Will No. 2 Razorbacks bounce back against Red Raiders in big midweek test?

The No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (30-5, 12-3 SEC) will look to bounce back after their first series loss as they host the Red Raiders of Texas Tech (26-11, 9-9 Big 12) for a two-game mid-week set inside Baum-Walker Stadium beginning Tuesday night.

The second-ranked Razorbacks are coming off a road series loss to No. 18 Alabama. They have lost back-to-back games for the first time in 2024. Texas Tech had a similar weekend, taking the opener against TCU before dropping the last two games.

Both teams come in looking to get back in the win column. The first of the two-game set is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Texas Tech at a Glance

Tim Tadlock’s team will enter Tuesday’s contest with 26 wins to go along with 11 losses. The Red Raiders stand as the No. 6 team in the Big 12 standings.

They are 36th in the RPI, hold a road record of 6-6 and are 8-0 record in mid-week games. Big wins for Texas Tech include a series win over BYU, a mid-week sweep of Stanford, and wins in Arlington over Oregon and Nebraska.

Key bats for the Red Raiders

The Texas Tech lineup is headlined by two star underclassmen, Damian Bravo and TJ Pompey, who are batting .420 and .346, respectively.

Another big bat for Tadlock’s squad is junior and preseason All-American Gavin Kash, who is batting .308 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI. Other names to keep track of aside from Kash include Austin Green, Cade McGee and Drew Woodcox, who has nine home runs.

As a team, the Red Raiders are batting an outstanding .324 with 65 home runs. This offense is deep and powerful, with plenty of threats from top to bottom. Arkansas pitching will have its work cut out for it this week.

Pitching Matchups

Tuesday:

(ARK) RHP Ben Bybee: 2-0, 1.00 ERA, 11K/1BB, 9.0 IP vs (TTU) LHP Zach Erdman: 0-0, 7.24 ERA, 9K/4BB, 13.2 IP

Wednesday:

(ARK) LHP Colin Fisher: 6-1, 1.96 ERA, 24K/7BB, 23.0 IP vs (TTU) TBD

Pregame Notes

• Arkansas last faced Texas Tech in the College Baseball Showdown to open the season in 2021. The Razorbacks won 13-9.

• The Razorbacks are looking to improve their record-setting 23-game home win streak at Baum-Walker Stadium.

• Texas Tech scores nearly 10 runs per game while also allowing opponents to bat .276 against its pitching staff. The Red Raiders like to get into shootouts. If these two games do turn into slugfest, the Raiders have the upper hand.

• Arkansas leads the all-time series against Texas Tech 47-15.

• Both teams are undefeated in mid-week games this season. Arkansas is 7-0, outscoring its opponents 71-13. Texas Tech is 8-0, outscoring its opponents 104-54.

• Arkansas’ Mason Molina and Hudson White will face their former team for the first time. Both transferred out of Lubbock following the 2023 season.