Here’s What To Watch For When Houston Baseball Takes On Texas Tech

Another weekend of baseball means that Houston has another opportunity to walk away from the road trip with a victory.

The Cougars just pulled off their most massive win of the entire season when the Longhorns visited Darryl and Lori, Schroeder Park. Can that be replicated this weekend against the Red Raiders?

It very well could if the batting lineup can produce enough runs as it did recently, but it will also fall on the pitching staff to throw enough pitches in the right zone that the players at bat aren’t expecting or don't like to swing at.

Right now, the Cougars are in last place in the Big 12 with a 13-14 overall record and a 1-8 conference record. Not an ideal place to be at this time of the season, but there is a lot that can still be accomplished in that time span. As for the Red Raiders, it is tied for fifth place in the conference with a 16-11 overall record and a 4-5 Big 12 record.

Three-Game Series Sneak Peek

GO COOGS!! ⚾️⚾️⚾️ https://t.co/ibBFDFllm9
— University of Houston (@UHouston) March 25, 2026

Going into the weekend, there are still a lot of questions surrounding what Houston can do to get out of this slump at the start of the season. Does it start with pitching? Does it involve changing the lineup? Change the pitches the team is taking at the plate? What is it going to take?

Right now, the Cougars are not the best team in the league at the plate, hitting only .281. Their OPS is currently .862, and their slugging percentage is .463. As for the on-base percentage, it is at .399, so finding ways to get on base will also be a factor in pulling out several series down the stretch of the conference slate.

As for the Red Raiders, the numbers are better than what the Cougars are producing at the moment, as their team batting average is .358 and their on-base percentage is .458, which translates to getting to pitchers and finding ways to get on base. Their OPS is 1.038 with a .580 slugging percentage, so the lineup is dangerous.

Texas Tech has two players batting over .400 on the season: Jesse Rusinek and Caden Ferraro, which means they have the power to use the barrel to rip balls in open space or over the fence. Connor Shouse leads the team in runs batted in, total bases, hits, and hit by pitches, so the Houston pitching staff has a tough task come Thursday.

On the other hand, Houston needs its only hitter batting over .300 to get going, and that is Tyler Cox, who leads the program in several categories. It is also going to start with getting guys like Xavier Perez and Blake Fields going, who are second and third best on the team in batting average.

As a pitching staff, the Cougars have given up 25 long balls, 51 doubles, a 1.64 WHIP, and 181 runs, so there is work to do there. As for the Red Raiders, their pitching staff has given up 54 home runs, 44 doubles, 220 runs with a 2.28 WHIP, so the team on the rubber could very well determine the outcome of the game.

Houston and Texas Tech meet for Game 1 on Thursday, April 2, at 6:30 with Game 2 on Saturday, April 3, starting at 2 p.m., before the finale on Saturday, April 4, at Noon.