Pitching fails Texas Tech baseball in season-opening loss

The Texas Tech baseball team dropped its season opener to Oregon Friday thanks in large part to struggles on the mound.

The Texas Tech baseball team’s quest for a return trip to Omaha did not get off to the start that most had in mind. Friday, the Red Raiders dropped their season opener 9-4 to Oregon at Rip Griffin Park.

And the area of the game that is the biggest uncertainty about this year’s squad, the pitch staff, did little to inspire tremendous confidence. In all, six hurlers appeared for Tim Tadlock’s team with all but one giving up at least one hit.

Junior Caleb Kilian got the start and gave up six runs in just 3.1 innings of work. After finishing last season with a 3.24 ERA, the 2018 first-team All-Big12 selection is expected to anchor the 2019 rotation but he got off to a rocky start against the Ducks.

After a Brian Klein single in the bottom of the first staked Killian to a 1-0 lead, he gave up three runs in the top of the third. The Ducks did their damage on a single and a pair of doubles to take the air out of the capacity crowd.

In the next frame, an RBI double pushed the Oregon lead to 4-1 and ended Kilian’s day. And when John McMillon allowed the two runners Kilian left on base to score, his final line turned ugly. The Red Raider “ace” gave up 6 runs on 6 hits while walking two batters and striking out none.

Unfortunately, over the final five innings, the Tech bullpen surrendered three more runs allowing the Ducks to keep the Red Raiders at bay. Not that the potent Texas Tech lineup lived up to its billing either.

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Tech left eleven runners on base and struck out five times on an afternoon when the offense failed to rescue a shaky pitching staff. Only two Red Raiders, Cameron Warren and Dylan Neuse, had multi-hit games.

Warren, the senior first baseman from Midwest City, Oklahoma, was the offensive star of the day for the home team. He went 2-4 with a home run and a walk but the rest of his teammates could not follow his lead.

Preseason All-American Josh Jung went 0-5 with a strike out while sophomore Gabe Holt, the Big 12 freshman of the year in 2018, was just 1-4. The top four hitters in the lineup went just 3-18 on the day leaving five men on base.

The loss was just the second opening day loss in eight seasons of the Tadlock era. What’s more, Tech had won 31 of its last 33 home openers illustrating how rare Friday’s loss was.

Fortunately, baseball is a game that gives a team plenty of opportunities to rebound from a disappointing performance. The Red Raiders and Ducks square off again Saturday at 3 p.m.

Tadlock will be looking for a strong start from starter, Bryce Bonnin. The sophomore will be making his Red Raider debut after transferring from Arkansas this offseason. In eleven games as a freshman, the Mont Belvieu, Texas native went 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA appearing mainly out of the bullpen.

The starting rotation is the biggest puzzle Tadlock must solve this season. After losing key pitchers from last year’s College World Series team such as Davis Martin, Ryan Shetter, Dylan Dusek and Ty Harpaneau, there could be plenty of uncertainty on the mound in the first month of the season.

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The question is not the talent but in whether the Red Raider arms can figure out their roles and settle into a routine. Hopefully, that process becomes far smoother for the remainder of the opening series than it was Friday afternoon.

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