HOUSTON – Four Red Raider batters booked multi-hit days but it was the boys from the bullpen who secured the victory. They shut down the Owls’ offense by retiring 17 of the last 18 batters, including 16 in a row. Texas Tech (14-3) took Rice (3-13) down 7-4 to secure the series sweep in a weekend full of the first wins at Reckling Park since 1996.
LHP Mason Molina got off to a rocky start with a leadoff double from former Red Raider Drew Woodcox, he was sent home with a sacrifice fly from Aaron Smigelski to give Rice the 1-0 lead. Tech responded in the third inning with a leadoff double from Hudson White and an RBI double from Cole Stilwell to bring him home and knot the game at 1.
Molina got into a jam with two runners in scoring position in the third, but an attempted sac fly to Owen Washburn in right field turned into an inning-ending gundown at the plate.
PSA: @OwenWashburn7 has a CANNON‼️😤 pic.twitter.com/alxqNc3DVI
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) March 13, 2022
After a series of leadoff double, flyout to LF, RBI single, HBP to start the fourth inning, Shay Hartis gave way to Kyle Robinson who, after a two-RBI single to center field, started an impressive string of outs that put the potential of the Texas Tech bullpen on full display. With Tech in a 4-1 hole, Robinson worked a flyout to center field, and that began a string of 16 batters being retired in order. Aside from a pinch-hit single in the ninth, Tech retired 17 of the final 18 Rice batters in the game with 8 groundouts, 4 flyouts, 3 strikeouts, and 2 lineouts.
Robinson ate up 1.2IP and gave way to Colin Clark, the Youngstown State transfer, in the sixth. Clark turned in two perfect innings in his best work of the season followed by a perfect frame from Jamie Hitt in his sixth appearance, and then Trendan Parish came in to slam the door earning his fifth save of the season after earning his first win on Saturday.
The exceptional work by the bullpen opened the door for the Texas Tech offense to own all of the momentum in Reckling Park. White led off the fifth with a single to right field and back-to-back-to-back singles from Zac Vooletich, Stilwell, and Jace Jung hung a two on the board to pull Tech within one run. In the sixth, Washburn provided the leadoff single and was followed by a walk from White, then Dillon Carter wore a pitch. The go-ahead two-RBI shot down the line came from Vooletich and a wild pitch brought Carter home.
The top of the batting order has seen a lot of movement as Head Coach Tim Tadlock continues to look for the right man to own the position. Five Red Raiders have had their shot at starting there and three of those came in the Rice series alone with Carter Friday, Dalton Porter Saturday, and Vooletich Sunday. As this team seeks an answer for the one-hole, left field also continues to be up for grabs with Vooletich and Porter splitting starts there.
White provided an RBI double in the seventh to score Kurt Wilson marking the fourth consecutive time on Sunday that he’d reached safely. The freshman was impressive going 3-4, 2B, RBI, 3R, BB. He joined Stilwell, Washburn, and Vooletich as the Red Raiders with a multi-hit day Sunday. After a slow start to the season, White has been finding more barrels and his stat line now includes double-digit hits, runs, and RBIs.
In a weekend that had seen 13 combined errors from Tech and Rice, this was the cleanest game played with only one error on the board. In addition to Washburn’s putout at the plate, Stilwell flashed the leather in a memorable moment. Diving into the gap, Stilwell stopped a smoking grounder and hopped up in time for the flip to Jamie Hitt for the second out of the frame.
𝙁𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙚!@colestilwell | #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/CVlCiXQLl7
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) March 13, 2022
The Rice series marked the third time this season Texas Tech has faced off with a former player. To start, it was Tanner O’Tremba in right field for Arizona in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington. Next, Nate Rombach behind the dish for Dallas Baptist and now Woodcox with Rice. In this midweek the Red Raiders will face another in Braydon Runion who transferred to Tech from Walters State Community College but saw limited action last season in the red and black. Runion has appeared in eight games for the Lobos with seven starts. He’s batting .143 in 28 plate appearances.
The Red Raiders head back to Lubbock after going 4-1 in the five-game road trip that took them to Biloxi and Houston. They’ll face New Mexico in a two-game midweek starting at 6:30 pm on Tuesday. The game will be available to stream on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with the radio call available on Double T 97.3 FM in Lubbock and their listening area and through The Varsity Network app.
GAME 1: Morris & Sanders Fan the Owls
GAME 2: Birdsell Dominates in the Owls’ House
