It was another Chamber of Commerce day at Dan Law Field and the Red Raiders (18-4) took advantage of the USF Bulls’ (9-11) miscues early to jump out to an early lead and didn’t let it go. Tech plated their first two baserunners of the game, who also happened to be the first two batters for the good guys. Dylan Neuse led off with a single followed by a double from Cal Conley. Both scored on different errors by the Bulls and Tech never looked back.
It was the third shutout effort by the Red Raiders in 2021, and the first since taking down Sam Houston State 8-0 on March 6.
Dru Baker was special once again going 4-for-5 (all singles) and RBI, run, and a stolen base. Following the 3-for-5 effort Friday with two extra-base-hits, Baker has taken over the batting average lead on the team sitting at .448 on the season.
Braxton Fulford gunned down two Bulls runners at second base, one caught stealing, the other trying to move ahead on a wild pitch in the seventh inning. Fulford also clouted a no-doubter over the left-field wall in the 8th to set the final score. The two-run shot was Fulford’s fifth of 2021, setting a new career season-high for the Monterey product.
Head Coach Tim Tadlock wasn’t surprised to see Fulford displaying more power, noting he’d seen the catcher turn around fastballs in minor league ballparks with a wood bat.
“He’s a guy when he gets in a good position to hit, he gets leverage, he has bat speed, he’s gotten a lot stronger since his freshman year,” explained Tadlock. “It really doesn’t surprise me he got a pitch up today and put a good swing on it.”
Defensive miscues were the theme of the day for the Bulls who tallied three errors. In addition to the two in the first frame, they added another in the seventh to load the bases with two outs. When South Florida wasn’t earning errors they were making routine plays look difficult with multiple miscommunications in the infield and at times even making fly balls look like trouble.
USF hasn’t played outside of the state of Florida until this weekend and have not played in a true road environment with fans all season. Perhaps the atmosphere at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park has played into the struggles for the Bulls. Coming into the weekend, Texas Tech is one of only four teams in Division I baseball who have welcomed more than 4,000 fans into their home ballpark this season. Saturday’s attendance was reported at 4,107.
Texas Tech on the other hand turned in another strong defensive performance with solid and consistent play. Kurt Wilson made a diving stop at third base saving extra bases and Jace Jung put his body on the line for attempting to field a very difficult ball coming to second base. All of this was behind another exceptional outing by starting pitcher Patrick Monteverde.
The left-handed transfer hailing from Pittsburgh, PA improved to 5-0 on the season with a scoreless 7 innings of work and 9 more strikeouts with no walks to add to an already impressive season stat line. Monteverde has gained a following in the Red Raider faithful as yellow towels could be seen littering the stands, a new addition made possible by the infamous Tech Hecklers. The towel is reminiscent of The Terrible Towel, made famous by the Pittsburgh Steelers after debuting in December 1975 in a playoff game against the Baltimore Colts.
“That was awesome, bringing Pittsburgh down to Lubbock,” said Monteverde. “That was pretty cool to see, I gave them a little salute after the first inning.”
Monteverde also talked about what the fans have meant to him coming new to Lubbock as a transfer.
“The fans are great, seems like every Saturday it’s almost sold out or sold out. And it gets loud here too, I mean that’s no secret. The fans are always behind my back, good or bad day, I can’t ask for anything more.”
Dylan Neuse has also been seeing a resurgence at the plate for Tech. He’s hit safely in four straight games, three of those since moving into the leadoff spot for the Red Raiders. Today he went 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored, including leading off the game with a single.
The Red Raiders will look for the sweep Sunday with a first-pitch moved up to 12 p.m. to assist with USF travel.
TTU22