Red Raiders Set for Opening Weekend vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Texas Tech Press Release

FIRST PITCH

• No. 25 Texas Tech opens its 67th season of baseball Friday afternoon when the Red Raiders begin a four-game series against Milwaukee. First pitch on Opening Day is slated for 2 p.m. inside Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. The series will continue with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and a 12 p.m. finale on Sunday.

• The Red Raiders are 42-24 all-time on Opening Day, which includes a 15-2 mark since 1999.

• Texas Tech has won 14-consecutive Opening Day games against non-ranked opponents dating back to the 1998 season (Lost to New Mexico, 7-6, in Albuquerque). The Red Raiders have not dropped a season opener to an unranked foe at home since falling to TCU, 10-1, in 1997.

• Texas Tech has experienced remarkable success in home openers since 1985 with a 28-2 record. The Red Raiders have won 16 of their last 17 home openers while scoring at least 10 runs in nine of those games.

• Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock is 2-1 all-time on Opening Day as the Red Raiders defeated Northern Illinois (8-0) in 2013 and San Francisco (9-7) in 2015. The lone Opening Day loss in his tenure came in a 1-0 setback to No. 3 Indiana in 2014. The Red Raiders rebounded to win the final three games of that series.

• Milwaukee is making its first trip to Lubbock since the 1999 NCAA Lubbock Regional where the Red Raiders claimed an 8-5 victory behind 6.2 solid innings of relief from Brandon Roberson. The victory marked the only meeting all-time between the two schools.

• Ryan Moseley will get the ball on Opening Day for the second-straight year Friday. Moseley, who earned a no-decision in Texas Tech’s victory over San Francisco a year ago, is just the second Lubbock native to start multiple season openers, joining current Colorado Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis (2009-10).

• Texas Tech opens its season with 10 of its first 17 games coming against opponents ranked in the top 25 of the preseason polls. Dating back to the 1995 season, the Red Raiders have never played more than nine games against ranked opponents through the first 17 games of the season.

• Texas Tech fans will get their first glimpse of two new additions to Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park on Friday as the Red Raiders will play their first game on a new FieldTurf surface. Tech will also debut an updated video board that was installed in the weeks leading up to the season.

• Eric Gutierrez has been a regular in the Texas Tech lineup throughout his career as the senior has started in all 177 games of his career. It is the longest active streak in the country heading into the 2016 season.

• Texas Tech enters the 2016 season ranked 25th nationally in the poll conducted by Perfect Game, marking the second-straight year where the Red Raiders have appeared in the preseason rankings. Texas Tech had not previously appeared in the preseason rankings in consecutive seasons since 1999-2000.

INSIDE THE MILWAUKEE SERIES

• Texas Tech and Milwaukee will meet Friday for just the second time in both programs’ histories. The two schools previously met during the 1999 NCAA Lubbock Regional where the Red Raiders defeated Milwaukee, 8-5, at Dan Law Field.

• Brandon Roberson picked up the win in Texas Tech’s only other meeting with Milwaukee as the right-hander tossed 6.2 innings of relief where he allowed a run off five hits and three strikeouts. Marco Cuningham and Scott Holzhauer both finished 2-for-5 to lead the Red Raiders at the plate.

• Milwaukee is the only current member of the Horizon League to ever face the Red Raiders.

TEXAS TECH ON OPENING DAY

• Texas Tech is 42-24 all-time on Opening Day, including a 15-2 mark since 1999. The Red Raiders have won six of their last seven Opening Day games and 15 of their last 16 Opening Day games played at home since 1999.

• Tech’s only two losses on Opening Day over the past 14 years came at home in 2014 against No. 3 Indiana (0-1) and then against No. 19 Louisiana-Lafayette (0-4) at the Roadrunner Classic held in San Antonio to start the 2008 season.

• Texas Tech has been nearly unbeatable when hosting Opening Day on its home turf as the Red Raiders are 28-6 all-time in home season openers. The Red Raiders have won 15 of their last 16 Opening Day games at home which includes a 9-7 victory a year ago over San Francisco.

• The 2015 victory improved Tech to 21-2 on Opening Day in its home ballpark. This will be the eighth-consecutive season where the Red Raiders have hosted Opening Day in Lubbock.

• The Red Raiders have won 14-consecutive Opening Day games against non-ranked opponents dating back to the 1998 season. Texas Tech has not opened its season with a loss to a team not in the preseason rankings since falling to New Mexico, 7-6, in Albuquerque. The Red Raiders have not dropped a season opener against an unranked team at home since 1997 when TCU handed the Red Raiders a 10-1 setback.

• Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock is 2-1 all-time on Opening Day with victories over Northern Illinois (2013) and San Francisco (2015). His lone loss came in 2014 against No. 3 Indiana.

TEXAS TECH IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

• Texas Tech enters the season ranked 25th nationally by Perfect Game and 39th in the poll conducted by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The Red Raiders are also receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches’ and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association polls.

• This is the second-straight year where the Red Raiders have started their season ranked in a preseason poll. It is the first time Texas Tech has appeared in the preseason rankings in consecutive seasons since prior to the 1999-2000 campaigns.

MOSELEY NAMED OPENING DAY STARTER FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT YEAR

Junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Moseley will receive the ball on Opening Day for the second-straight season Friday against Milwaukee. Moseley earned a no-decision in his 2015 Opening Day start against San Francisco after he tossed four complete innings with three runs (two earned) off two hits and five strikeouts. He is just the sixth Red Raider since 1987 to start consecutive Opening Day games, joining the likes of Dominic Moreno (2013-14), Chad Bettis (2009-10), Shane Wright (1998-99), Mark Brandenburg (1991-92) and Rodney Steph (1989-90).

MOSELEY BECOMES SIXTH RED RAIDER FROM LUBBOCK TO START ON OPENING DAY SINCE 1987

Texas Tech junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Moseley – a 2013 graduate of Lubbock Cooper High School – is just the second Red Raider pitcher from Lubbock to earn the Opening Day start in back-to-back seasons since 1987. He joins former Red Raider and current Colorado Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis (2009-10) as the only Lubbock natives with multiple Opening Day starts.

2015 – RHP Ryan Moseley (Jr.)_________ Lubbock Cooper HS

2014 – RHP Ryan Moseley (So.)________ Lubbock Cooper HS

2010 – RHP Chad Bettis (Jr.)________________ Monterey HS

2009 – RHP Chad Bettis (So.)________________ Monterey HS

2008 – RHP A.J. Ramos (Jr.)__________________ Estacado HS

1996 – LHP Matt Miller (Jr.)_________________ Monterey HS

1987 – RHP Bret Marshall (Jr.)_______________ Coronado HS