Lubbock Regional Best Pitcher: Micah Dallas

Everybody loves closers. Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley, Trevor Hoffman, the list goes on and on. The appeal is easy to see. These guys come in specifically for the clutch moments to secure the win for their teams no matter where, when, or who they’ll be facing. The problem is, a good one is hard to find. Fortunately for the Red Raiders, it seems that they have got a guy who can serve in that role quite well in sophomore right-hander Micah Dallas.

If you have been following the Red Raiders, you know that Dallas has been pitching in just about every situation imaginable this season. He’s worked as a weekend starter, a weekday starter, a long reliever, and as a closer in certain spots across 16 appearances so far in 2021.

He has been a swiss army knife of pitching for Head Coach Tim Tadlock’s team this season, and the playoffs have been no exception. With Chase Hampton excelling as a starter as of late, Dallas was moved back into a reliever role during this past weekend’s Regional Round.

In two appearances, he pitched a total of 3.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts and only one hit allowed. He earned the save in Tech’s game against Army in just 11 pitches and closed out the weekend finale against UCLA while allowing just one baserunner. Dallas was the only Red Raider pitcher to make multiple appearances in the Regional Round, which is why we have named him the Best Pitcher of the round.

Dallas’ presence in both games also served as momentum a shifter in both games. After making the All-Big 12-second team in May, he could easily be viewed as the best or most talented pitcher on the team. To have him closing games is an incredible advantage for Tech. It also doubles the number of relievers honored by the conference this past May in the Red Raider bullpen, as junior right-hander Ryan Sublette was named as an Honorable Mention by the Big 12. With Dallas and Sublette coming out of the pen, Red Raider fans have to feel confident about the team’s ability to advance back to the College World Series.