Texas Tech Baseball Beats NM St. In Game One Of Regional

The Texas Tech baseball team knocked off New Mexico State 9-2 to open the Lubbock regional Friday.

Tim Tadlock seemed determined to buck convention as his Texas Tech baseball team opened the NCAA Tournament Lubbock Regional on Friday and at least for one day, it paid off. Having the choice of whether to play at 1 pm or at 6 pm, Tadlock elected to take the first game of the tournament subjecting his team to searing heat that reached over 130 degrees on the playing surface.

What’s more, his team chose to wear black uniform tops in what felt like a statement about the Red Raiders’ mental toughness. It was not the only statement Texas Tech would make en route to a 9-2 win over New Mexico State.

And in a bit of an unusual move, Tadlock also opted to leave his most experienced starting pitchers in the dugout in the crucial opening game of the regional. Despite having Caleb Kilian with his 2.30 ERA and former ace Davis Martin ready to go, the Texas Tech head coach deployed a different plan of attack.

Dylan Dusek, a senior who had made only two previous starts this season was called upon to start. That plan could have backfired when Dusek went just 2.0 innings allowing no runs on two hits before a blister forced the lefty out of the game.

But junior Ryan Shetter would come on to toss five innings in relief allowing just one run to earn the win. And though Tadlock’s plan was unconventional, it was not untested.

Two weeks ago, Tadlock used the same pitching combination of Dusek and Shetter to earn a series-opening win at Oklahoma State. In that game, Dusek again pitched the first two innings before giving way to Shetter, who tossed six frames in relief that night.

It was a calculated risk for certain. Most coaches like to throw their best pitcher in game one of a regional because losing the first game puts teams in an almost impossible position of having to win four games in a row to advance.

That is the fate facing New Mexico State which decided to throw their ace, Jonathan Groff instead of Matthew Perea who threw four innings of no-hit baseball against Texas Tech in early April. In that game, Tech would have to score twice in the final three innings to win 2-1 on a Zach Rheams walk-off homer.

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But against Groff on Friday, Tech jumped out early with three runs in the bottom of the first. A Grant Little RBI double opened the scoring and Rheams belted a two-run homer to give the Red Raiders a lead that would stand for the rest of the day.

On the day, seven Red Raiders collected hits with four notching two a piece. It was the type of performance Texas Tech hoped to put together to begin what is hopefully a deep run through the NCAA Tournament.

Solid pitching, errorless defense and a thunderous offensive attack are the formula for most successful teams. However, that recipe has been missing from the Texas Tech baseball team for the past month as it lost nine of its previous sixteen games prior to Friday.

Maybe Tadlock knew his team needed to do something different to get back on track. Maybe he had dinner reservations at Las Brisas on Friday night.

Next: Breaking Down The Lubbock Regional

Only he knows why he chose to play in the middle of the afternoon during a record heat wave and only he knows why starting a regional with someone other than your top starter on the mound seemed wise. But after Friday, everyone knows that Tadlock’s plan worked to perfection.

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