Lubbock Regional Preview
Baseball America will break down all 16 regionals, including Lubbock, hosted by Texas Tech. Teddy Cahill has the details.
| STAT PACK (National rank in parentheses) |
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| Avg. | Scoring (R/G) | HR | SB | ERA | K/9 | WHIP | Fielding %age | |
| 1. Texas Tech | .296 (46) | 7.1 (29) | 50 (38) | 66 (78) | 4.29 (110) | 6.8 (185) | 1.42 (96) | .974 (42) |
| 2. Dallas Baptist | .289 (71) | 6.8 (38) | 56 (28) | 54 (148) | 3.65 (49) | 7.6 (90) | 1.35 (70) | .974 (51) |
| 3. New Mexico | .319 (11) | 7.6 (16) | 63 (15) | 48 (174) | 4.87 (171) | 6.0 (260) | 1.56 (188) | .971 (90) |
| 4. Fairfield | .281 (108) | 5.8 (111) | 25 (192) | 77 (48) | 4.14 (96) | 6.0 (259) | 1.45 (121) | .972 (78) |
1. Texas Tech (41-16, 19-5 Big 12 Conference)
11th appearance (first since 2014), at-large, first in Big 12
Top 300 Prospects: None
Season In A Sentence: After a disappointing 2015 season that saw it miss the tournament a year after making its first College World Series appearance, Texas Tech rebounded this year and won its first Big 12 title since 1997.
Player to Watch: Tanner Gardner, of: After being sidelined by a minor injury for Texas Tech’s last two games in the Big 12 Tournament (both losses), Gardner should be ready to go this weekend. That’s good news for the Red Raiders, who are set to get their leading hitter back. The sophomore is hitting .376/.487/.562, and leads the Big 12 in on-base percentage and ranks second in batting average. Having Gardner hitting is important to making Texas Tech’s offense go.
Best Weekend: at Texas Christian, April 29-May 1. Texas Tech went to Fort Worth at the end of April with first place in the Big 12 and, likely, a national seed on the line. The Red Raiders started the weekend with a victory and then secured the series with a 3-1 win in the rubber game. With series wins against TCU and Oklahoma State, its two most serious contenders in the conference, in hand at the start of May, Texas Tech had positioned itself to win the conference title, which it made official a couple weeks later.
Outlook: Texas Tech has been strong all season long, but especially so after shaking up its rotation in favor of freshman such as Friday starter Davis Martin. The young arms fared well in Big 12 play, and if they can repeat that success on the bigger stage of the NCAA Tournament, Texas Tech should be able to give them enough support to advance to super regionals.
2. Dallas Baptist (41-17, 15-5 Missouri Valley Conference)
Sixth appearance (third straight), automatic, first place in MVC, won MVC Tournament
Top 300 Prospects: OF David Martinelli (158), 1B Darick Hall (263)
Season In A Sentence: Dallas Baptist has been remarkable consistent under coach Dan Heefner, and for the third straight year the Patriots won more than 40 games and reached the NCAA Tournament.
Player to Watch: Darick Hall, 1b/rhp: A transfer from Cochise (Ariz.) JC, Hall was named both the MVC player and newcomer of the year. The two-way star hit .300/.421/.624 with 18 home runs and went 8-3, 3.41 in 15 starts on the mound. With the ability to affect the game in so many different ways, it’s only a matter of time before Hall makes his presence felt in Lubbock.
Best Weekend: at Indiana State, April 22-24. DBU rolled through the MVC, winning all but one of its conference series. But in late April, it traveled to Indiana State and swept the Sycamores, who went on to finish second in the league, both in the standings and in RPI. It was the first time Indiana State had been swept at home in five years.
Outlook: Dallas Baptist will have its work cut out for it this weekend. But the Patriots have postseason experience and won’t be intimidated by traveling to Texas Tech. They have a chance to advance to super regionals for the first time in five years.
3. New Mexico (38-21, 20-10 in Mountain West Conference)
Sixth appearance (first since 2013), automatic, second in MWC, won MWC Tournament
Top 300 Prospects: None
Season In A Sentence: New Mexico pulled itself out of a late-season lull just in time to win its final series of the regular season and then sweep through the MWC Tournament to get back to regionals for the fifth time since 2010.
Player to Watch: Chris Devito, dh: The junior has been the Lobos best hitter all season, and enters the NCAA Tournament hitting a team-best .379/.439/.692 with 16 home runs. He and third baseman Carl Stajduhar give New Mexico a formidable power combination, as both rank in the top 10 nationally in total bases. The last pair of Lobos to finish in the top 10 nationally in total bases was D.J. Peterson and Mitch Garver in 2012.
Best Weekend: vs. Fresno State, April 8-10. New Mexico took control of the MWC early in the season with a home sweep of Fresno State. It was a tight series throughout the weekend, but the Lobos found a way to win a pair of very different one-run games on the first two days, defeating the Bulldogs 2-1 and then 14-13 in 12 innings. They completed the sweep with a 7-4 victory in the finale.
Outlook: New Mexico is very familiar with both Texas Tech and Dallas Baptist. The Lobos went 1-2 in midweek games against the Red Raiders and were swept at home by the Patriots this season. They’ll have to reverse their fortunes under the bright lights of regionals, but at least they know what they’re getting into.
4. Fairfield (32-24, 17-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
First appearance, automatic, won MAAC, won MAAC Tournament
Top 300 Prospects: None
Season In A Sentence: Fairfield won the MAAC championship on a walk-off grand slam on the final day of the regular season and carried that magic into the conference tournament, which the Stags swept through to advance to regionals for the first time in program history.
Player to Watch: Jake Salpietro, of: Fairfield’s leading hitter is also its biggest power threat. Salpietro hit .349/.439/.581 with 10 home runs. That power came with 60 strikeouts, but when the senior connects, its often a rocket. He’ll be counted on to provide some of that thump this weekend.
Best Weekend: MAAC tournament, May 25-28. The Stags had come close to the NCAA Tournament before, but had been unable to get over the hump before this season. Fairfield punched its ticket with an emphatic 18-2 victory against Siena in the championship game, setting a MAAC Tournament record for both runs and margin of victory.
Outlook: Fairfield tested itself early in the season, playing five games on the road against North Carolina and North Carolina State. But the Stags went 0-7 against top-100 RPI teams and will have to step their game up this weekend.
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