The #4 Red Raiders (27-8, 7-2) secured their first Big 12 series sweep since taking down the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman May 3-5, 2019 and Tech did it in dramatic fashion. After trailing the entire afternoon starting with a home run to lead off the second inning, the Red Raiders trailed 6-4 walking into the ninth inning facing Kansas State’s (15-16, 1-8) strikeouts leader Blake Adams.
Zac Vooletich, starting in the leadoff and left field again for an injured Easton Murrell, pounded a moonshot over the left-center field fence to close the Wildcats’ lead to one. The transfer outfielder, who is physically imposing and apparently no stranger to weight training, exhibits a soft-spoken demeanor.
“I feel fantastic” said Vooletich smiling.
Well, that’s a great start to the rally we need!@zacvoo hits his first home run of the year to lead off the bottom of the 9th 🚀🚀🚀 pic.twitter.com/pla8WpExm8
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) April 10, 2022
A transfer to Tech from Navarro Junior College, Vooletich has had a circuitous journey to Lubbock.
“I started out in high school, I didn’t get any offers. I walked on at New Mexico Junior College out in Hobbs [NM]. We had a good first season and went to the JUCO World Series,” explained Vooletich. “Covid hit, they shut the program down and I was displaced to Navarro, they told me they’d let me walk on there. I went and did that and fortunately, I had a good season and Tech came calling and they offered me a scholarship and I thought ‘yeah, this is where I want to be.'”
Vooletich made his seventeenth appearance and ninth start for the Red Raiders Sunday. His starts Saturday and Sunday against Kansas State were the first back-to-back starts since Tech hosted New Mexico in a two-game midweek March 15-16. The spot starts and pinch-hit opportunities throughout 2022 have not changed the transfer’s preparation.
“I just try to prepare the same every day, no matter if I’m playing or if I’m not. Because the biggest thing is I know my name’s going to get called as long as I’m patient and when it does, I just need to be ready to help my team out.
I really like how gritty our team is, that showed in that inning right there [9th]. We just get after it and we just play baseball, we don’t make it too difficult or complicated, we just go out there and have fun.”
The fun came quickly in the ninth for the Red Raiders. After Vooletich pulled the Red Raiders within one, Cole Stilwell pounded his third hit of the afternoon through the left side to get aboard and bring the winning run to the plate in Jace Jung. Stilwell went 7-12 in the weekend series including a home run of his own leading off the second Friday for Tech’s first run of that 6-3 victory, and a 3-4 day Sunday with a walk, RBI, and run.
Jung, who was 1-10 over the weekend stepping up in the ninth Sunday, battled against Adams with two well-struck foul balls down the right-field line pushing the at-bat to seven pitches. After Jung fouled off a changeup and two curveballs, he turned around a 95mph fastball over the Coca Cola sign in right center field at Rip Griffin Park to walk off the Wildcats with a two-run bomb. It was Jung’s 10th home run of 2022, making him the first Red Raider this season to reach double-digit jimmy jacks.
JACE JUNG DELIVERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WALK-OFF HOME RUN, LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO@jace17jung | #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/vzzdXFVG7c
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) April 10, 2022
“Oh believe me I knew,” said Jung laughing about how many hits he had walking into his final at-bat. “One thing I want to say [Special Assistant Ray] Hayward is always with me right now. He’s struggling getting back on his feet and that was for him. He’s usually right there behind home plate, I’m usually looking before I go up to the box, I haven’t been able to do that lately and that was good to get that for him.”
Jung now has 15 games in 2022 without a strikeout and only one game with multiple strikeouts. His plate approach and discipline serve the Red Raiders well. Jung struck out looking Sunday, his first ꓘ since Wednesday against Grand Canyon and he deadpanned to the media “What I learned is I need to protect the outside pitch and make sure I’m there on that pitch and don’t get rung up by the umpire.”
“He works really hard at his craft, and he’s pretty diligent pitch to pitch for the most part,” said Tadlock. “He’s just like all of ’em, we all want to get hits. But when he’s right, he’s going up there competing pitch to pitch and really trying to do everything he can to help his team win. Jace is a competitor and all great hitters love hitting in big moments like that and a lot of that’s probably due to how they do prepare. They feel like they’re prepared for that moment and again, it’s awful fun when the ball goes out of the park.”
Texas Tech’s bullpen also came up big for the Red Raiders as they took the best shot that K-State had to offer. Chase Hampton got his first Sunday start and exited after 3 innings giving way to Mason Molina, who has started in every Tech Sunday game until today. Josh Sanders and Shay Hartis each followed, they were the only two Tech hurlers to sit the Wildcats down in order without the assistance of a double play. Trendan Parish earned the win from his 2/3 innings of work to improve to 2-0 on the season.
“I think the whole bullpen, everybody that threw out of there did an outstanding job, made pitches, executed, guys played good defense. Really that’s what you can do,” said Tadlock.
Other Red Raider hitters turned in solid days with Owen Washburn, Hudson White, and Ty Coleman, and Vooletich all booking multiple hits. Vooletich also added another run and an RBI to his statline. Dalton Porter, who started in center field Sunday, laid down a beautiful drag bunt for a hit in the second inning.
The Red Raiders will move on from their fourth walk-off win of the season and look towards facing the Oklahoma Sooners at Hodgetown Ballpark in Amarillo in a non-conference midweek game on Tuesday. The Sooners are coming off of an intense two weeks of rivalry play dating back to March 29. They faced the Oklahoma State Cowboys as part of their Bedlam series winning 7-6 that Tuesday then dropped a series to the University of Texas at Globe Life Field in Arlington after giving up a seven-run lead in the rubber match. The Sooners hosted the Cowboys for Bedlam in Stillwater and after taking the Friday game, blew a five-run lead Saturday to get walked off by OSU on a wild pitch. They dropped the rubber match in that series 9-4 to the Cowboys on Sunday.
First pitch in Amarillo is set for 6:00 pm with the radio call available on Double T 97.3 FM and in their listening area, as well as through The Varsity Network App. The potential for a television broadcast or stream exists but has yet to be announced.
Family of Ray Hayward Requests Prayers
In reference to Jung’s comments about Hayward, he continues on the road to recovery after undergoing heart surgery a month ago in Dallas. He has faced steps forward and backward as his body continues to heal and the thoughts and prayers of Red Raiders in the baseball program and across the country continue to be shared across social media.
“We miss him, he’s a very stead influence on everybody around. I think I said it a few weeks ago, one of the better men I’ve ever known,” said Tadlock. “We all do miss him, and I do think his presence is still here as far as these guys know him really well. He’s just really steady…just talking to Ray just kind of eases your mind a little bit, no batter what it’s about. Just a guy with a lot of wisdom and has been a good friend to all of us.”
TTU35 box score