Texas Tech baseball uses 6-run 6th to rally past Kentucky

The Texas Tech baseball team moved to 3-1 on the season Friday with a 7-4 win over Kentucky in game one of a three-game series.

In all four of the Texas Tech baseball team’s games this season, the Red Raiders have fallen into an early hole. Fortunately, in three of those games, the offense has been able to rally as was the case in Friday’s 7-4 win over Kentucky in Lubbock.

The Wildcats plated the first two runs of the game in the top of the second off of Red Raider starter Erikson Lanning. However, both runs were unearned as both scored on an error by second baseman Brian Klein. This is a continuation of a disturbing early-season trend of defensive lapses leading to unearned runs given up by Tim Tadlock’s team.

In fact, Lanning’s day would have looked much better had his defense not let him down. In five innings of work, he gave up three runs on four hits but all three of those runs were earned. He was in command of his pitches striking out four hitters and walking only one while inducing six ground-outs.

After Tech plated one run in the bottom of the third on a Dru Baker single, Kentucky added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings with the first of those also being unearned. But in the bottom of the sixth, the lethal Texas Tech lineup came alive in a big way.

Tech plated a half-dozen runs in the inning as the Red Raider sent ten men to the plate. DH Doug Facendo got the scoring started with an RBI single and outfielder Dylan Neuse drove home another run with a double down the LF line.

But the game-breaking at-bat came from senior first baseman Cam Warren who had a bases-clearing double to plate three runs. Catcher Braxton Fulford then singled to bring Warren home for Tech’s sixth run of the frame.

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For Fulford, it was a continuation of a hot offensive start. After struggling at the plate with a .193 average last year as a true freshman, the Lubbock native is hitting .566 with two homers and four RBI in three games this year providing a spark at the bottom of the lineup.

On the mound, four Tech hurlers combined for four innings of one-run baseball. Junior Connor Queen was the good fortune winner after tossing only 1/3 of an inning to close out the sixth to become the pitcher of record.

Behind him, Dave Haveman and Floyd Taylor combined for three innings of scoreless relief to shut the door. That duo allowed only one baserunner as the Red Raider bullpen continues to be the strength of the pitching staff.

What is been impressive thus far is the fact that the Red Raiders continue to show a fight that has become ingrained in the program during the Tadlock era. Tech has had to rally from multiple-run deficits in all three of its victories thus far, including an eight-run comeback after the first half-inning in the second game of the season last Saturday against Oregon.

At some point, Tech must figure out how to play better in the early innings because having to constantly rally is taxing not only on a team’s bullpen but also on its psyche. Fortunately, the nice start from Lanning is an encouraging sign for a starting rotation that has struggled thus far.

Saturday, Tech sends its ace Caleb Killian to the mound looking to rebound after a rough start in the season opener. In just 3.1 innings of work against Oregon, the junior gave up six runs (all earned) as eight of the 16 hitters he faced reached base.

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Tech and Kentucky will be back in action today at 2 p.m. Hopefully this will be the game in which the Red Raiders finally decide to show up when the game starts.

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