Larry Hays' #27 Retired, Red Raiders Notch Win
via grfx.cstv.com
In a very special evening, former Red Raider coach Larry Hays had his #27 number retired with Texas Tech and Lubbock Christian. There are articles from LAJ's George Watson (with video) and DT's Mike Graham. I'm not going to say very much about Hays, and let the words and the video from the event speak for itself. I think Larry Hays was incredible for Texas Tech and he'll be an incredible asset to Texas Tech going forward. It's an honor to have your number retired and Larry Hays understands that:
"Anybody that plays baseball knows the uniform is a big deal," Hays said. "The uniform is a big deal and the number is a big deal. When you play the game and someone says they’re going to retire the number you wore, I never thought about that, I never planned on that. Just to have your number retired is a meaningful thing."
The game was almost an afterthought, as Texas Tech nudged LCU, 4-3 (recap and boxscore). The Red Raiders got a great start from Nate Karns (7.0 IP; 5 H; 1 ER; 2 BB; 9 SO) and Brian Cloud (2.0 IP; 4 H; 1 ER; 0 BB; 2 SO) pitched the final two innings for the save. RF Taylor Ashby (1-2; 2 RBI) led the way offensively, also knocking in the go ahead run, and while LF Michael Reed (2-3; 1 RBI) and C Jeremy Mayo (2-4) both had two hits for the game.
LAJ's George Watson and DT's Mike Graham wrap-up last night's game and Nate Karns sounds very happy to have gotten the win:
"It’s about time I let everyone see what I’m capable of," said Karns, whose last victory was last May 18 against Baylor. "It’s too bad I had to wait so long but I’d rather have it now than never. Hopefully I can build off this and help the team achieve our goals and win some more games, and have a better season."