Texas Tech finished the series against Baylor with a bang

The Texas Tech Red Raiders faced the Baylor Bears over the weekend, and if you missed the series, you really missed out on a great show. The series against Baylor this year was the first time Tech has played a Baylor squad ranked in the top 25 since 2011 when Tech won 2-of-3 games in Waco. It also marked the first matchup with both teams ranked in the top 25 since 2003.

The first two games of the series in Lubbock were air-tight. On Thursday, the no. 16 Texas Tech baseball team battled back from a 9-3 hole to send the game into extras. Tech received home runs from junior Josh Jung and sophomore Cody Masters and set a season high with seven doubles to fuel the rally, but it was not enough. In the end, Baylor claimed an 11-10 win in 11 innings. Junior John McMillion tossed 3.2 scoreless innings in relief. He retired the first 12 batters he faced in order before allowing his only hit from Loftin in the eleventh. Tadlock replaced McMillon with lefty Dane Haveman, who allowed the Bears were to score the winning run. The Red Raiders outhit the Bears 16-14 in the contest. Jung, Warren and Masters all finished with two RBI.

Friday’s game against the Bears was sold out at Rip Griffin. Though the Red Raiders (24-13, 7-7 Big 12) trailed 2-1 in the eighth they walked off with a 3-2 win against the Bears (26-11, 9-4 Big 12) to even the crucial three-game set and pulled Tech back to .500 in Big 12 play. A walk to sophomore Gabe Holt with the bases loaded evened the score in the eighth. In the ninth, Jung came in for the winning run thanks to an inside fastball from Cody Masters. It marked Tech’s second walk-off of the season and second in Big 12 play. Masters finished with two hits in his two at bats. Five other Red Raiders registered hits on the day. These included doubles from junior Brian Klein and freshman Max Marusak. The finished with 11 walks on the night including walks from Holt, Neuse and Stilwell.

On Saturday, the Red Raiders went out with a bang. The Red Raiders (25-13, 8-7) led an offensive attack against the Bears that led to a commanding 13-3 victory in seven innings thanks to the run-rule giving the series to the Red Raiders on Saturday afternoon in front of a sold-out Easter crowd at Rip Griffin Park. Tech scored nine runs in the first two innings of the game and there was no way the Bears could stop them after that. Senior Cameron Warren and sophomore Dylan Neuse led the team with a combined 10 RBI. The performance also included four home runs by Neuse, Warren, and Fulford. Neuse hit a grand slam and a walk-off home run to end the game. The grand slam was Neuse’s second grand slam of the season. With the win, Texas Tech improves to 25-13 on the season and are 8-7 in Big 12 Conference play.

Tech continues their 10-game home stand with five more at home this week, opening with a two-game mid-week series against New Mexico (18-21, 7-11 MWC) and ending with a three-game weekend series against Oklahoma State.