Monday Morning Matador: Draft days, baseball and other things

I’m pretty pleased that the British were so enamored with tea. Once their government thought that taxing tea would really stick it to the colonists, the colonists just dumped it in to a harbor. After that we found a real hot beverage that would leave England in the dust and be the defining taste and smell of a new nation; coffee.

Texas Tech softball sweeps Kansas

The Red Raider softball team outhit the Jayhawks 32-13 over the course of the weekend and played error-free ball for all three games to mark its best defensive performance since 2015. The sweep also marked their first conference sweep since opening 2017 with a sweep at Iowa State. With the victories over Kansas, Tech has surpassed their conference win total from last year and moved above .500 on the season. Up next the Red Raiders will host the Abilene Christian Wildcats on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Baseball falls to TCU in finale

The No. 4 Texas Tech baseball team held a brief lead in the series opener at TCU on Friday but failed to close resulting in a 6-4 defeat at Lupton Stadium. On Saturday, the Red Raiders rallied and shutout the Horned Frogs 6-0. This is the fifth shutout of the 2018 season which has matched the five total for the 2016 baseball team. It also is the program’s first combined one-hitter since February 12, 2012; the very first game played at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. Efforts by pitcher Killian who carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Killian finished the night with six-shutout frames, giving up just one hit & two walks, while striking out a career-high nine batters. The team wouldn’t carry that energy into the third game of the series however, finishing their road trip with a 9-5 loss after scoring four in the first inning.

Tennis team battles to the Big 12 finals but comes up short against Texas

The women’s tennis team played their hearts out during the Big 12 tournament this past weekend. Notching victories over Kansas State and Oklahoma State landed No. 14 Texas Tech in the finals to face off against No. 6 Texas. Texas won the doubles point with victories over Alex Valenstein and Katelyn Jackson (who fell 6-0 to the Turati twins) and Felicity Maltby and Gabriela Talaba (who fell 6-2 to Marta Perez-Mur and Dani Wagland). By the end of the day, Tech fell to Texas in the Big 12 Championship match by a 4-1 decision. Up next the Lady Raiders await the NCAA selection which will be announced on Tuesday, May 1st at 4 pm.

Texas Tech claims team titles in first home outdoor track meet

At the inaugural Corky/Crofoot Shootout, the No. 2 men’s program and the No. 17 women’s program defended Texas Tech’s track by topping Kansas State, Nebraska and Wichita State to claim both team titles. The Lady Raiders opened the night with a strong showing in the 4x100 meter relay behind the team of Kaylor Harris, Daja Gordon, Tiffani Johnson and Sara Limp. They claimed their best time of the season so far at 44.21 and edged K-State for first place in the process. The men’s 4x100 team comprised of Darien Tennon, Divine Oduduru, Andrew Hudson and Charles Brown had matched their best time of the season with 39.01 to claim first as well. Tech also scored high in several field events. Specifically the men’s pole vault astounded with commanding efforts by Brandon Bray (with 5.37 meters) and Drew McMichael (also with 5.37 meters) that claimed the top-two spots. You can see more detailed results at the link above. Up next Texas Tech will return to the Fuller Track and Field Complex next weekend to host the Masked Rider Open.

Eight Red Raiders have moved up to the professional level

As you can see from the tweet above, Texas Tech pushed eight football players into the professional sphere over the weekend. Coutee was drafted by the Texans, Cantrell was drafted by the Chargers, Batson found his way to the Titans, Shimonek also found his way to the Chargers, Stockton grouped up with the Seahawks, Big Mych Thomas is headed up to the Jets, Willies is going to the Browns and Zach Barnes is heading to the CFL.