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This weekend in Austin, it was time to put up or shut up for the Red Raiders.
They put up. In a big way.
Tech won two of three games in Austin for a series win, and firmly put themselves in a great position to host a regional at the end of May. Lets take a look at what transpired in Austin and what the rest of the season looks like for the Red Raiders.
Friday
Tech 6- UT 3
On Friday the Red Raiders used a solid outing by Patrick Monteverde and a fantastic relief appearance from Ryan Sublette among others to secure the victory. On the offensive side of things Braxton Fulford homered, Cody Masters tripled, Jace Jung had a sac fly, and Dru Baker had possibly the biggest double of the season so far that drove in two runs in the fifth inning to put some distance between the two schools. Tech was able to use a plethora of arms to shut the door including Connor Queen who struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to notch his fifth save of the year.
Saturday
Tech 5- UT 3
In a game that had to be resumed on Sunday due to weather, Tech clinched the series after the over night wait. Ryan Sublette came in on Sunday once again to get the save after he was credited with the win on Friday, and slammed the door on UT, recording four outs. Micah Dallas pitched another gem and seems to be getting hot at the right time, while the offense used a five-run sixth inning to pull away for good from the Longhorns. Cal Conley had a clutch double in that fifth inning to propel the Red Raiders to the win.
Sunday
Tech 3- UT 11
In the finale, UT was able to salvage at least one win for the series, while Tech had a disastrous game in the field. After an error in right field in the second inning that led to an inside the park homer for Ivan Melendez, Mason Montgomery never really found his stuff again and Tech ended up using eight total pitchers in this one with three of the eight failing to even record an out. Tech ran the UT starter after failing to record an out and had the bases loaded with no outs and one run already across in the top of the first, however, Tech wouldn’t push another run across in the inning failing to push anymore across.
Series Thoughts
Statement made. The fact Tech came in and won those first two games in the fashion they did, with solid pitching and outstanding defense, was refreshing to see. Micah Dallas was outstanding once again on Saturday and he is starting to look more and more like the Micah Dallas of 2019. That is great news for Tech, while its not so great for everyone else.
Dru Baker had an incredible weekend at the plate driving in four runs over three games and came up with clutch hits in both wins.
This was a huge win for the self confidence of the Red Raiders after the series loss to Baylor the weekend prior. This was the number three team in the country and Tech came in and handled business without a plethora of our roster due to injury. That makes this series win even more impressive.
Tech will finish Big 12 play with series wins over the top two teams in the conference this season. That will beef up the resume when the committee looks at Lubbock as a host site.
Its always nice to win a series on the road against a top-five opponent. But it is just a little better when it’s against UT.
This Week
Tech takes on OU in a strange non-conference matchup in Amarillo on Tuesday of this week at 6:00 p.m. and then takes on Illinois-Chicago in a four game series this coming weekend.
Follow Along
Be sure to follow @vivathematadors for all of your Texas Tech sports updates, and @JackBellSports for your baseball analysis as the postseason approaches.