Offensive Explosions Fuel Midweek Sweep - Red Raider Dugout

Offensive Explosions Fuel Midweek Sweep

The Texas Tech Red Raiders (16-3) faced off with the New Mexico Lobos (6-11) in a two-game midweek stand at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park on Tuesday and Wednesday and walked away with the midweek sweep, a new record for runs scored in an inning, and one of the top seven highest-scoring games in Red Raider history.

Tuesday

The Tuesday affair against New Mexico saw Jace Jung work a two-out walk and Ty Coleman bat him home with an RBI-single in the first as Tech took a 1-0 lead. The Lobos followed with a leadoff single followed by a walk by former Red Raider Braydon Runion, but things fizzled for the Lobos and then Texas Tech set off the fireworks – actually, blowing up the fireworks factory with a nitroglycerin truck may be a more apt description.

Tech sent 21 batters to the plate in the second inning and plated 16 runs on 11 hits in the frame. Five of those hits were for extra bases including a Coleman home run. Incredibly, that two-run shot was the only long-ball of the game. The 16 runs in the second mark an all-time record for the Red Raiders, who have scored 13 in an inning three times, most recently on March 5 vs. Merrimack. Tech has now scored at least 28 in a game seven times in its history:

  1. 31, 1997 vs. College of the Southwest
  2. 30, 2004 vs. Harvard
  3. 30, 1984 vs. Baylor
  4. 29, 1975 vs. Rice
  5. 28, 1996 vs. Eastern Michigan
  6. 28, 1928 vs. Shallowater
  7. 28, 2022 vs. New Mexico
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The Red Raiders were all smiles after a 28-2 victory Tuesday night, fueled by a school-record 16-run second inning. Photo courtesy of Texas Tech Athletics.

Ultimately, 16 Red Raiders appeared in the field, all putting in valuable time for evaluation, experience, and confidence-building that can pay dividends as Big 12 play approaches and the long season wears on bodies over time.

Not to be lost in the offensive explosion was an excellent pitching performance. Chase Hampton, Brandon Beckel, Bo Blessie, and Andrew Devine combined for a five-hit evening with 11 strikeouts and only one walk. The shutout remained intact until the ninth when two errors resulted in two unearned runs for the Lobos. Hampton, who boasts a 20-8 strikeout-walk ratio, has held opposing hitters to a .161 average in his 18 innings of work across five appearances.

Wednesday

The Wednesday offering of this longstanding battle with the Lobos was as close as they come for the Red Raiders. Tech looked poised to roll again early when in the first, Jung and Kurt Wilson worked some two-out magic with back-to-back singles and Parker Kelly followed with a walk. A two-RBI single by Owen Washburn followed by a two-RBI double by Hudson White set Tech up with a 4-0 lead.

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Owen Washburn slides across the plate as part of Tech’s 4-0 first inning Wednesday. Photo by Brandon Brieger, Texas Tech Athletics.

The Lobos responded when Braydon Runion sent a leadoff home run over the wall to start the second. Austin Becker struggled with control following that dinger and he gave way to Jamie Hitt, whose inspired performance a week ago against Mississippi State would not be repeated. Hitt worked himself out of a jam in the third, but a leadoff HBP, three hits, and a walk in the fourth led to 4-4 tie. Washburn helped limit that damage with a 9-2 gun down at the plate for the second out of the inning. A one-out triple in the fifth became a plated run with a sacrifice fly and the Red Raiders found themselves trailing 5-4.

Tech left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth and walked into their penultimate chance at the plate facing the one-run deficit. After putting the leadoff hitter aboard in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, the eighth saw that continuing trend pay off.

Coleman led off the frame with a pinch-hit single and was followed by a pinch-hit walk from Easton Murrell. Lauden Brooks pinch ran for Murrell and Sam Hunt for Coleman. Brooks and Hunt executed a double steal on a Zac Vooletich strikeout and Stilwell followed with a well-worked walk of his own. It appeared to be Jung’s time to shine, but he was frustrated by a game-tying RBI-HBP. Back-to-back-to-back-to-back hits by Wilson, Kelly, Washburn, and White, and an RBI groundout by Hunt saw Tech flip a 5-4 deficit into an 11-5 lead that held through to the final.

The seven-run eighth inning marks the ninth time in 2022 the Red Raiders have posted five runs or more in an inning.

Brendan Girton earned the win Wednesday, improving his record to 3-0 on the season. Girton was excellent with three perfect innings that quieted Nex Mexico’s previously hot bats, slowing the game down for the Red Raiders and allowing the offense to take back the momentum and reassert themselves in the decisive eighth. Girton turned in the longest and most effective performance of the day.

“Girton has outstanding stuff,” said Head Coach Tim Tadlock. “His fastball is really hard to hit, the slider is a plus pitch, and he’s getting his feet on the ground and getting a lot of confidence.”

Girton, who made his eighth appearance of 2022 on Wednesday, has held hitters to a team-leading .130 batting average and boasts a WHIP of .83 after 15.2 innings pitched.

Texas Tech will now hit the road once more for their final non-conference weekend series facing the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, IA. The Friday game is set for first-pitch at 4:05 pm, however, with cold and rainy winter weather forecast Friday, there’s a potential for the scheduling of a doubleheader Saturday. All games are set to be streamed on Big 10 Network+ with the radio call available on Double T 97.3 FM and their listening area and on The Varsity Network App.
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