Texas Tech Baseball vs. Oklahoma and Texas
After a roller coaster of a season, the Texas Tech Baseball vs. Oklahoma series this weekend will close out the last away Big 12 series for Tech. The Red Raiders are currently ranked No. 8 and sit at 31-11 overall. Recently, the Red Raiders took on the Texas Longhorns at home in a three-game series and then in a rescheduled game against Oklahoma. The team also was scheduled to play the University of Illinois at Chicago in a four-game series. The home series was canceled because of COVID-19 protocols.
Texas Series
In perhaps the biggest series of the season and of that weekend, the Red Raiders took on the Texas Longhorns in an away game at UFCU DishFalk Field in Austin, Texas. At the time, the Longhorns were ranked No. 3, and the Red Raiders No. 11, making the series a top 15 matchup.
In the first game of the series, Friday, the Red Raiders opened by fighting a tough first game. At first a semi-slow start for the Red Raiders had them down 2-1 leading into the top of the fourth. With one error and a barrage of hits at the plate, Tech found a 6-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth before Texas scored another run. The Red Raiders ended the game holding off the Longhorns to win the first game of the series, 6-3.
Second Game of the Series
For the second game on Saturday, Tech would start slow with the Longhorns, and both teams would not score a run in the first 5-innings. The defensive stand by the Red Raiders was led by Micah Dallas. Dallas started the first seven innings by striking out eight batters and only allowing five hits. Then in the sixth inning, the Red Raiders came to life at-bat. The team scored all five of their runs for the contest, giving them a 5-0 lead heading in the seventh.
In the seventh and eighth innings, the Longhorns try to come back and score 3 runs. Before Tech was able to get the last out in the eighth, the game was postponed to Sunday due to weather. After resuming play on Sunday with Longhorn bases loaded, Tech pitcher Ryan Sublette closed out the game leaving the Longhorns scoreless for the remainder of the Sunday game. With the final score of the game 5-3, the Red Raiders won the first and second game of the series and secured a series win in Austin. The series win would also add to Head Coach Tim Tadlock’s resume with a win in Austin to making it four wins in the last five series. The win also would hand the Longhorns their first series loss of the season.
Last Game of the Series
Shortly after the second was completed Sunday, the third and final game of the series started. The Texas Tech Red Raiders came in looking for the series sweep after a successful first two games. Tech would score a run in each of the first two innings. Unfortunately, in the second inning, Texas scored their own four runs. Texas then scored seven more runs in the next five innings to go up 11-2 by the end of the seventh. Now trailing by nine runs, the Red Raiders would look for a miracle to overcome the deficit they faced. In the final two innings, the Red Raiders end the game only scoring one more time losing the final game of the series 3-11.
Texas Tech Baseball vs. Oklahoma Series
After a successful series in Austin, the Red Raiders turned around on Tuesday, May 4th, to play Oklahoma in a rescheduled non-conference game. The game would be played in a mutual site in Amarillo at Hodgetown, a minor league stadium. With momentum, the Red Raiders go into the game with a full head of steam to rock the Sooners. In arguably their best performance of the season, the Red Raiders began the game going up 8-0 in the first three innings. With three of those being home runs. Up 8-0 early the Sooners then respond with two scores of their own in the fourth. Tech then reacted with another six scores bringing the score 14-2 at the end of sixth.
With now a dominant lead, the Red Raiders go on to win 14-2 by only giving up two more runs. One of those being in the eighth and the other in the ninth. This game sent the team home with another win under their belt. The team was led by Cole Stitwell, who hit two home runs and then was followed by Jace Jung and Braxton Fulford, who had a dinger of their own. These three were backed up by the rest of the team, who all performed well.
Looking Ahead
The team will now look ahead to next week for an away series in Norman, Oklahoma, against the Oklahoma Sooners. It will be a three-game series beginning May 14th through the 16th at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman.
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Written by Campus Live Intern Trinity Porter