Extra-Inning Fireworks Propel Tech Past OU in Series Opener

Extra-Inning Fireworks Propel Tech Past OU in Series Opener

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NORMAN – It was a hotly contested game that never saw either team build more than a two-run lead until #21 Texas Tech (24-11, 5-5) exploded for 7 runs in the tenth inning, taking down the Oklahoma Sooners (18-17, 3-7) in the opener of Tech’s return to Big 12 play.

The Red Raiders struck first when Nolen Hester hit a leadoff single and was batted home by Gage Harrelson. Hester extended his team-leading reached safely streak to 22 games with that single, the first of three on the night. He reached base five times in six tries on Friday.

Gavin Kash led off the second with a solo shot to left field giving Tech a 2-0 lead, his fourteenth of the year.

Mason Molina got the start on the mound for the Red Raiders, moving up into the Friday night slot for the first time. He issued a ꓘ to start the game, but then a conversation from the umpires about his foot placement on the rubber, which sits flush with the turf mound at L. Dale Mitchell Park, seemed to knock him out of his groove and he struggled to recover it. Ultimately he’d allow four earned runs while walking five and hitting one batter.

He gave way to Ethan Coombes after 2 2/3 innings. Coombes struggled too, hitting the first two batters he faced. He struck out the final man of the frame to end the rough inning.

In the sixth, Harrelson sent a leadoff double down the left-field line and a Kevin Bazzell single and sacrifice fly from Kash would knock him home. Harrelson extended his team-leading active hit streak to 10 games and booked his twentieth multi-hit game of the season. He finished the night a home run shy of the cycle and with a new career-high of four hits.

The Red Raiders turned in an error-free game, their 10th clean game of the season. In the sixth inning, Tech put two stars in the book with back-to-back sliding catches in the outfield by Zac Vooletich in right and Harrelson in center.

It was more of the same at the plate in the seventh as Tracer Lopez and Hester set the table with back-to-back singles and a wild pitch scored Lopez. Harrelson pounded an RBI triple into left field and Bazzell followed with an RBI single to make it a 6-4 affair in favor of Tech.

Brendan Girton took over in the fourth and turned in an excellent four-inning outing. The Oklahoma native took control of the game, calming the troubled waters for Texas Tech. He struck out 5 and surrendered only 1 run on 3 hits. In the seventh, a leadoff walk came back to bite Girton and the Sooners cut the Tech lead to one run.

Brandon Beckel (5-0) took over in the eighth and worked around a couple of baserunners to turn in a clean inning. But in the ninth, a leadoff double was followed by an RBI single to even the game at 6 runs apiece. Beckel responded with back-to-back strikeouts and worked a groundout to keep the game alive and force extra innings.

The prolific tenth started with a Hudson White walk, his second of the game. Vooletich followed with a double into right field and Hester send an RBI double into left field to break the tie and give Tech the 7-6 advantage. Drew Woodcox, who pinch-ran for Ty Coleman in the ninth, worked a walk, and Harrelson booked his fourth hit with an RBI single to right field. Bazzell took an RBI walk after and the bases remained loaded.

That’s when Kash came to the plate. Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson intentionally walked Kash in the ninth, but there was nowhere to put him in the tenth. He already had a solo home run and another hit and RBI in the game, but the Big 12 leader in both of those categories wasn’t done padding his lead. He pounded a full-count payoff pitch over the left-field wall for a grand slam, his 15th dinger of the season, giving Texas Tech a 13-6 advantage with his third multi-home run game of 2023.

Kyle Robinson took the bump in the bottom of the frame and despite a one-out solo home run, he retired the Sooners in short order and the seven-run tenth inning was plenty to give the Red Raiders their fifth win in Big 12 play.

They’ll face Oklahoma again Saturday at 4:00 pm with the broadcast available on ESPN+, Double T 97.3 FM in Lubbock, and The Varsity App. TTUBox35

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