Instant Reaction: Tech gets big Opening Day victory

It’s opening day for college baseball and the No. 3 ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball team starts off with a win against the Maine Black Bears in Game 1 of the series. With a score of 4-2 against the Black Bears, the Red Raiders get their first win of a season that has been preceded by huge expectations.

The Raiders used four different pitchers in today’s game: Davis Martin, Caleb Kilian, Ryan Shetter, and lefty Dane Haveman. Martin got the win today, throwing 78 pitches over 5 innings, allowing one run and three hits. Martin also struck out four batters in today’s game. Martin had a very impressive start today, as he had excellent control of his pitches and was dominant in the majority at his time on the mound.

Caleb Kilian also impressed in relief. Kilian pitched the 6th and 7th innings today and kept the Black Bears at bay as he only allowed one hit and threw 25 times. Ryan Shetter, usually in the starter role, came into the game in the 8th inning and struggled slightly. Shetter is still an amazing pitcher, but he had trouble controlling his pitches early on. He worked himself into a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the 8th inning. He did an amazing job of working himself out of the jam while only allowing one run. Dane Haveman, in his first performance with the Red Raiders, got the save this afternoon, shutting down the Black Bears in the 9th inning.

The Red Raiders impressed in the 3rd inning with runs by Holt, McMillon, and Farhat. Gabe Holt got his first hit as a Red Raider in this inning, as he shot a stinger down the first base line and sped his way to second base (he is REALLY fast). Cody Farhat soon after got the first RBIs of the season as he pushed a ground ball through between the third baseman and shortstop to bring both McMillon and Holt home for the first runs of the early season for the Red Raiders. Sophomore Grant Little got his first RBI of the season as well when he doubled scoring Farhat.

Josh Jung had a great day offensively, as he had 3 hits in his 4 at-bats this afternoon. He got the offense going in the first inning with a two-out double that got him on base. He had his best at-bat of the day in the fifth inning when he had a home-run in the first at-bat of relief for Maine pitcher Matt Geoffrion. Jung will surely be a force to be reckoned with if he can keep this production up.

The Red Raiders had a productive Opening Day today. You can catch the Red Raiders in action all weekend, as they are having a double-header tomorrow. Pre-season All-American Steven Gingery will be starting the first game and John McMillon will be making his first start of his Red Raider career in the second game tomorrow. McMillon was the designated hitter today, and it will be interesting to see him starting as we saw him mainly in a relief role last season.