Know Thy Enemy: Meet Texas Tech

This week we’ve chatted with the SB Nation folks who blog for Florida State, Texas Tech, and Michigan, and will be publishing those articles as we compile out a schedule, and engage them on the fields of battle at TD Ameritrade! Today we’re playing Texas Tech. We want to thank Viva the Matadors for helping us learn about them!

How do you feel after the super regional round?

I feel cautiously optimistic after the super regional round. Our bats really did the talking in that series but the bullpen didn’t really come through and made the games closer than they should have been. This team is still on fire though, and I think they have the star power to take it all the way.

What was your team’s strength in the super regional?

Our hitting lineup. This group of hitters led by Josh Jung were able to tear the stuffing out of the ball. Everyone was able to bring something to the table last weekend and I think that it will translate over to the College World Series.

What needs improvement?

The bullpen. This bullpen is probably the deepest in college baseball, which will be very useful this week. However, they did not have a good Super Regional series. They allowed too many runs late and it almost cost us the series. Look for them to bounce back in a real way with a ton of different guys coming out of the bullpen in the College World Series.

What has been your team’s signature skill throughout the season(pitching, hitting, defense, etc)?

We’re a team with great hitting throughout the lineup. Even when you get to the bottom of the lineup, you’ve still got good hitters that can turn the lineup over to your big guns at the top. I think that Cameron Warren and Josh Jung are in for big weeks here at the College World Series.

What players are ones we should watch?

There are three that you should watch. Everyone knows who Josh Jung is so I won’t talk about him. I will talk about Cameron Warren, a senior first baseman who I think will hit a home run sometime this week in Omaha. He’s been the heart and soul of this team and has really come through in the clutch for this team time and time again. The other two will be starting games at some point this week. The first being freshman Micah Dallas. He has a 7-0 record and has been dominant since he was given the starting job a couple of months ago. The other Arkansas fans are probably familiar with in Bryce Bonin. I don’t know what Arkansas was thinking when they told him he couldn’t be a starter. He started out struggling a bit but has really bounced back and turned into a dominant force.

What does your team need to do to advance?

The bullpen needs to close out games. It’s that simple. The bats and starting pitching will be there, but the bullpen is the key to winning this bracket.

Anything else folks should know about your team?

Look out for a great team that loves to have fun and win games. WRECK ‘EM!