Texas Tech Baseball Headed Back To College World Series

The Texas Tech baseball team is headed to the College World Series after defeating Duke 6-2 in game three of the Lubbock Super Regional.

For the third time since 2014, Tim Tadlock and the Texas Tech baseball program is headed to the College World Series. The Red Raiders punched their ticket to Omaha Monday with a 6-2 win over Duke in the Super Regional.

The Texas Tech pitching staff was the story as it rebounded from a game in which it allowed eleven runs to Duke on Sunday to hold the Blue Devils in check all afternoon. Starter Davis Martin was solid giving Tech three innings of one-run baseball while striking out four.

Three relievers would then combine for six innings of one-run ball, continually working out of jams with runners on base. Ty Harpeanu (7-2) got the win allowing just one run on four hits.

But the game’s signature moment came via the right arm of sophomore John McMillon. After Jose Quezada walked the only hitter he faced on four pitches to begin the seventh, McMillon, the two-way player with a power arm who often struggles with command, entered with Tech leading 3-2 and the heart of the Duke order due up.

The Jasper, Texas native induced a double-play from Griffin Conine and struck out Joey Loperfido to end the frame. Then, in the eighth inning, McMillon got out of another jam when he induced a fly out to center from Chris Proctor on a 3-2 count with runners at the corners to preserve a 4-2 lead.

In the ninth, senior Dylan Dusek, who started game one of the Super Regional but left after just an inning due to a blister on his finger, closed the door fielding a comebacker to send Texas Tech to the World Series.

And as was the case in the first game of the series, the Texas Tech bats put together just enough offense against the Duke pitching staff. Duke freshman starter Bryce Jarvis, who is normally a reliever, matched Martin with three innings of one-run ball allowing just a solo homer to Gabe Holt in the third inning.

But in the fourth, Tech struck again against the vaunted Blue Devil bullpen. Michael Davis drove a liner over the right field wall for a two-run shot to give Texas Tech the lead for good.

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A Brian Klein solo shot in the seventh and eighth inning RBI singles from Holt and Josh Jung gave the Red Raiders valuable insurance runs. Throughout the Super Regional, the Texas Tech offense was challenged by the talented Duke pitching staff and never erupted as has so often been the case at home (where Tech averaged over 10 runs per game this year). Still, the Red Raider lineup stayed patient, worked the count and did what the games called for.

Now, the Red Raiders head to Omaha, Nebraska for the third time in the Tadlock era. Unfortunately, Tech is just 1-4 in its previous two trips to the game’s marquee event, something that the even-keeled head coach certainly wants to see improved upon.

But those concerns will be for another day. For right now, Texas Tech baseball fans are once again enjoying a Super Regional win, which is something many people used to say would never be possible for the program.

Next: Texas Tech Drops Game Two To Duke

And considering that just three seasons ago, the Red Raiders had a losing record, it is easy to see why the doubters felt that way. But now, the Red Raiders are one of the elite teams in the nation and this year, they have much bigger goals in mind than just showing up in Omaha.

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