Texas Tech baseball put up a disappointing week on the road

The Red Raiders traveled all week last week, making for one of their toughest weeks yet. They Started the week in Midland, Texas against New Mexico State, continuing on to Morgantown to face the Mountaineers, and finishing out in Durham against the Blue Devils. The Red Raiders played five games this week, winding up with only two wins.

On Tuesday, the Red Raiders Faced the New Mexico State Aggies for the second time this season. The Aggies were considered the nations top scoring offense coming into the game on Tuesday, Texas Tech managed to outhit them 12 to 5 with all but one starter in the lineup recording a hit. Freshman starter Mason Montgomery can be attributed to the win as he limited the Aggies to just two hits over five innings earning his third win of the season. Overall the pitching staff completed 10 strikeouts on Tuesday night. On the other side of the ball, junior Josh Jung was responsible for a two-run home run, his fourth home run this season, while freshman Max Marusak managed an inside the park home run. Marusak is the first red raider with an inside-the-park home run since Devon Conley versus North Colorado on February 16, 2013. The victory over the Aggies marked the 18th time this season that Texas Tech has recorded double-digit hits.

Over the weekend, the Red Raiders traveled to Morgantown, West Virginia, to face the Mountaineers. Pitchers Erickson Lanning and John McMillon both had strong outings on Friday night, but the Red Raiders just couldn’t keep up with the reigning National and Big12 pitcher of the week, Alek Manoah. Sophomore Gabe Holt was responsible for three of Texas Tech’s four hits on the day but wasn’t able to score for the Red Raiders. Senior Kim Warren was the only red raider to get into scoring position, but a fielder’s choice from Cole Stillwell, a strikeout from Josh Jung, and a ground out from Cody Masters kept him from reaching home base. In the end, the Red Raiders fell to the Mountaineers 2-0 in the series opener. This was the first time this season that Texas Tech was shut out.

Saturday was not any better for the Red Raiders. While they did have a brief lead into the fifth, the Mountaineers would not let Tech take the win. Texas Tech fell to the Mountaineers 4-3. They are now 4-5 on the season in one-run games. It was also the first Big 12 game this season where Tech has been outhit by its opponent. Pitcher Micah Dallas tossed a season-high 103 pitches while striking out five in 4.2 innings. Gabe Holt went 2-for-5 in his third straight multi-hit game of the season while also adding two stolen bases to his record. Cole Stilwell went 3-for-4 with 2RBI and his third double of the year. The win moved the Red Raiders to 6-6 in conference games this season and 23-11 overall.

Finally, because I failed to get last week’s recap out before these week’s games were played you get a bonus! On Tuesday, the Red Raiders traveled to Durham North Carolina to face Duke at home. The game was a rematch of the 2018 Lubbock super regional, but this time the Blue Devils came out on the winning side taking the Red Raiders down 13-6. Tech had the chance for some big innings pretty early in the game but just could not get runners on base. In the second inning the first three Red Raiders loaded the bases with no outs but a double play and a strike out later Duke was still in the lead and it remained that way until the end.

The Red Raiders return to Lubbock for 10 whole games at home. It all begins on Thursday with ‘80’s Music Night’ against No. 18 Baylor.