Texas Tech Baseball Starts Slow in Beautiful Globe Life Field
Texas Tech baseball is 0-2 after the first two games of the season but it doesn't really matter. It's not like football where two games can completely take you out of contention and it's not like basketball where you can fluctuate wildly from poll to poll. Baseball is a grind and Texas Tech baseball is just beginning the 2021 season.
On Saturday night, the Red Raiders got a great start from transfer Patrick Monteverde but ultimately lost to Arkansas 13-9. On Sunday afternoon, the Red Raiders left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth against Ole Miss losing 5-4.
In both games, the Red Raiders gave up too many free passes and had several errors that ended up costing them two games against top ten teams that they had solid chances to beat. The good news, again, is that this is a long season and the Red Raiders will have several months of action coming up culminating in the NCAA tournament. The future starts Monday morning, February 21st against Mississippi State.
More than just excellent competition, the Red Raiders got to experience a major league stadium and atmosphere in Arlington this weekend. The announced attendance on Saturday was more than 16,000 and the Sunday game between Texas Tech and Arkansas felt like a weekend game in Omaha. All three decks had fans socially distanced between rows and all six fan bases involved this weekend combined for a magnificent crowd.
During the Red Raider games, there were raucous RAIDER POWER chants and things felt normal for the first time in nearly a year. Sure, there were masks and ticketless entrance and other small changes from the past but for the first time, for me at least, a mostly full stadium came together and cheered for high-level athletes.
Win or lose, it was a step in the right direction.
On a Texas Rangers note, Globe Life Field was awesome. Coming off the worst winter weather the state of Texas has ever seen, the roof was closed and it was a balmy 72 degrees inside. The brutal dog days of summer will never be a problem again for the Rangers. The features and pro shop were top of the line and the beer was cold. The turf looked like real grass and the dirt was meticulous. There were also double the staff as normal picking up trash and making sure everything was clean.
Not a single complaint.