Ladders:

• Bryce Bonnin – It looked like in the first inning against New Mexico State that Bonnin was going to blow up again, as he was missing pitches and walking batters. But he calmed down and threw the best start of the season so far. Bonnin went 6 IP with three K’s, a WHIP of 1.16, and most importantly zero runs.
• Erikson Lanning – Lanning had possibly the second best outing of his career, with the first obviously being his game clinching performance in the 2016 Super Regional. The left handed pitcher went 5.0 IP with with a WHIP of .60 and a career high seven strikeouts.
• Dane Haveman – Didn’t pitch a lot of innings last week. But when he did pitch, he continued to be dominant. He struck out two of the three batters he faced and got the Red Raiders out of some jams to give them a chance.
• Gabe Holt – Holt didn’t play on Tuesday, but was solid this past weekend in Frisco. He went 3 for 8 with a walk and three more stolen bases. He now has nine stolen bases on the season, despite only playing in seven games.
• Brain Klein – Klein has had himself a good couple weeks at the plate. He went .400/.500 with a double, two runs and two RBIs, including the lone run in their game against Nebraska.

Chutes:

• Middle Infield Defense – The defense struggled again this on Saturday. They had two errors that helped Mississippi State get an early lead in the contest and another that gave the Bulldogs some cushion.
• Tanner O’Tremba – After winning the Big 12 newcomer of the week, O’Tremba couldn’t buy a hit in the three games this week. In 10 plate appearances, he had one walk, one run, zero hits, two strikeouts and left five runners on base. Not a great week for the freshman.
• Caleb Kilian – Kilian continues to have short outing and has been unable to hit the fifth inning so far in his three starts. The defense didn’t do him any favors on Saturday, but Kilian only went 3.2 IP with two runs, one earned runs, and allowed five base runners. Going to need more from the ace.
• John McMillon – The consistency just hasn’t been there so far this year for The Whammer. He had a good outing against New Mexico State, but once again this weekend, his speed on his pitches were down and he failed to get outs. In 0.2 IP, he allowed four base runners and a run to score.
• Taylor Floyd – First off, I don’t blame the loss on Friday on him, because you should never expect to win with just one run scored. But Floyd ran into some trouble this weekend. In 2.2 IP, he struck out four batters and induced a double play, but also allowed seven base runners and two earned runs, including a sequence when he put four consecutive batters on base.
• Dru Baker – The first four batters for the Red Raiders actually didn’t do that bad this past week. Unfortunately, Baker was the exception. He was .200 with four strikeouts, and got pulled on Saturday (not sure why, although I suspect it was after the error).
• Catchers – Neither catcher didn’t play all too well this weekend. They gunned down a few runners, but also allowed a few stolen bases, went a combined 0-9, and left seven runners on base.

Tidbits:

• I didn’t get a chance to listen to the Mississippi State game because I was half asleep from Spencer’s cook out, but it seemed from the box score that the relievers from the Haveman all the way to Caleb Freeman gave Tech a chance to come back in the game. Hopefully that’s a strength that Tech typically doesn’t have.
• Usually Texas Tech will have one weekend in which they don’t show-up in the non-conference. Last year it was on the Kentucky, in 2016 and 2015 it was the California trip, and in 2014 it was the Shriner’s Classic. They made the CWS three out of those four years. So it’s worrisome they we didn’t play well this weekend, yes, but there’s still three months before the NCAA tournament.
• The main concern I had over the weekend was the lack of contact Tech made over the weekend. Also, the fielding of the middle infielders still is a concern to me, especially for a team that typically has had solid infield play in the past. Tech had some key errors in the 2017 regional that detrimental of the season.
• Don’t look over that New Mexico State game. The Aggies are one of the favorites to win the WAC and were an NCAA tournament team last year (they went 1-2 in the Lubbock Regional).

Big 12 Standings:

Although we really didn’t learn much the first couple weeks, I thought there was a lot to take out of this weekend. Oklahoma continued to roll, Kansas took care of business (although did so against lesser opponents) and Texas made a big time statement.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech’s offense was left in Lubbock, Baylor showed they may not be ready to take the Big 12, TCU had a rough last couple days and Oklahoma State disappointed on their own turf. Here’s a recap on what happened in the Big 12 last week.

Big 12 Results:

• Baylor at Shriners Classic – Hey, some competition for the Bears! First off, they defeated a good Dallas Baptist team 10-4 in the midweek. Then, they played in the Shriners Classic that Texas Tech has played in three of the past five years. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the best weekend. They lost to Texas A&M and Rice before defeating Texas State, who they were down 4-3 to in the ninth inning. Not the best weekend.
• Kansas vs Northern Illinois – The Jayhawks hosted a Northern Illinois team that is predicted to finish ninth in the MAC, but also got a first place vote (?). It wasn’t a challenge for the Jayhawks, whom swept the Huskies in a three game series.
• Kansas State vs San Francisco – Kansas State was supposed to play San Fran at home, but weather forced them to play in TCU’s stadium this weekend. The Wildacts took care of the Dons, who are predicted to finish in the middle of the WCC, by winning the series 2-1.
• Oklahoma vs Columbia  – After defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff during the weekday, Oklahoma faced Columbia in two double headers on Friday and Saturday. The Lions are one of the favorite in the Ivy League. It was no problem for the Sooners though, who swept Columbia in a four game series by outscoring them 36-6.
• Oklahoma State vs Iowa – The Cowboys had a strong start to the season, but lost two out of three games from Iowa over the weekend. In their lone win, they were down in the ninth inning and had to walk it off. However, they only lost by one in their other two games. The Hawkeyes are predicted to finish in the bottom half of the Big 10.
• TCU vs Shriners Classic – TCU was losing to Sam Houston State 10-3 on Wednesday before the game was cancelled due to fog. Although apparently half those runs were because of the fog. Anyway, like Baylor, TCU also played in the Shriners Classic. And much like the Red Raiders, they had a rough weekend. After taking care of Houston on Friday, they narrowly lost to Texas A&M before they were run ruled by a below .500 Rice. Oof.
• Texas vs LSU – Unlike the Horn Frogs, Texas was able to finish their games with a good Sam Houston State team and won 10-3. They also lost the following day to UTSA 10-7, who Texas Tech has a 5-1 record against the past two years. In a weekend of impressive match-ups, perhaps the best one was this weekend. The Tigers, who were voted to be the second best team in the SEC, came in as the second ranked team. That was no problem for Texas, who smoked the Tigers in a three games series. The Longhorns looked like the best team in the Big 12 after the weekend.
• West Virginia at Oregon State – Poor West Virginia. The Mountaineers had to go on the road a face the defending national champions in Oregon State. However, it actually didn’t go that bad for the Mountaineers, who handed the Beavers their first loss this season and kept in close in one of the games.