck out 10 against then-No. 1 Texas at the Big 12 Championship in 2010 in Oklahoma City. FLORA MAKES BACK-TO-BACK STARTS FOR THE RED RAIDERS Ben Flora became the first Tech pitcher to start in back-to-back games since 2007 when he made his season debut on Sunday, Feb. 20, against Northwestern and then started against BYU on Thursday, Feb. 24. Flora only threw 54 pitches against Northwestern. The last Red Raider to start in back-to-back games was A.J. Ramos, but in a different circumstance. Ramos got the nod in the series opener against Kansas State (in Manhattan), and after throwing the first inning, the game was postponed until the following day due to heavy rain. After the completed game one of the series, Ramos took the hill to start game two on Saturday afternoon. Ramos’ back-to-back games were on March 30-31, 2007. SCORING EARLY AND OFTEN Texas Tech scored six runs in the first inning in back-to-back games against Northern Illinois, marking the first time in over 10 years to accomplish the feat. The last time Texas Tech scored at least five runs in the first inning in back-to-back games was against San Francisco on February 14-15, 2003, when the Red Raiders plated five runs in the first inning in back-to-back games at Dan Law Field. TCU IS FIRST NON-CONFERENCE TOP 10 TEAM TO PLAY AT DAN LAW FIELD SINCE 2006 Texas Tech hosted No. 8 TCU for a three-game series at Dan Law Field. It marked the first time a top-10 ranked non-conference opponent had traveled to Lubbock since No. 10 Arizona State. Tech defeated the Sun Devils 7-2 on Monday, April 17, 2006. TCU and Arizona State are the only top-10 non-conference opponents to play at Dan Law Field in over 10 years. TECH SUFFERS FIRST SHUTOUT IN 87 CONSECUTIVE GAMES The No. 8 TCU Horned Frogs handed Texas Tech a 7-0 loss in the first game of their three-game series on March 4, at Dan Law Field. It had been 87 games since Tech was shutout, happening last when No. 11 Oklahoma knocked off Tech 4-0 on April 11, 2009 in Norman. It marked only the fourth time in Dan Spencer’s three-year tenure as head coach of the Red Raiders that they had not scored in a game. It also marked the first time Tech was shutout at home since March 28, 2008, a streak of 81 consecutive home games. Tech was shutout 1-0 against No. 2 Missouri on Dan Law Field. TEXAS TECH LANDS NINE ON RED RAIDER CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Texas Tech won the Red Raider Classic with a perfect 4-0 record, and through the competition saw plenty of impressive performances. The Red Raiders placed nine of its players on the alltournament team, including Kelby Tomlinson (SS), who was named the Most Outstanding Player and Bo Altobelli (C), Stephen Hagen (1B), Nick Popescu (2B), Reid Redman (3B), Jamodrick McGruder (UTL), Barrett Barnes (OF), Robbie Kilcrease (SP) and John Neely (RP).
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