Kansas comes into Lubbock having been disrespected all season.
The Jayhawks were picked to finish dead last in the Big 12 Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, but the Texas Tech baseball team plans to show KU the respect it deserves when the two teams square off tonight for the first game of a three-game series at 6:30 p.m. at Dan Law Field.
"I think our guys are confident they can beat anybody," Tech coach Dan Spencer said. "We talked about Kansas a bit (Wednesday) and tried to implement some new things and (did the same Thursday)."
Statistically, the Jayhawks (24-12, 7-5 in Big 12 play) are impressive in the pitching department entering the second half of Big 12 action. Their arrival in Lubbock marks the fifth ranked team Tech will face in the same amount of weeks.
KU's weekend starters boast an ERA just below 3.00, and the rest of the staff combines for a 3.72 ERA.
KU's pitching numbers might be trouble for a Red Raider team that has recently gone cold in the batting department.
Tech (16-23, 7-8) had not been shut out since about the midseason mark of the 2008 season, but was shut out three times last week.
"I don't think there's any pressure to (get more hits)," Tech infielder Joey Kenworthy said. "I just think it's a lack of competitiveness with each at bat in the game. I think if everyone gets back to being competitive at the plate, I think we'll really put a hurt on them."
Tech might be boosted by second baseman Willie Rueda, a preseason All-Big 12 Conference selection.
Spencer said Rueda may play at some point this weekend. Rueda has 21 hits through 19 games but has missed large portions of the season because of a recurring hamstring injury.
Kansas enters tonight's game riding a six-game winning streak including a three-game series sweep against Oklahoma State. However, Tech has not lost a conference series at home this season.
Tonight, it will be up to Tech starter Brian Cloud (0-1) - a Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalist for outstanding academics - to stifle a KU offense that has been overshadowed by its pitching, but is threatening in its own right. The Jayhawks have five regular starters in their lineup batting above a .300 average and their lineup has combined to outscore opponents 245-169.
"Baseball is a funny game," Cloud said. "Certain teams get hot at times, and others can fall into the bucket. It's survival of the fittest. There's not a team (in the Big 12) that has separated itself, so it's important for me to go out there and set the tone."
Tech's starting pitching seems to be more enduring now as well.
AJ Ramos (3-3) and Chad Bettis (4-0) pitched complete games against Oklahoma last weekend. Ramos, who pitched all eight innings of an abridged game at OU, is expected to get the start Saturday, while Bettis is expected to come out of the bullpen at some point this weekend.
Arguably the most impressive factor of the back-to-back complete games against OU was the fact that Ramos endured eight consecutive innings of work less than a year after Tommy John surgery on an injured UCL.
"My arm is fully recovered from Saturday," Ramos said. "Two days after that start, me and Bettis were throwing pretty firm. Especially coming off the injury, I felt real good. I threw 120 pitches or something like that, and I think my last fastball was 92 mph, so I still had some gas in the tank. I hope to pitch the same."
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