Scrounging up big swings with runners on base was a bit of a challenge for 7th-ranked Texas Tech on Monday in an early matchup against Connecticut on get-away day at Dan Law Field in the final game of a four-game series.
So the Red Raiders looked for a different means to the end when their backs were against the wall late in the game and in extra innings.
Tech slammed five home runs, punctuated loudly by three solo bombs in the bottom of the 10th inning that erased a two-run deficit and catapulted the Red Raiders to a thrilling 9-8 victory in front of a surprisingly lively crowd of 2,782.
Nate Rombach, Cal Conley, and Braxton Fulford each swatted homers to left field on early-count pitches – Fulford’s a no-doubter after he had struck out in his four previous at-bats.
The back-from-the-dead (times 2) triumph extended Texas Tech’s winning streak to 14 games, matching its longest since the start of the 2018 season. It was the first walk-off home run by a Red Raider hitter in extra innings since Orlando Garcia took down the Baylor bears in 2015 in the 12th.
It also gives the Red Raiders (14-3) a massive head of steam heading into the start of the Big 12 Conference season, which arrives Friday when Oklahoma State rolls into town.
“It was a huge relief to finally put a ball in play,” Fulford said. “I was a little beat down, but surprisingly I had a lot of confidence going into that last at-bat.”
The two swings in front of him, as well as a timely clout from Dru Baker in the 7th fueled that confidence.
Like the day before, UConn (4-10) was feisty from the beginning on Monday – a game shifted to a 10 a.m. start to make sure the Huskies could make their flight back to the East Coast.
Patience at the plate and effective situational hitting helped UConn inch in front 2-0 in the 2nd inning against Texas Tech starting pitcher Chase Hampton, who created trouble for himself with consecutive hit batters after Kyler Fedko began the frame with a single, the harbinger of a 5-for-5 day.
Hampton walked in a run and Chris Winkel chased home the second with a sacrifice fly. Cody Masters sliced the Huskies’ 2-0 cushion in half when he skied a solo bomb to right field in the bottom of the frame, then pitching dominated the next several innings.
UConn broke through again in the 6th inning on Zach Bushling’s run-scoring fly ball and Kevin Ferrer knocked home another run in the 7th with an RBI single.
Between those tallies, Jace Jung breathed some life into the Red Raider offense with an RBI double. Tech couldn’t scratch out anything else in that at-bat, but things changed dramatically an inning later.
Andrew Marrero took over on the mound for UConn to begin the 7th and recorded a quick first out when he caught Masters looking at a third strike. But he walked Kurt Wilson, Parker Kelly laced a single to left field and Baker pounced on a 2-and-0 pitch and yanked it out of the ballpark for a three-run go-ahead homer.
Two hitters later, Dylan Neuse whacked a triple off Caleb Wurster and dashed home on a steal of home for a 6-4 Texas Tech advantage. That’s the first time a Red Raider baserunner has swiped the plate since Zach Davis did it against #12 Texas in 2014.
Unfazed, the Huskies struck back not once, but twice, with two runs each in the 9th and 10th innings. Ferrer rammed a two-run single to even the score in the 9th and UConn had a chance to go ahead with a runner on third base and one out.
Veteran Huskies’ coach Jim Penders dialed up a squeeze play for Chris Winkel, who got a good bunt down. But Tech pitcher Brendan Girton darted toward the ball and flipped it with his glove to Fulford at the plate to nab Ferrer. The play was reviewed and upheld and Girton got Chris Brown to chop into a fielder’s choice to end the inning with the score knotted.
“Not only is the ball not right at him, but he’s got to be an athlete and run to it,” Fulford said. “There’s not much time, so he’s got to flip it with his glove and that’s a lot harder than he made it look. There’s a lot of feel to that. He made a great toss and allowed us to get the out.”
Added Red Raider coach Tim Tadlock, “He gets us out of the inning and makes a hell of a play on the bunt. … The bunt had to be in the right spot; it had to be close enough to the plate to get the glove flip there. He’s got a little competitiveness about him.”
When Texas Tech couldn’t score in the bottom of the 9th, the Huskies went back to work with the bats, although it took some two-out clutchness to regain the lead.
Bushling led off with a single, moved to second on a bunt, and got 90 feet further on a 3-1 putout. Fedko stepped in and rifled the first pitch he saw from Girton over the right fielder’s head to plate Bushling. Ferrer picked up his third hit of the day when his sharp grounder ricocheted off the mound and Erik Stock gave UConn an 8-6 lead when he lashed an RBI base hit to left field.
Down again on a day when Baker’s blast was the lone major blow, the Red Raiders flipped a switch in the bottom of the 10th. In the initial 9 innings, Texas Tech was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and 1-for-10 with two outs.
Instead of allowing either of those situations to arise, the Red Raiders took care of business early.
After entering in the 7th following Baker’s blast, Wuster had calmed things down after Neuse’s triple, but didn’t have much zip left in his 4th inning of work.
Rombach unloaded on a 1-and-0 pitch to bring Tech within a run, Conley did the same on a 2-and-1 offering to tie the score and Fulford added the walk-off exclamation point with one more swing.
Tadlock said he was trying to plan out how the Red Raiders could scratch out the winning run to avoid a time-limit situation when his veteran catcher eliminated that need.
“I’m still trying to kind of believe it,” Tadlock said. “These guys are very resilient. I’m very proud of them.
Seven hurlers pitched for the Red Raiders today – six freshmen and one sophomore.
“That game was invaluable. No matter what the result of the game, we were going to grow from it. We were fortunate to come out with a win, but we got some guys in a game that hadn’t been pitching and those guys are going to help us.”
RECAPPING THE HUSKIES | GAME 1
RECAPPING THE HUSKIES | GAME 2
RECAPPING THE HUSKIES | GAME 3
