Red Raiders Clinch Second Big 12 Series Victory

Red Raiders Clinch Second Big 12 Series Victory

By / / Leave a Comment

It was a wild day at Rip Griffin Park with only one home run coming from an unlikely source, two TCU ejections, and only three scoreless innings for the Red Raiders (20-9, 4-5) as they dropped the Horned Frogs (17-11, 5-4) by a score of 10-5 in another long day at the ballpark. The weekend saw the Big 12 foes combine for 10 hours and 38 minutes of baseball as three very different games played out.

Red Raiders Win Series Opener for the Ages
Horned Frogs Even Series with Saturday Victory

In Sunday’s offering, Trendan Parish got the start for the Red Raiders against a red-hot TCU squad who had combined for 26 runs on 26 hits and had pounded 8 home runs in the first two matchups. Parish gave up two hits and two walks in the first inning and had to work around an error ultimately surrendering a three-run frame.

But he bounced back admirably and despite ongoing traffic on the basepaths, he surrendered no further hits or runs. Parish retired the final 5 hitters he faced across the fourth and fifth innings, but it was the last that became perhaps the biggest storyline of the day.

Head Coach Tim Tadlock responded to a question about Parish’s 95 pitch, four-inning appearance and what options it opened up for Tech Sunday he said, “It allowed you to give it to Free and Beckel late in the game. I thought Parish did his job. He really did a good job minimizing in the first, when you look at all the traffic he had. He’s always a pitch away from a double play ball with his sink.”

In the third inning, Parish hit right fielder Austin Davis in the helmet with an 82mph breaking ball. Davis made no friends among the Red Raider faithful Saturday night, antagonizing the crowd by slow-walking back to the plate after foul balls, chirping, and calling for more jeers. Home plate umpire AJ Wendel smelled trouble on the hit-by-pitch, and he issued warnings to both dugouts.

It seems to me that there simply wasn’t the intent to plunk a batter in a one-run ballgame (3-2 in favor of TCU) in a conference rubber match. Tadlock shot out of the Texas Tech dugout and argued a similar case to the umpires while TCU Head Coach Kirk Saarloos waited his turn to bend their ear as well about the warning.

After an extended pause, play resumed and Parish finished the inning unscathed.

Another hit batsman followed Davis and then a light comebacker to Parish from Elijah Nunez saw the pitcher opt for the out on the lead runner at 3B. He chased Davis down in the basepaths for the first out of the frame, wrapping a bow on the events earlier in the inning and juicing the sellout crowd at Rip Griffin Park.

The Red Raiders responded in the bottom of the third with a leadoff single by Gage Harrelson and he tied the ballgame from first base on an RBI double from Kevin Bazzell.

Gavin Kash would chip in an RBI double of his own to plate Austin Green as the go-ahead run. A Washburn groundout would send Bazzell home as well.

It would be Harrelson’s third consecutive three-hit day and he continues to lead the Red Raiders with 17 multi-hit games. He also finished a home run shy of the cycle Sunday. Over the four games of the week, Harrelson went 11-22 (.500), with 5 RBIs, 2B, 3B, and 5 runs scored. Bazzell and Kash would also go on to a two-hit and two-RBI day, they joined Owen Washburn and Tracer Lopez who all booked a multi-hit Sunday. Additionally, Lopez went batted .500 over the weekend going 6-12.

“I think Coach Tadlock sticking to him [Harrelson], even when he was struggling a week or two ago is allowing him to really progress and develop as a player,” explained Hester. “Those young guys, Tracer too, just them seeing more pitches, going day to day, still starting even after having a rough game. It just gives them confidence that the coaches believe in them and want them to succeed and it’s letting them develop and play to how good they really are. I mean, those guys are really good and they’re showing everybody right now.”

In the fourth, Parish walked to the mound with a 5-3 lead and he put together his best inning of the day. Building on retiring the final two of the third in order, he struck out leadoff hitter Luker Boyers and worked a Trey Richardson flyout to right field. He then set up third baseman Brayden Taylor, who is projected to be the #11 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, and issued him a ꓘ.

Taylor was upset with the punchout call and made that known at the plate, he walked away while screaming his frustrations and ultimately spiked his bat before coaches could intervene and he was tossed. An extended conversation between TCU coaches and umpires ensued and when play finally resumed, the Red Raiders added another run in the bottom of the fourth.

The Horned Frogs drew back within one run, making it a 6-5 ballgame. But Nolen Hester had something to contribute, as he pounded a one-out home run, the first of his Red Raider career.

“The further and the more established our lineup has gotten, we’re seeing people develop and progress at really really quick speeds,” said Hester. “It doesn’t matter where you are in the order you’re not going to have an easy out at any time in the game.

Tracer Lopez is playing his ass off in the nine-hole right now, he could be leading off just as easily as I am right now,” Hester continued. “I think the further and the deeper we go into the season I think the deeper our lineup gets, and we’ve got guys on the bench that are really good that aren’t necessarily starting every day that can come off the bench and make just as big of an impact as any of the nine guys in the lineup that day.”

Immediately following, Harrelson sent a triple into the right field corner and Saarloos, who is both pitching coach and head coach, took a mound visit. He waited for the umpire to break it up, then walked with him coming back to the baseline giving him an earful. Finally, Wendel had enough and he dumped Saarloos as well.

After Harrelson was ruled safe on a play at the plate, a review reversed the call negating a run. But Kash sent an RBI single into the right field scoring Bazzell to extend the Tech lead to 8-5. Kash leads the Big 12 with 46 RBIs on the year and also leads with 12 home runs, three of which he hit this weekend.

It was all Red Raiders from there as Ryan Free completed his three-inning appearance after the seventh. He allowed only two hits and did not surrender an earned run. All the more impressive considering the level of offensive production TCU put together in the first two games of the series.

“I think that baseball’s a day-to-day thing. I think our bullpen went out there and shoved and I think it could have gone any way, it’s just baseball and stuff happens,” explained Free.

He gave way to Brandon Beckel for the final two frames. He issued a leadoff walk but then retired the Horned Frogs in order. Beckel received some breathing room when Bazzell singled to lead off the eighth, Green followed with an RBI double, and a Washburn sacrifice fly scored him to push the score to 10-5.

Beckel shut down the Horned Frogs in the ninth with two strikeouts and earned the second save of his Red Raider career, and of the weekend. Free earned his third win and the Red Raiders clinched their second Big 12 series victory of the season.

The Red Raiders will host Abilene Christian in a Tuesday matchup at 6:30 pm. It will be televised on ESPN+ with the radio call available on Double T 97.3 FM in Lubbock and on The Varsity App. The Wildcats are 22-6 on the season with wins over Nebraska, Baylor, and Oklahoma on their resume, their RPI sits at #67, currently one of the highest remaining on the Texas Tech schedule.

TTU29Box

Start typing and press enter to search

Scroll to Top