It started off feeling like a pitcher’s duel once again on a Chamber of Commerce day at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park as Mason Montgomery and Bryce Osmond each worked scoreless innings through the first and second. However, batters from both dugouts appeared determined to increase their opportunities in the rubber match of the three-game series as they worked pitchers over early, spoiling pitches and pushing up pitch counts. The second walk of the day issued by Montgomery was on the 14th pitch of the at-bat for Cowboy shortstop Hueston Morrill.
Texas Tech struck first offensively stringing together three hits in the third to plate three. Dylan Neuse started it off with his second hit of the weekend, a single up the middle and Dru Baker hit him home with an RBI double to left field. Jace Jung then stepped in and tacked two more RBIs onto his season total as he continues to lead the Big 12 with 29. Those RBIs came as Jung turned on a first-pitch offering from Osmond and the unaided big fly sailed over the fence into the Fuller Track& Field.
Jung, who was hitless Saturday but had several defensive web gems, went 2-for-3 Sunday with a walk and run scored in addition to the two-run bomb.
“I makes everybody’s intensity go up even more,” explained Jung “After Friday we had a bad taste in our mouth and to turn around and get two wins in a row and it makes us feel so much better to relax and play instead of tensing after losing one.”
Jung’s energy on the field is apparent and whether making defensive plays for the Red Raiders or booking his Big 12-leading 29th RBI, Jung wants that emotion and intensity to drive his team forward.
“Get fired up! Get everybody’s intensity up, keeping the dugout up on their feet, ‘let’s chatter, let’s chatter,’ said Jung. “I try to really hone in on keeping the intensity in the dugout up and on the field.”
Jung, whose brother Josh was known for physically flushing a miniature toilet in the dugout after a bad at-bat, explained his way of flushing the bad is with the intensity and emotion of his play.
“They’ve gotta come up there and hit two just like we do, so just intensity. Don’t let one bad at-bat carry into the field.”
With the long at-bats mounting, the lefty Montgomery was replaced early in his shortest outing of the season after a one-out walk and base hit put two Cowboys aboard. Caeden Trenkle hit an RBI double to left field to break the goose-egg on the board and close the gap to 3-1 as Montgomery’s day concluded. Osmond’s fate wasn’t much better as he exited in the fourth as well following a series of mental mistakes that plated two more for Tech.
After Fulford and Masters worked back-to-back walks, Neuse sent a can of corn to center field. As Masters scooted back to first base on a long run back, the throw from center was off-the-mark and resulted in an E8 overthrowing the bag, but Masters held at first. The Cowboys apparently forgot about Fulford, who’d moved around to third and he scampered home with a diving role over the plate. Cal Conley followed with an RBI double to right, plating the fifth run of the day for the Red Raiders and ending Osmond’s outing with 5 earned runs allowed in 77 pitches through 3.2 innings.
Braxton Fulford knocked another home in the sixth on an RBI single to bring Jung chugging home from second. But the Cowboys were not content going away quietly.
Following a leadoff single by Thompson, Christian Encarnacion-Strand pounded a no-doubter off of a hanging breaking ball in the zone for a two-run shot to left field into the road. That closed the gap to three for the Cowboys and, following a walk, ended Devine’s relief outing. Ryan Sublette entered with one out and a man on first but ended the inning in speedy fashion.
From there it was two scoreless innings on both sides, but in what has become one of the most hotly-contested series in college baseball in recent years, this one was not destined to end quietly.
Connor Queen entered for Tech following 2.2 strong scoreless innings from Sublette. But the Red Raiders’ saves leader struggled to find the strike zone allowing a leadoff single. The second batter hit into a 4-6-3 double play, the first of the day for the Tech defense who booked three to end consecutive innings on Saturday. Queen hit a batter to follow and issued a walk to put two men back aboard. Queen then gave way to Brendan Girton, who also had a save and a late innings win under his belt this season, but Girton, who was pumping 96 mph gas, had some struggles as well.
Defensive miscommunication and an errant throw to first on a ball fielded by Girton scored one, and in a late-inning strike zone which tightened considerably, walked in a run. Despite the struggles, Head Coach Tim Tadlock outlined his feelings about Tech’s bullpen.
“All the confidence in the world, every guy we ran out there. We could have stayed with any of them and I’d have been fine with it,” said Tadlock. “I look at it as every opportunity and every situation presents a chance for these guys to grow and develop. I think it was exactly that for all of them.”
Ultimately, it was Derek Bridges who fanned the final batter of the day in the high-drama situation with the Red Raider Men’s Basketball game in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament on cell phones and TVs around the ballpark. Bridges inherited a 2-0 count from Girton, something Tadlock also lamented.
“I was two pitches late, I can tell you that,” said Tadlock. “But really, I guess he’s got ice water in his veins, it was pretty cool to see.”
Tadlock also shook things up a bit on Sunday, moving Baker from his leadoff spot into the 3-hole and giving Neuse the top of the order. Tadlock explained the lineup is one they’ve used in the past, particularly against a right-handed starter, but Baker didn’t seem to mind.
“I was a little surprised today when I saw my name in the three-spot. But, I knew that he [Tadlock] wanted me to be the same guy…I just kind of stuck to my approach and if that’s one or that’s nine or that’s seven, doesn’t matter really where it is. I’m just going to try to get on base and score some runs for my team.”
Baker had another impressive weekend batting .538 in the series with the Cowboys with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
It was the twentieth game of the season for the Red Raiders in the finale of their Big 12 opening series, one game further than Tech made it into the 2020 season.
“I think people being in the ballpark this weekend…people getting to enjoy a baseball game. Our guys getting to enjoy a baseball game, our guys every day getting to go to practice. All that was something that was taken away from everybody, anything you had a passion for was taken away from you. These guys love getting to play baseball, they love preparing. Yeah absolutely, it’s sweeter every time you get to put that uniform on.”
The Red Raider faithful absolutely enjoyed some baseball this weekend with two sellout crowds Friday and Saturday and another at near 4,000 on Sunday. Texas Tech Baseball is one of only four programs in the country to have had more than 4,000 fans in their home ballparks this season.
Texas Tech will have another opportunity to sell it out next weekend at home hosting the University of South Florida Bulls for a three-game series.
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