PALO ALTO – The #21 Red Raiders (22-11) dropped to 0-5 on the road in a 4-6 effort against #8 Stanford (21-7) in Palo Alto, CA. Texas Tech jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the second, but the Cardinal counterpunched with three runs in the bottom of the same frame and tacked on three more one-run innings in the fourth, fifth, and sixth to hold down one of the nation’s top offenses.
Cardinal starter Nick Dugan retired the Red Raiders in order in the first, but they jumped all over him in the second with six baserunners on four hits and a couple of free passes. Hudson White and Will Burns each knocked a run home and Gage Harrelson contributed a two-run double to make it 4-0.
Harrelson booked the 18th multi-hit game of his career and Nolen Hester extended his reached safely streak to 20 games.
Gage 🅱️arrelson.
A two-run double makes it 4-0!
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📱 » https://t.co/G1QeWYhg1f pic.twitter.com/QlCgSiibOE— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) April 11, 2023
Jacob Rogers got an unexpected start Monday, the first of his career. He retired the Cardinal in order in the first but a hit batsman and a walk gave Stanford two baserunners and Cole Hinkelman pounded a three-run bomb to left-center field to get three right back after the four-run frame. From there, it was all Stanford at the plate. The Red Raiders managed eight more baserunners on four more hits, but it was nothing doing as the Cardinal hung seven consecutive zeroes on the board.
Stanford pitching combined for 14 strikeouts and the Red Raiders managed five.
Rogers exited with a bases-loaded jam in the third, giving way to Andrew Devine (1-3) who got out of the jam. A walk, double, and sacrifice fly scored the tying run in the fourth and Devine surrendered the go-ahead solo home run in the sixth, ending his appearance and earning him the loss, his third of the season.
Ethan Coombes surrendered the final run after a double, walk, and RBI fielder’s choice. Derek Bridges, in his third appearance of the season, and Dax Dathe, in his second, combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innings and three strikeouts, both turning in their longest outings of 2023.
In addition to the surprise start by Rogers, it was a new-look day in the field for the Red Raiders as well. Kevin Bazzell saw his second start behind the dish and made the most of it, gunning down a base stealer at third base in the fourth inning. White started at third base in place of Bazzell and Zac Vooletich started in right field in place of an injured Owen Washburn. Tracer Lopez slid over to second base and Burns got the start at shortstop. Austin Green was the designated hitter.
The Red Raiders will take on Stanford again Tuesday as they look the split the midweek two-game stand with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 pm CT. The game is scheduled to be available on Pac 12 Insider, which is a free online stream. The radio broadcast will be available on Double T 97.3 FM in Lubbock and on The Varsity App.
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