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Texas Tech baseball: Kurt Wilson’s homer sends Red Raiders to Omaha

By Matthew Conner

OMAHA, NE - JUNE 22: The Virginia Cavaliers take batting practice before game one of the College World Series Championship Series against the Vanderbilt Commodores on June 22, 2015 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - JUNE 22: The Virginia Cavaliers take batting practice before game one of the College World Series Championship Series against the Vanderbilt Commodores on June 22, 2015 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech baseball team is headed back to the College World Series in Omaha thanks to a clutch 3-run homer by Kurt Wilson.

The Texas Tech baseball team has finally broken the curse of the odd-numbered year.  That’s because for the first time in program history, the Red Raiders are headed to the College World Series in back-to-back seasons thanks to a thrilling 8-6 win over Oklahoma State Sunday in Lubbock.

Having reached the College World Series in 2014, 2016 and 2018, the Red Raiders had failed to qualify for a trip to Omaha in any odd-number year but thanks to a 4-run 8th inning rally against the Cowboys, Tim Tadlock and his team are returning to the game’s biggest stage.

Left fielder Kurt Wilson clubbed a 3-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to erase a one-run deficit and put the Red Raiders on top.  The sophomore was making just his 19th start of the season and had hit just three homers and driven in only 13 runs prior to Sunday’s heroics.

"“I was still trying to get my pitch” Wilson said after the game.  “Tadlock told me before I came up to bat, see the curveball down and get it up in the zone, and he threw me one right where I wanted it.”"

It was the second homer of the inning for the Red Raiders, who entered their half of the eighth down 6-4.  Junior shortstop Josh Jung lifted a solo shot to right center to lead off the inning.  The long ball was the second homer of the game for the No. 8 overall pick in last week’s MLB Draft and one of four in the game for Texas Tech.

And the Red Raiders needed each and every one of those long balls to stave off an Oklahoma State team that belted three of their own.  Thankfully, Wilson helped the Red Raiders fire the final blow in what was a back-and-forth game, just as the first two games of the series were.

The Cowboys struck first with a homer from center fielder Trevor Boone in the second inning off Red Raider starter Bryce Bonnin.  The sophomore gave the Red Raiders 4.1 innings of work allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out six and walking three.

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The Red Raiders answered with two runs in the third on back-to-back triples from Tanner O’Tremba, Braxton Fulford and Dylan Neuse.  And an inning later, Jung’s first homer of the day made it 3-1.

However, the Red Raider bullpen was unable to keep the Cowboys from mounting a charge.  OSU was able to tie the game in the fifth on an RBI double from Christian Funk and a sacrifice fly from catcher Colin Simpson.  Both runs were charged to Bonnin, who was unable to get out of the fifth, but the second was scored with John McMillon on the mound.

The big Red Raider righty picked up the win but he was far from dominant.  In 3.2 innings of work, the junior allowed three runs on two hits while walking two and striking out six.  And two of those hits proved to be rather significant.

In the seventh, right fielder Cade Cabinness took McMillon deep with a solo shot that tied the game at 4-4, two innings after Red Raider catcher Braxton Fulford put his team up with his own solo shot to lead off the fifth.   And in the 8th, Simpson launched a homer to deep right off McMillion to put OSU back on top 5-4.

McMillon then compounded his troubles by walking the next hitter, Andrew Navigato.  And when the OSU shortstop scored on a sacrifice fly to put the Cowboys up 6-4, the Red Raiders’ hopes were bleak.

But that’s when their best player stepped up and helped turn the tide with one swing of the bat.  Hitting a homer in his final plate appearance ever at Rip Griffin Park, Jung breathed life back into a capacity crowd that was beginning to contemplate how dreadful it would be to watch a conference rival celebrate a trip to Omaha on their own field.  And if Jung’s homer brought the crowd back to life, Wilson’s sent them into a state of delirium in what will go down as one of the biggest moments to ever take place on Dan Law Field.

In the ninth though, OSU was able to get the fist two hitters of the inning on base via walks by McMillon and lefty Dane Haveman.  But Haveman was able to get the pesky Hueston Morrill on strikes and induce a pop out in foul territory from Christian Funk before striking out Simpson to slam the door.

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On the heels of a National Title Game appearance in basketball and a National Title in men’s track, Texas Tech will now be the only team to represent the Big 12 at the College World Series.  And thanks to the heroics of Kurt Wilson, the most successful scholastic year in the history of Red Raider athletics will continue for at least a little bit longer.

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