Texas Tech Rebounds To Beat Kansas State, 8-5

BOX SCORE:

RED RAIDER OF THE GAME:

Stephen Smith.

At a time when we needed our bats to be big, Stephen Smith showed up with three consecutive hits. Those hits advanced runners and kept the pressure on a hurting Kansas State pitching staff.

PLAY THAT IMPACTED THE GAME:

Ty Damron tagged a batter in the top of the 1st, setting up a double steal from Kansas State. This snowballed into a 3-0 start for the Wildcats, and it ended up being huge. The quick Kansas State start put the Red Raiders behind from the beginning.

STAT OF THE GAME:

5.

5 stolen bases for Kansas State directly influenced the outcome of the game. We must get better in this aspect if we're going to advance in the tournament. Texas Tech was put in a very bad position right off the bat partially due to Kansas State's steals.

FORGOTTEN PLAY OF THE GAME:

Kansas State's double steal in the 4th was a crucial play. KSU stole bases all day on Tech, most of the time to put themselves in good situations based on the ball/strike count. The double steal in the 4th gave KSU a pair of easy runs to extend their lead. If the Texas Tech bats hadn't woken up heavily in the later innings, the double steal might have been the nail in the coffin.

BIG REASON TEXAS TECH WON:

Base hits. Texas Tech allowed a handful of steals which directly led to Kansas State runs, but a solid batting performance from Texas Tech allowed the Red Raiders to get back into the game. The Red Raiders tallied 17 (!) total hits in the game, allowing them to slowly crush the Wildcats.