HITS BY THE BUNCHES

Even Hudson White admitted there is an adjustment from high school baseball to playing college baseball.

“Time is the biggest thing,” said the Texas Tech’s sophomore catcher from Bryon Nelson High School in suburban Fort Worth. “It is a lot more time consuming. You go from playing two games a week to sometimes five games in a week. And, of course, there is a lot more travel, so you miss a lot more school. Once last year we were gone 10 straight days.”

An all-state selection in high school, White batted .469 as a senior with three home runs and 20 RBI. White then made the transition from high school to college look easy as a freshman last season. He was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, becoming the sixth Texas Tech freshman to earn Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors, and the third since 2017, joining Josh Jung (2017) and Gabe Holt (2018). White batted .260 with 11 doubles, six home runs and 40 runs batted-in last season.

White, who started the season opener behind the plate as a true freshman, was an iron man for the Red Raiders, starting 58 games and playing in 59 of the team’s 61 games, 39 at catcher and 19 at first base. But success didn’t come immediately for White.

“I started slow,” he said. “The big thing was just settling in, playing my first college game and trusting I was good enough.”

Despite his slow start, Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock stuck with White.

“That was very encouraging,” White recalled. “I remember early in the season looking at the lineup card and wondering if I would be in there. But Coach Tadlock said he trusted me and knew I was a good hitter.”

White’s first collegiate hit didn’t come until the ninth game of the season with a single against Kent State on Feb. 29. But Tadlock’s faith in White’s ability soon paid off.

“After I got my first hit, they started to come in bunches,” he said.

White was exceptional in Big 12 play, posting a .337 batting average with a .435 on-base percentage. He finished the season with a .299 batting average over the final 45 games after the slow start to his freshman campaign.

There were plenty of highlights last season for White, including a game-tying home run against Dallas Baptist on March 1 and a fivehit, five-runs-scored performance against Kansas on April 2. But those are not what he remembers most.

“The highlights for me were the Friday and Saturday when we had two walk-offs (wins) versus Texas and the series against No. 2 ranked Oklahoma State when we swept them,” he stated. “I can get five hits and we lose. I would rather go 1 for 4 if we win the game.”

Although the Red Raiders made their sixth consecutive regional appearance last year, the season ended in disappointment when Tech lost 2-1 to Notre Dame in the Statesboro (Ga.) regional final.

"We had had the talent to go to Omaha, but we got cold at the wrong time,” he said.

White is optimistic about the upcoming season, although he acknowledged the Red Raiders, who have been tabbed to finish third in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll, will be a much different team this spring

“We had a lot of older guys last year,” he said. “We really have only three running starters, so it will be a whole new lineup this season. We will be a lot younger.”

The accolades have been coming in for White after his stellar freshman season. He was named to both the Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game freshman All-American teams. He also received an invitation to participated in the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training campa last summer, becoming the 11th Red Raider in program history to earn an invitation from USA Baseball.

He was one of the three Texas Tech players named to the All-Big 12 preseason team this season, joining senior designated hitter Ty Coleman and sophomore pitcher Mason Molina.

White said he doesn’t set any individual goals for the upcoming season.

“That will take care of itself,” he responded. “Our top goal is to get to Omaha.”

When a player enters the transfer portal, there are often a variety of reasons why he or she wants to transfer. For one of Texas Tech’s newest softball pitchers, it was the opportunity for new challenge.

“I really enjoyed my previous school (Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La.), but I was ready to take it to the next level,” said Sage Hoover. “I was ready for the challenge with a good team behind me.”

Hoover has hit the ground running with her new team. She was the Red Raiders’ winning pitcher in the season opener against Tulsa and has continued to impress in each of her subsequent outings.

Hoover has three years of eligibility remaining. She posted impressive numbers last season as a freshman at Northwestern State, but decided to enter the transfer portal in the summer and shortly later became one of new Texas Tech coach Craig Snider’s first commitments.

“A lot of schools contacted me, but I knew Tech was where I wanted to be,” she said. “I knew what Coach Snider had done (as an assistant coach at Florida State and Texas A&M), and I wanted to play for him.”

Texas Tech, Tulsa and Wichita State were at the top of Hoover’s list of schools that she was interested in.

“But when I came here to Lubbock for my visit, it felt right,” she claimed. “I committed on the spot. I met our pitching coach (Paige Cassady) over the phone. She told me what she liked about me and what she expected.”

Hoover had incredible credentials in high school. She was the Texas Sports Writers Association and East Texas Class 3A Player of the Year after leading Edgewood (a small school 60 miles east of Dallas) to the 2021 state championship. She was 24-0 during her senior season, compiling an incredible 0.32 earned run average. Hoover allowed just seven runs in 130 innings, striking out 287.

Hoover went 47-2 in the circle during her three high school seasons, striking out 287.

There were no offers from Big 12 schools coming out of high school, however, so Hoover signed with Northwestern State. In her first collegiate game a year ago, she tossed a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts. On April 12 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Hoover pitched 12 innings (222 pitches), striking out a program-record 18 batters. She didn’t give up a hit until the seventh inning and allowed just one unearned run in the Demons’ 2-1 win.

Ten days later, Hoover one-upped that performance with her first collegiate no-hitter with eight strikeouts in a 1-0 victory over Incarnate Word. She finished the season with an 11-7 record and a 2.56 ERA, recording 175 strikeouts in 134 innings of work, an astounding 9.3 strikeouts per seven innings pitched.

“My best pitch is an up-ball spin pitch with a lot of high rise,” she said. “My goal is to strike everyone out.”

Hoover was named the 2022 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and was a first-team All-Southland Conference selection last season at Northwestern State.

“Sage is an elite pitcher with a next level mound presence,” Snider said when he signed Hoover. “Her ability to get swings and misses in the strike zone will complement our pitching staff well.”

That is another reason why Hoover wanted to come to Texas Tech.

“We are blessed with eight good pitchers,” she said. “All are capable and can go in at any time. Everyone will have a bad game, so it is nice to know there is someone who can come in behind you. I want to be pushed.”

Hoover said she enjoyed her first experience as a Red Raider last fall.

“Fall ball was fun,” she remarked. “We all hang out together, but it was fun to finally see how they play on the field and how they do pregame warm-ups.”

Tech is looking to improve on last year’s 2227 record as Snider blends a cast of returning players with a number of new players, including Hoover.

The nutrition major wants to become a registered dietician.

“But my heart is in softball,” she exclaimed. “Even when I am done playing, I want to continue giving pitching lessons on the side.”

Asked about her goal this season, Hoover replied, “I want to have a winning record for our team and get to the World Series. Winning state in high school was an awesome experience. Even in the playoffs, you never know when it might be your last game. You have to keep pushing. It was a great feeling to win state, and I want that feeling again.”