FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech first-year head baseball coach Tim Tadlock announced the Red Raiders 2013 baseball schedule Wednesday morning.
The Red Raiders 56-game schedule is highlighted by 30 home games at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park, a midweek series in Tucson, Ariz., against defending NCAA national champion Arizona, playing 25 games against 10 opponents that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and taking on eight conference champions from last season.
“We are very excited about our schedule,” Tadlock said. “Besides playing in one of the elite college baseball conferences in the country, our non-conference schedule will be as competitive as any team in the nation. Our fans have a lot of exciting baseball to look forward to this upcoming season and we encourage all Red Raider fans to purchase season tickets.”
Tech opens the 2013 schedule hosting the fourth-annual Brooks Wallace Memorial Classic. The Red Raiders will face Northern Illinois on Opening Day on Friday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. Tech also welcomes Northern Colorado and BYU during the opening weekend.
Tech will make its first road trip with five games in five days in Florida, beginning with the University of Central Florida Tournament in Orlando facing Troy (Feb. 22), UCF (Feb. 23) and Connecticut (Feb. 24) before taking on Florida International in Miami, Feb. 25-26.
Tech’s 21-game March slate begins at home with LaSalle (Mar. 1-3) before traveling to Tucson for a midweek, two-game series with defending national champion Arizona, Mar. 5-6. It will mark the fourth time Tech has faced a defending national champion in non-conference play and the first since taking on Rice in 2004.
The Red Raiders welcome a pair of defending conference champions as UT Arlington (Mar. 8-10) and Utah Valley (Mar. 12) make the trip to Lubbock before Tech opens Big 12 play at Texas (Mar. 15-17).
Arizona State will visit Lubbock for the first time since 2006 with a midweek game Tuesday, Mar. 19, before Tech plays a three-game series at West Virginia marking the first-ever meeting between the Red Raiders and Mountaineers, Mar. 22-24.
Tech and West Virginia will play their series at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W. Va., approximately 67 miles from the West Virginia campus (Morgantown, W. Va.) at the Pittsburgh Pirates Single-A stadium.
After a midweek game at defending Western Athletic Conference champion New Mexico State (Mar. 25), the Red Raiders will return home to close the month of March hosting TCU (Mar. 29-31) for its first Big 12 series with the Horned Frogs. Although, Tech and TCU have faced each other in 14 of the last 16 years since the separation of the Southwest Conference following the 1996 season.
Tech will equal its longest road swing of the season – five games – at defending Mountain West Conference champion New Mexico (Apr. 2) followed by a series at Kansas State (Apr. 5-7). Tech’s road trip will conclude with a midweek game at NCAA Regional participant Dallas Baptist (Apr. 9).
Baseball fans in the Lubbock community will circle Sunday, April 14 on their 2013 calendars as Texas Tech will host NAIA powerhouse Lubbock Christian for a game at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park at 6:30 p.m. It will be the first meeting between the Red Raiders and Chaparrals since 2009.
Tech will close the month of April with a midweek series at Rice (Apr. 16-17), three-game series at home against Kansas (Apr. 19-21), midweek home game against New Mexico State (Apr. 23) and traveling to Oklahoma (Apr. 26-28).
Tech’s season-long six-game homestand will begin with a midweek series against New Mexico (Apr. 30-May) before Oklahoma State (May 3-5) and Dallas Baptist (May 7) travel to Lubbock.
Tech will head back to New Mexico (May 8) before taking a week off for finals while closing the regular season with a midweek game at Arizona State (May 15) and hosting defending Big 12 champion Baylor (May 16-18) in Lubbock.
The top eight teams in the league will advance to the Big 12 Championships (May 22-26) in Oklahoma City at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, home of the Houston Astros Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma City RedHawks.
