Jace Jung had kept the savage in him waiting long enough in his previous at-bats. Too long even.
So when a big opportunity arose and the scorching-hot Texas Tech second baseman sauntered up the plate in the 8th inning Wednesday night, he unleashed the beast at the first opportunity.
Jung rammed a first-pitch offering from Gonzaga reliever Trystan Vrieling over center fielder Guthrie Morrison’s head to chase home two runs – a much-needed clutch swing that boosted the 9th-ranked Red Raiders to a 5-4 triumph at Dan Law Field.
Texas Tech notched its 10th consecutive victory and third in a row by a single run as the level of competition has stepped up.
That might not seem to be the case considering what Jung has done lately with the bat, and Wednesday was no exception. His 2-for-5, 2-RBI night extended a hot stretch to eight games when he is 13-for-27 (.481) with 17 RBIs.
It’s arguable that Jung’s aggressive approach to get the Red Raiders (10-3) back in front Wednesday was as big a swing as he has delivered in that span.
Still working off of adrenaline during his postgame interview, Jung said the Texas Tech hitters regard themselves as savages, and his recent hot streak certainly puts him in that category.
“I wasn’t being as aggressive earlier in the day and that was leading me to get behind in the count and I was struggling,” Jung said. “I was going to get my pitch and put a good swing on it.”
So when Vrieling hung a breaking ball, Jung pounced. His ringing flyball sent pinch-runner Max Marusak and Parker Kelly sprinting around the bases to end a frustrating stretch when the Red Raiders had produced only two hits in 14 chances with a runner in scoring position.
Savage? Why not?
“Whether they’re savages or not is up to them when they step into the box,” Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock said. “I just know they’re fun to coach.”
The same can be said of reliever Ryan Sublette, who played as big a role as Jung in the Red Raiders’ third consecutive taut victory.
With Texas Tech up 3-1, freshman Hayde Key took over on the mound after 4 solid innings from Chase Hampton. As has been the case most of the season, Key was sharp as a tack in his first inning with a pair of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 frame.
But the Bulldogs (6-7) got to Key in the 6th when Stephen Lund whacked a leadoff double and a pair of walks loaded the bases with two outs. Grayson Sterling knotted the score 3-3 when he punched a two-run single to center field.
Key plunked Gabriel Hughes to reload the bases, prompting Tadlock to summon Sublette, who quickly squashed the uprising when he retired Mason Marenco on a soft line drive to first base.
“One of the big things (Red Raider pitching coach Matt Gardner) preaches is to not let the situation be too big and just execute pitches,” Sublette said. “Coming in with the bases loaded, you’ve got to trust your stuff and get out of it.”
He did and Gonzaga didn’t threaten again until the 9th.
“That switched the whole momentum,” Jung said. “They had just tied the game and he shut the door.”
To get the slender two-run lead, Texas Tech chipped away with single runs in the first three innings. A pair of Bulldog errors paved the way for two of them, a third came home on a wild pitch and Cal Conley and Kurt Wilson supplied key two-out hits.
Much like Sublette did later, Gonzaga reliever Brody Jessee entered the fray in the 4th inning and tied the Red Raiders in knots for 3 innings to keep his team in range.
The frustration stretched into the 7th when Dylan Neuse led off the Texas Tech at-bat with a single and Nate Rombach walked, but Vrieling sidestepped trouble by retiring the next three hitters.
Jung had no interest in being the next in line to miss a chance to send the Red Raiders down the right path.
“Embracing the moment and making every pitch count,” Jung said of his mentality of the 8th-inning approach. “Go up there attacking, getting your pitch and put a good swing on it.”
The next phase of a hectic nine-day stretch continues Friday when Texas Tech welcomes Connecticut to town for a four-game series. First pitch for the opener is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday.
TTU13
