By Joey Barrett
The 23rd ranked Texas Longhorns headed up to Lubbock for one last Big 12 series against the 16th ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders. As in previous seasons, this weekend displayed a lot of offense fireworks, so here’s how everything all went down at Dan Law Field.
Game 1 (Friday): Longhorns 22 Red Raiders 8
The Longhorn offense erupted on Friday night to open up the series in explosive fashion, routing the Red Raiders 22-8.
In the first inning, Texas hit the ground running and scored four total runs on a Porter Brown RBI single and a three-run homer by Max Belyeu. Texas Tech later tied things up by scoring three in the second (where they took advantage of a few Longhorn pitching and hitting miscues) and a run in the third (from a solo home run by sophomore outfielder Damian Bravo).
From there, it was all Longhorns as they proceeded to put up fourteen runs in the fourth (seven runs), fifth (five), and sixth (two) innings. Among the highlights during this scoring barrage were a three-run homer by Brown, a Kimble Schuessler two-run double (both in the fourth), and a fifth inning grand slam by Rylan Galvan. Peyton Powell had an RBI single in the fourth and Jared Thomas recorded a double in the fifth that drove in Will Gasparino. Brown and Galvan both drove in runs via walks in the sixth.
While the Longhorns were scoring almost at free will, Texas Tech also tallied a pair of solo home runs in the fifth and eighth innings by senior outfielder Austin Green and sophomore shortstop Will Burns, respectively, that made it 18-6 Texas after eight.
Texas then added on four more insurance runs in the top of the ninth on a Gasparino grand slam, the first home run in his young collegiate career, increasing the Longhorn lead to 22-6. The Red Raiders kept fighting in the bottom half, as freshman catcher Davis Rivers drove in two runs on a double before the game ended one batter later, giving the Longhorns the 22-8 victory.
At the plate, every hitter in the Longhorn lineup recorded a hit on the night, with Gasparino leading the way with five and Powell tallying four. Brown and Galvan each drove in five runs, while Gasparino had four RBIs on the night. Freshman third baseman Garet Boehm was the sole Red Raider batter with two hits, while six hitters recorded a hit apiece as well. Ace Whitehead got the win in relief for Texas, while starter junior right hander Kyle Robinson got the loss for Texas Tech.
Game 2 (Saturday): Red Raiders 7 Longhorns 2
After an otherwise disappointing start to the series the night before, the Red Raiders came back and evened the series up on Saturday with an excellent outing on the mound by freshman righthander Mac Heuer in a 7-2 triumph over the Longhorns.
Texas got on the board first in the top of the second on a solo homer by Belyeu. Texas Tech then returned the favor in the bottom half by way of an RBI single by sophomore catcher Dylan Maxcey and a 2-run double by junior first baseman Gavin Kash, giving the Red Raiders a 3-1 lead after two innings.
The Longhorns cut into the deficit in the third on Brown’s second home run of the weekend, an opposite field solo shot that made it a 3-2 ballgame. From there, it was all Texas Tech, in particular Maxcey, who hit a two-run blast in the fourth, and later drove in two runs in the seventh on an infield single-turned-throwing error to make it 7-2 Red Raiders. That ultimately became the final score after neither team scored the last two innings.
For Texas Tech, Kash had four hits on the afternoon and Maxcey had three. Landon Stripling had a pair of hits while Bravo, junior outfielder Owen Washburn, freshman shortstop TJ Pompey, and sophomore second baseman Tracer Lopez each had a hit. For the Longhorns, Powell, Schuessler, and Gasparino had a hit a apiece, along with Belyeu and Brown’s aforementioned home runs.
Heuer started and got the win for the Red Raiders, going six innings and giving up only three runs and striking out eight. Cody Howard got the loss for Texas while Max Grubbs threw 4.1 innings in relief.
Game 3 (Sunday): Longhorns 9 Red Raiders 7
The Longhorns did not let an early Red Raider rally get the best of them in a come-from-behind 9-7 victory on Sunday that gave them the final series win as Big 12 rivals.
Texas Tech started the game off with a two-run homer by junior third baseman Cade McGee and an RBI single by Stripling to make it 3-0 Red Raiders. Texas then cut into the deficit in the top of the second with a two-run double by Belyeu, while Texas Tech returned the favor in the bottom of the second with a home run by Kash, bringing the score to 4-2 Red Raiders.
The fourth inning continued on with the weekend-long home run hitting trend, as Belyeu hit his third of the weekend for the Longhorns, while Pompey and Lopez both hit solo shots to make it a 6-3 ballgame. During the fourth, Gasparino shoved Kash while trying to beat out the throw to first, which led to a brief exchange between the two teams.
As it turned out, that might’ve sparked a fire in the Texas offense, as the Longhorns then spent the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings going on a tear to take a 9-6 lead. In the fifth, Powell homered and later drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth on a double that brought in Thomas. O’Dowd and Thomas set up Powell’s go-ahead hit with a double and single, respectively, that both drove in runs. O’Dowd and Powell both recorded RBI sac flies in the seventh to add on to the Longhorns’ lead.
After a Red Raider rally in the bottom of the seventh brought in a run via a sac fly by Pompey, Gage Boehm finished his four-inning save by posting two shutout frames in the eighth and ninth to give Texas the 9-7 victory.
The Longhorns tallied 15 hits on the day and were led by Belyeu with four hits. Thomas had three hits while Powell, Brown, and Schuessler each had two. Interestingly enough, the Red Raiders had nine total hits with every batter in the lineup each recording one hit.
Easton Tumis got the win in relief for Texas, while junior right hander Trendan Parish took the loss for Texas Tech. The win puts the Longhorns at 8-6 on the season, 2-1 in early Big 12 play, while the loss drops the Red Raiders to 11-4 and 1-2 conference.
What’s Next?
Texas begins a 10-game homestand at UFCU Disch-Falk Field when they play Incarnate Word on Tuesday night, before facing the Washington Huskies for a weekend non-conference series starting Friday night. Texas Tech will play New Mexico State in a two-game set at Dan Law Field on Tuesday and Wednesday, before heading off to Waco and continuing Big 12 play against the Baylor Bears.
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