Red Raider Hardball :: Swept by Nebraska

Texas Tech (27-27, 13-14) vs. Nebraska (27-27, 10-17)
Location: Hawks Field at Haymarket Park : Lincoln, NB
Radio: Affiliates

Outfield:
LF - Michael Reed (Sr.); CF - Taylor Ashby (Sr.); RF - Bonham Hough (Sr.)
Infield:
SS - Joey Kenworthy (Sr.)     2ND - Jamodrick McGruder (Fr.);
3RD - Nick Popescu (Jr.)                                  1ST - Barrett Barnes (Fr.)
C - Jeremy Mayo (Jr.)
DH - Scott LeJeune (So.)

*Click on the score for boxscore. Texas Tech series preview (pdf).

Swept:  There's no sugar-coating any of this.  The Red Raiders needed to get just one win to be on the positive side of the win column in conference play and that didn't happen.  It stinks that this team lost their best player for four games because he wasn't warned when he hit a Baylor player.  An automatic four-game suspension absolutely affected the outcome of this series.  Perhaps, however, this was nothing more than a situation whereby the depleted pitching staff simply caught up with Texas Tech.  Head coach Dan Spencer was forced to pitch catcher Jeremy in yesterday's final game as I imagine that the bullpen was absolutely bare.  Flora, Petite and Erzinger pitched on Friday, while Johnson, Stewart, Erzinger, Burnett and Cooper pitched on Saturday. Other than Sunday's starter, Doran, that was your entire pitching staff. 

LAJ's George Watson has the recap from Sunday's final game and opines that Texas Tech's chances of securing an at-large berth is slim:

The loss drops the Red Raiders to 27-27 overall and 13-14 in the Big 12 heading into Wednesday’s opening round of the Big 12 Championships at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. Tech, the No. 5 seed, will open tournament play at 9 a.m. against suddenly surging Texas A&M (36-19), the fourth seed which has won five of its last six conference games. Tech will also face top-seed and national No. 1 Texas (46-8) at 3 p.m. on Thursday and No. 8 seed Missouri (27-25).

By dropping below .500 in Big 12 play, however, the Red Raiders’ hopes of earning an at-large berth to the NCAA playoffs were likely damaged beyond repair, leaving them the automatic bid that goes to the conference tournament winner as their only way of ending a six-year NCAA postseason drought.

Big 12 Tournament:  After the jump, the official site has set the pools and this week's schedule at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City:

Pool 1
#1 Texas
#4 Texas A&M
#5 Texas Tech
#8 Missouri

Pool 2
#2 Oklahoma
#3 Kansas State
#6 Baylor
#7 Kansas

Wednesday, May 26
Game 1:     No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 5 Texas Tech     9:00 a.m.
Game 2:     No. 1 Texas vs. No. 8 Missouri     12:30 p.m.
Game 3:     No. 3 Kansas State vs. No. 6 Baylor     4:00 p.m.
Game 4:     No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Kansas     7:30 p.m.
 
Thursday, May 27
Game 5:     No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Texas Tech     3:00 p.m.
Game 6:     No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 8 Missouri     7:30 p.m.
 
Friday, May 28
Game 7:     No. 3 Kansas State vs. No. 7 Kansas     3:00 p.m.
Game 8:     No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Baylor     7:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, May 29
Game 9:     No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 8 Missouri     9:00 a.m.
Game 10:     No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Texas A&M     12:30 p.m.
Game 11:     No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Kansas State     4:00 p.m.
Game 12:     No. 6 Baylor vs. No. 7 Kansas     7:30 p.m.
 
Sunday, May 30
Game 13:     Division 1 Champion vs. Division 2 Champion {FSN}     1:00 p.m.