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Texas Tech baseball: Red Raiders take two of three games in Round Rock

By Matthew Conner

CORAL GABLES, FL - JUNE 1: Head coach Tim Tadlock #6 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders talks to the umpires after a bench clearing altercation with the Miami Hurricanes during the Coral Gables Regional at the NCAA Baseball Tournament on June 1, 2014 at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
CORAL GABLES, FL - JUNE 1: Head coach Tim Tadlock #6 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders talks to the umpires after a bench clearing altercation with the Miami Hurricanes during the Coral Gables Regional at the NCAA Baseball Tournament on June 1, 2014 at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /
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Brian Klein was not a factor until his final at-bat of the weekend

Maybe the most encouraging facet of Tech’s 6-1 start (at least at the plate) is that Tech is winning without having to rely on a ton of production from Brian Klein.  That was the case in Round Rock where the senior preseason All-American was just 1-13 with 1 RBI.

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Of course, that lone RBI was Sunday night’s game-winner.   With men on first and second and two out in the bottom of the 10th, the left-handed hit swatted a ball through the right side of the infield on the first pitch of his plate appearance to drive home Dru Baker and end the game.

That had to feel great for a player who had struck out five times on the weekend.  For the year, he’s hitting just .280 with four RBI and four runs scored.  He’s had just two extra-base hits, a double and a homer.

Those aren’t dreadful numbers through seven games by any means.  But given that he hit .315 with 57 RBI a season ago, we can expect him to catch fire in short order.

What’s been interesting is that Tadlock moved his senior leader around the lineup all weekend.  Klien hit third on Friday, sixth on Saturday, and seventh on Sunday.  Whether that was an attempt to get him going by taking some of the pressure off of his shoulders or just an exercise in trying to find the right mix is unclear.

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But what is clear is that Klein is yet to hit is stroke at the plate in a season that he entered with massive expectations.  We saw a similar start last year form Tech’s star third baseman Josh Jung before he found his groove and there’s no reason to think that Klien won’t soon break out as well. The fact that Tech continues to win games without the most proven hitter on the roster playing at his best is a great sign because when Klein does get hot, this lineup will be even more daunting than it already is.

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