Texas Tech Baseball to Face Western Illinois

After sweeping a very good Gonzaga team over the weekend, the Red Raiders return to Dan Law Field this weekend to take on Western Illinois.

Western Illinois is coming off a 1-3 performance against the University of Southern Indiana, a Division One team in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Leathernecks are also coming off an 8-44 season, where they went 5-13 in the Summit Conference. Let’s preview the Leathernecks.

Western Illinois

Record: 1-3

Pitching Staff:

The Leathernecks used 11 different pitchers over their four-game series last weekend. The best of those was Jake Armstrong who started Saturday’s win and pitched into the sixth inning. The senior went 0-3 in a relief role last season for the team but has emerged as their best pitcher so far this season, allowing two runs in his start Saturday.

Freshman Aron Harrington started Sunday’s loss and only allowed one run in four innings of work. Jack Bell is going to be used a ton out of the bullpen, as he made three appearances over the weekend. The Junior went 2-2 in 31 appearances in 2022.

The Red Raider are also bound to see Mitchel Sampson and Tyler Kapraun, who both started games last weekend for the Leathernecks.

Offense:

Three guys stand out for Western Illinois offensively. Nick Mitchell is hitting an impressive .625 and had 10 hits through the first four games of the season. Keeping him from getting hits will be crucial for the Red Raiders this weekend.

The second standout is Jake Allgeyer, who is hitting .500 through the first weekend of the year. Allgeyer is tied for the team lead with 4 RBI on the year.

The final standout is Kyree Alexander, who hit 2 home runs and also has 4 RBI on the season.

Overall Thoughts:

The Red Raiders should easily dominate this team. There’s maybe one or two hitters they’ll face that could remotely play in the Big 12. This weekend is a great opportunity for the Red Raiders to tinker with lineups and make sure that everyone gets some at-bats and innings. Keeping everyone healthy and getting everyone some playing time are things to look for this weekend as a Red Raider fan.