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Texas Tech Baseball Sweeps No. 14 Oklahoma State In Stillwater

By Matthew Conner

BREWSTER, MA - AUGUST 13: A view of the field from the announcers box during game three of the Cape Cod League Championship Series between the Bourne Braves and the Brewster Whitecaps at Stony Brook Field on August 13, 2017 in Brewster, Massachusetts. The Cape Cod League was founded in 1885 and is the premier summer baseball league for college athletes. Over 1100 of these student athletes have gone on to compete in MLB including Chris Sale, Carlton Fisk, Joe Girardi, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. The chance to see future big league stars up close makes Cape Cod League games a popular activity for the families in each of the 10 towns on the Cape to host a team. Each team is a non-profit organization, relying on labor from volunteers and donations from spectators to run each year. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BREWSTER, MA - AUGUST 13: A view of the field from the announcers box during game three of the Cape Cod League Championship Series between the Bourne Braves and the Brewster Whitecaps at Stony Brook Field on August 13, 2017 in Brewster, Massachusetts. The Cape Cod League was founded in 1885 and is the premier summer baseball league for college athletes. Over 1100 of these student athletes have gone on to compete in MLB including Chris Sale, Carlton Fisk, Joe Girardi, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. The chance to see future big league stars up close makes Cape Cod League games a popular activity for the families in each of the 10 towns on the Cape to host a team. Each team is a non-profit organization, relying on labor from volunteers and donations from spectators to run each year. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech baseball team swept No. 14 Oklahoma State on the road this weekend to end the regular season in style.

What a difference a week-and-a-half makes.  Eleven days after a home loss to Dallas Baptist (the team’s seventh loss in ten games) had fans concerned about the direction of the team heading into the postseason, the Texas Tech baseball team finished the regular season with its most complete series of the year.

Thanks to an impressive team performance at the plate and a shake-up in the pitching rotation, Texas Tech swept No. 14 Oklahoma State on the road.  The sweep propelled Tech to a 38-15 overall record and helped assuage most of the fears that had arisen among the fan base following the worst stretch of Texas Tech baseball in years.

During the nine day break for final exams, the Red Raiders seemed to regain their footing at the plate.  The most prolific offense in the Big 12 lived up to its billing by plating 30 runs and belting six homers in the three-game series.

The return of the lineup’s potency was a welcome sight for a team that had averaged just 5.9 runs per game in its last ten contests after putting up 8.9 per game on the season.  And while the offensive fireworks were exciting, the biggest development could be the shuffling of the pitching rotation.

On Thursday, head coach Tim Tadlock elected to start senior southpaw Dylan Dusek for only the second time this season rather than rolling with the season-long series opening starter, Davis Martin who had struggled in his previous three starts.

Though Dusek only lasted 2.0 innings, he and Ryan Shetter (who has made seven starts on the season) combined to give Texas Tech 8.0 innings allowing just three earned runs.  Jose Quesada pitched a scoreless ninth inning to seal the 9-4 victory.

Friday night, Martin was back on the mound but his struggles continued as he allowed five runs (four earned) in just 2.1 innings.  However, Ty Harpenau was terrific with 4.1 innings of relief giving up just one run.  Caleb Freeman finished the game with a scoreless 2.1 inning outing as Tech prevailed 14-6.

Saturday, Kaleb Killian got the start and went 4.1 innings surrendering 3 runs.  John McMillon got the win in relief with 2.1 overpowering innings of scoreless work in the 7-3 win.

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The key at-bats in Saturday’s game came when OSU slugger Collin Simpson (who has 18 homers on the season) had a chance to tie the game in both the 5th and 7th innings with bases loaded, 2-out at-bats.  In the 5th, McMillon struck him out swinging with high heat and in the 7th, Quezada got him to fly out deep to center.

The sweep of the Cowboys cemented the Red Raiders as the third seed in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament and also caused OSU to drop from first to second in the conference race.  But more importantly, the three wins virtually assured that the Red Raiders will be the host for one of the regional rounds of the the NCAA Tournament for the third season in a row.

Now, the Texas Tech baseball team is once again a serious postseason threat thanks to a deep pitching staff and one of the nation’s best offenses.  Tech’s .310 team batting average is eighth-best in the NCAA and the Red Raiders are 11th in the nation in homers with 65.

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Tadlock and his team now turn to the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday.  Tech will open with rival TCU in Oklahoma City and if it continues to play as well as it did in Stillwater, this postseason could be another memorable ride.

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