The Red Raiders (15-3) rolled to a 10-1 victory over UT Arlington (7-9), outhitting the Mavericks 15 hits to nine and turning three double plays, all behind the first start of freshman righthander Zane Petty.
Petty was taken in the 13th Round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, but he opted instead to join the Red Raiders as part of a high-impact recruiting class. That choice culminated Tuesday in his first collegiate start and ultimately, his first win at Texas Tech.
When asked about that choice, to forego professional baseball Petty explained, “I know this is a good program and I think I’ll get a better opportunity later on, and I want to play college baseball.”
Well if his first start is an indication of things to come, Petty made the right call in betting on himself and his future.
In his five innings of work, he allowed only five baserunners, one via a base on balls, and four hits. He pitched around them all, never allowing a runner to advance past second base while also tallying three strikeouts and tossing strikes at a clip better than 66%. Prior to his first start Tuesday, Petty had seen only two innings of work across three appearances in 2023. He’d posted a 9.00 ERA and allowed an opponent batting average of .333.
In addition to the differences in performance, Petty explained his preference for starting over pitching in relief.
“I like starting, I like that better than being out of the pen I’d say. Just because you get a routine and go off your routine and know you’re going.”
Petty also benefited from two double plays turned behind him, and the Red Raiders turned one more in the ninth inning. The Red Raiders have turned 27 double plays in 2023, already surpassing their 2022 season total of 23 through only 18 games.
Smooth 😎@KevinBazzell helped wrap this one up in the ninth with our third double play of the night. pic.twitter.com/My4DiXZtti
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) March 15, 2023
Petty gave way to Andrew Devine, who turned in a strong inning with two strikeouts, Trendan Parish followed with a solid inning of his own. Parish started slow, with just one strike in his first nine pitches, but he settled in and fanned back-to-back hitters to end the frame. Brandon Beckel and Damian Bravo each turned in a scoreless inning to close things out for the Red Raiders.
Offensively, Tech found success early with six hits in the first five innings, but only had two runs to show for them. In the second, Tracer Lopez sent a one-out single through the left side and Nolen Hester followed with a hit-by-pitch to set the table. Gage Harrelson knocked Lopez home with an RBI single up the middle.
Austin Green pounded his fourth home run of the season with one out in the fifth, depositing the big fly into the Texas Tech bullpen to make it a 2-0 advantage.
He turned on that one 👀
Fourth dinger of the year for @aust1ngreen_. pic.twitter.com/nTO19EwBx1
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) March 15, 2023
Four hits in the sixth inning translated into four runs with Green contributing an RBI double and Hester, Kevin Bazzell, and Jeric Curtis starting in place of the injured Dillon Carter, each knocking a run home.
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In the eighth, Harrelson, Bazzell, Green, and Gavin Kash scored four more runs. Green finished the day a triple shy of the cycle, the third Red Raider in 2023 to finish a hit shy of the cycle.
Texas Tech will face UT Arlington again Wednesday at 2:00 pm with LHP Zach Erdman slated to get the start. The radio broadcast will be available on Double T 97.3 FM in Lubbock and on The Varsity App and the television stream will be available on ESPN+.
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