WACO – The Red Raiders (30-15, 10-6) took down the Baylor Bears (21-21, 4-12) 7-1 Friday with solid swings up and down the lineup and scored 6 of their 7 runs with two outs on the board. The Red Raiders earned their 30th win of 2022, marking eight 30-win seasons under Tadlock out of the nine full seasons he’s coached Texas Tech.
Andrew Morris (6-0) was exceptional once again for Tech, after tossing a complete game last Friday against West Virginia, Morris went 7 innings on 93 pitches allowing only 4 hits and 1 run by the Bears. Morris and his relief, Mason Molina, were particularly impressive against the top of the Bears’ lineup. Jack Pineda’s RBI triple in the third inning was the only hit of the day for the one through five hitters, as Tech pitching held the top five to a 1-16 day. Morris and Molina combined for 10 strikeouts, 6 of those were issued to that top five.
Cole Stilwell got things rolling for Tech with a one-out single in the first, he was knocked home two hitters later with a Ty Coleman RBI single to center field, Tech’s first two-out hit of the day. The two biggest swings of the night belonged to Texas Tech freshmen. In the third inning, Stilwell got his second hit of the day with another one-out single. Jace Jung followed with his first of 3 walks, Jung now sits at an NCAA-best 50 walks on the season, and Kurt Wilson pounded a two-out RBI double to right field to make the Tech lead 2-0. Owen Washburn stepped in and smoked a 1-1 fastball over the left-field fence for an absolute no-doubt three-run bomb.
.@OwenWashburn7 puts a 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 in that one!!! 🔋
The 3-run blast gives the Red Raiders a 5-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/wTsaXWa7Ke
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) April 30, 2022
Baylor got one back in the bottom of the frame off of Pineda’s triple, but Hudson White extended the lead back to five with a one-out RBI double into the right-center field gap to score Wilson, who’d reached on a leadoff double. Dillon Carter, who got the start in center field and played the full game, accounted for Tech’s fifth and final extra-base hit, a leadoff double in the ninth inning. He was knocked home with a first-pitch two-out single by Jace Jung to extend the contest to the final score.
Texas Tech has struggled offensively on the road this season but put Baylor starter Jake Jackson on his heels early and often. Jackson notched 7 strikeouts but allowed as many hits. Overall, Baylor pitching allowed 10 hits and fanned 11 Red Raiders, but Tech spread the production around with only Easton Murrell and Parker Kelly not tallying a hit Friday. Three of Jackson’s Ks were of Murrell who had an uncharacteristically cold game at the plate earning the astronaut helmet for his five strikeouts.
The Red Raiders hit .364 with two outs on Friday and .357 with runners in scoring position, two welcome statistics after seeing Texas Tech’s offense in clutch situations cool over the last month.
Head Coach Tim Tadlock has not named a Sunday starter for this weekend, but the presumptive favorite is Molina, who has been strong out of the bullpen in recent weeks. Molina threw 31 pitches in his two innings of relief Friday making him most likely available to start Sunday if Friday was a side-work day for him anyway. Molina faced one over the minimum with the first five retired in a row followed by a walk and a flyout to end the game.
The Red Raiders will be back at it Saturday at 3:00 pm at Baylor Ballpark in Waco. The live stream will be available on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with the radio call available on Double T 97.3 FM and in their listening area, as well as through The Varsity Network App.
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