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Texas Tech Baseball Drilled By Duke; Heads To Must-Win Game 3

By Matthew Conner

CINCINNATI, OH - JUNE 5: Gloves of the Pittsburgh Pirates sit in the dugout before the start of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on June 5, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Tyler Barrick/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - JUNE 5: Gloves of the Pittsburgh Pirates sit in the dugout before the start of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on June 5, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Tyler Barrick/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech baseball team was blown out by Duke 11-2 in game two of the Lubbock Super Regional Sunday night setting up a winner-take-all game three today.

In game two of the Lubbock Super Regional, the Duke Blue Devils flipped the script on the Texas Tech baseball team.  After a rain delay over over an hour, the Duke lineup exploded for ten runs looking like it, not the Red Raider offense, was the most potent in the nation.

The Blue Devil offense, which has averaged 6.6 runs per game on the season battered Texas Tech’s best starter, Caleb Kilian for six runs in just four innings of work.  It was the second-shortest outing of the season for the sophomore who entered the game with an ERA of 2.39.

The trouble started in the fourth inning when Duke broke open a scoreless game with four runs.  In that inning, five of the first six Duke hitters recorded base hits with three being of the extra-base variety.

Unfortunately, the Texas Tech bullpen was unable to stop the barrage.  In the fifth inning, Duke tacked on six more runs quickly putting to rest any hope of a Texas Tech comeback.

However, a comeback would have required the Texas Tech bats to live up to their billing as perhaps the most potent lineup in the nation.  That did not happen against Duke starter Graeme Stinson.

The big lefty, who is normally a stalwart of the Duke bullpen, delivered a fantastic performance in a must-win spot start.  Stinson used his high 90’s fastball and wipeout slider to hold the Red Raiders scoreless over seven innings striking out six.

Stinson’s effort was all-the-more impressive considering Texas Tech had averaged over ten runs per game at home this season.  The only trouble Stinson faced came in the top of the fourth when Tech first baseman Cam Warren grounded into a inning-ending double-play with runners at the corner.  That would be Texas Tech’s best and only threat on the night before Duke erupted for ten runs in the next two innings.

Next: Texas Tech Beats Duke In Game 1 Of Super

Now, the Red Raiders are faced with a winner-take-all game three this afternoon with a trip to the College World Series on the line.  The good news for Texas Tech baseball fans is that the Red Raiders have lost just six home games all year and on only one occasion did the Raiders drop consecutive games at Rip Griffin Park.

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