The Red Raiders (3-2) jumped out to a 1-0 series lead over Kent State (1-3) with a 10-7 victory Saturday. The Friday matchup was postponed due to cold temperatures and moved to a Sunday doubleheader, making Saturday’s game the series opener.
Andrew Morris got the start on the mound for the Red Raiders and skyrocketed his season strikeout count with 10 on the day. Morris has 16 strikeouts in 2022 to only 6 walks, 2 of which came against Kent State. If there has been a struggle for Andrew Morris it has been earned runs. He allowed 5 to Kent State Saturday, three of which came on the long ball.
The Golden Flashes jumped on Morris early with a two-out, two-run dinger in the first to take the early lead. But the Red Raiders responded immediately when Ty Colemen scored the speedy center fielder Dillon Carter from first base on a hard-hit single to left-center field. Following a Jace Jung walk, one of four free passes earned by the All-American in the game, shortstop Kurt Wilson stepped in and turned around a Richie Dell fastball for a towering three-run homerun over the left-field wall.
Red Raider bats have been slow to come to life in 2022. Following a 2021 season that saw Tech pound 213 extra-base hits, including 90 home runs, an average of almost four per game, Wilson’s bomb was the first hit out of the yard for Texas Tech so far this season. The Red Raiders are averaging one extra-base hit per game through the five they’ve played.
However, Texas Tech has been prolific earning free passes in 2022 and Saturday was no different as they made Kent State pay for their pitching miscues. The Red Raiders got aboard with 10 walks and 2 hit batsmen by Kent State and it was 5 free passes in the sixth inning that fueled a comeback for Tech to overcome a 5-4 deficit and take an 8-5 lead. Tech averaged just under 7 freebies a game in 2021 and so far are taking advantage of a pace of 2 more than that per outing.
Jung, who was the recipient of his first intentional walk of the season Saturday, was officially 0-1, 3R, 4 BB from Kent State pitching. Jung has been taking advantage of everything opponents have given him and has continued to show his trademark patience at the plate.
“Jace has always had a good eye and has always known the strike zone. He did a good job today of staying in it,” said Head Coach Tim Tadlock.
Despite the slow start, Texas Tech is showing signs that the offense is settling in. A 10-hit day against Dallas Baptist on Tuesday has now been followed by Tech scoring a season-high 10 runs.
Carter batted in his first runs of the season with a 2-RBI single in the sixth that scored Hudson White and Owen Washburn.
Washburn, the freshman right fielder, continued his hot streak at the plate. He came in batting .357 on the season and after reaching in all four plate appearances Saturday has pushed that average up to .412. Washburn went 2-3, 3RBI, BB, R against Kent State. He struck out in his second at-bat, swinging at a breaking ball in the dirt. But when that third strike squirted away from the catcher to the Golden Flash dugout, Washburn reached easily on the wild pitch.
“He’s a kid that really likes playing, likes to hit, likes to work at it. He’s got aspirations to keep playing I’m sure, like all of them do,” explained Tadlock. “The good thing about Owen is you kind of know what you’re getting every day. He likes to play and he knows the strike zone.”
Coleman is another Red Raider who appears to be finding his groove at the plate. After booking only one hit over opening weekend, Coleman has two 2-RBI hits on Tuesday and today started the Red Raider scoring with an RBI single on a well-struck ball to the left-center field gap. Coleman almost sent a ball out of the yard but the screamer to the left-field corner hooked foul at the last moment. He also laid down a fantastic sacrifice bunt to move two runners into scoring position in the eighth.
Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.com has been vocally disapproving of the Red Raider team he saw in Arlington last weekend, and he used Coleman as an example on his outlet’s podcast this week.
“We all know Jace Jung is one of the best players in the country, he could arguably be the best player in the country. But you still have to have help around you,” said Rogers. “For instance, they had Ty Coleman, who was like a .230 hitter at A&M last year, hitting in the four-hole! I look up and down their lineup and I just don’t see where their production is going to come from.”
Tadlock however, lit up when asked about the Texas A&M transfer who is a product of Midland Lee (Legacy) High School and son and nephew of two well-known players from Lubbock Monterey High School and Lubbock Christian University.
“It’s been fun watching him. Ty was on the shelf for most of the fall trying to get 100%. I’ve known Ty since he was really young. He’s always been a baseball player, always been a winner, and has always put good at-bats together. We’re fortunate to have him in our lineup.”
Coleman has started all five games at DH and is currently batting .235 on the season for the Red Raiders, but he is also second on the team with 5 RBIs.
The Texas Tech bullpen combined for 3.2 innings of work allowing one walk and tallying 7 strikeouts. Jamie Hitt faced only one batter but struck out the lefty to help limit damage in the sixth. Brendan Girton followed and was pumping 95-97mph, striking out three of his own. Girton earned the win as Tech took the lead in the sixth and held it the rest of the way. Girton is holding opposing batters to a batting average of .136 so far through 6.2IP.
Freshman Trendan Parish was excellent once again and earned his second save striking out three and giving up only one hit. Parish maintains a 0.00 ERA and a WHIP of 0.57 after 7.0IP, he’s earned 9 strikeouts this season so far and is holding batters to a batting average of .130.
Parish’s hit was still a star in the book for Wilson who made an excellent play on a ball up the middle. Ranging to his left and sliding with the leg underneath, Wilson popped up to get an on-target throw to first base that was late by only a hair.
When asked about Wilson’s defense and versatility Tadlock said, “He reminds me a lot of a guy that plays for the Dodgers named Chris Taylor. Guy can play pretty much anywhere on the field except catcher. Really athletic, really reads the ball off the bat really good, has got an above-average arm. We’ve always thought Kurt Wilson could play shortstop…He gets to more balls than most guys.”
The Red Raiders will face Kent State twice on Sunday in a doubleheader that begins at 12:00 pm at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. The game will be available on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and on 97.3 FM in Lubbock and The Varsity Network app.
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