Texas Tech (6-1) vs. Bethune-Cookman and Washington St.
Location: Lubbock, TX
Radio: Affiliates
| Date | Start Time | Texas Tech Starting Pitcher |
Opponent Starting Pitcher |
Result |
| 2.25.10 | 4:00 p.m. | Chad Bettis W, 2-0 |
Patrich Goelz-Bethune-Cookman L, 0-1 |
W: 12-8 |
| 2.26.10 | 4:00 p.m. | Jay Johnson L, 0-1 |
Paris Shewey-Washington St. W, 1-0 |
L: 3-6 |
| 2.27.10 | 4:00 p.m. | Brett Bruening W, 2-0 |
Joey Munoz-Bethune Cookman L, 0-2 |
W: 14-12 |
| 2.28.10 | 12:00 p.m. | Jordan Stern (0-0, 0.00) |
TBA-Washington St. - |
- |
Outfield:
LF - Michael Reed (Sr.); CF - Taylor Ashby (Sr.); RF - Barrett Barnes (Fr.)
Infield:
SS - Joey Kenworthy (Sr.) 2ND - Garrett Totten (So.);
3RD - Nick Popescu (Jr.) 1ST - Stephen Hagen (Jr.)
C - Jeremy Mayo (So.)
DH - Scott LeJeune (So.)
*Click on the score for boxscore. Texas Tech series preview (pdf).
The Game: This series, the pitching staff has been a bit less dominating, and that's okay. Sometimes I have to remind myself that a win is a win. SP Louis Head (4.0 IP; 7 H; 5 ER; 1 BB; 2 SO) had an okay outing, although giving up 5 runs isn't ideal, while relief pitcher Brett Bruening earned the win, but his line was worse that Head's (3.0 IP; 5 H; 6 R; 5 ER; 1 BB; 1 SO). A combination of Ben Flora, Brandon Petite and Justin Cooper, pretty much shut down Bethune-Cookman throught the 8th and 9th innings. Cooper got his 2nd save of the year. Texas Tech took the lead on 1B Stephen Hagen's home run in the bottom of the 7th inning and started a rally that eventually led to a Texas Tech win. SS JOey Kenworthy (2-3; 1 HR; 2 BB; 5 RBI), DH Scott LeJeune (2-4; 2 RBI), 3B Nick Popescu (2-4; 1 HR; 3 RBI) and 1B/RF Barrett Barnes (2-4; 1 RBI) helped lead an offense that scored multiple runs in the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 7th innings.
Recaps: LAJ's George Watson writes about the pitching staff and what this win does for the character of the team:
That was due to more struggles from the back end of Tech’s pitching staff. Starter Louis Head was solid for three innings but surrendered the lead with a three-run fourth, and junior right-hander Brett Bruening (2-0) gave up six runs on five hits in three innings of relief.Tech was finally able to close out the game as freshman right-hander Brandon Petite allowed a run on two hits in 2/3 of an inning, and after allowing a walk, turned it over to junior right-hander Justin Cooper, who closed out his second save thanks to an outstanding play by Kenworthy to turn a game-ending double play.
"It was a good win for the kids’ character to come back after getting beat last night, scoring some runs and being patient with a guy out there who was throwing strikes," head coach Dan Spencer said. "That’s a loose bunch over there and if you don’t make your pitches, they’ll get on you, and that’s a good lesson, and hopefully we’ll learn it. It’s a win and we’ll take it."
Official Site Post Game Quotes:
Head Coach Dan Spencer on the late rally in game after last night:
"The three late runs were nice. (Stephen) Hagen hit the home run, we had a walk and a couple doubles. That's huge. That's the difference in the game. We were in dire need. We were in trouble. We've got to figure out a way to be better on the mound late in the game. We will worry about that a little bit. We'll talk about it after the game then we will line up and play again tomorrow. To hang around and play defense like we did, and then (Joey) Kenworthy made a great play to the end the game. (Garrett) Totten did a good job of getting to the ball. I would have liked him to go ahead and catch it clean but he had to go a ways for it anyways. It was a good win for the kids as far as character and coming back after getting beat last night and scoring some runs as well as being patient with a guy who was having a hard time throwing strikes. They're a loose bunch that bunch over there (Bethune-Cookman) so if you don't make your pitches they'll make you pay. It's a win. We'll take it."
Head Coach Dan Spencer on how the pitching staff lineup looks going into tomorrow's game:
"Thin. We need to get some innings out of (Jordan) Stern. We'll start Stern. We need to score some runs early. We were able to keep Jay (Johnson) out of the game tonight. We had to. We felt like we needed to give him a rest even though he was chomping at the bit, wanting to get the ball back and go back to work. But in the best interests of him and the long-term, we'll have Jay available again tomorrow. If we throw strikes, we'll be fine. I think we will."