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Texas Tech baseball: Red Raiders serve notice with sweep at Florida State

By Matthew Conner

TALLAHASSEE, FL - FEBRUARY 15: A general view from the stands of the Florida State Seminoles and the Maine Black Bears during the game at Dick Howser Stadium on the campus of Florida State University on February 15, 2019 in Tallahassee, Florida. The 11th Ranked Florida State defeated the Maine Black Bears on Opening Day in a no-hitter 11 to 0. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - FEBRUARY 15: A general view from the stands of the Florida State Seminoles and the Maine Black Bears during the game at Dick Howser Stadium on the campus of Florida State University on February 15, 2019 in Tallahassee, Florida. The 11th Ranked Florida State defeated the Maine Black Bears on Opening Day in a no-hitter 11 to 0. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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CORAL GABLES, FL – JUNE 2: Head coach Tim Tadlock #6 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
CORAL GABLES, FL – JUNE 2: Head coach Tim Tadlock #6 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

By sweeping a two-game set at Florida State, the Texas Tech baseball team served notice to the nation that it is one of the nation’s best teams.

The Texas Tech baseball team will ultimately be judged by whether or not this season ends in Omaha and what happens should Tim Tadlock guide his program to its fifth College World Series appearance in the last seven years.  And after sweeping two games on the road against No. 14 Florida State over the weekend, there’s reason to believe that the Red Raiders are the best team in the nation.

Taking a pair of one-run games over the Seminoles after beating Florida Atlantic 7-1 on Friday afternoon in Tallahassee, Tech is now 11-1 on the year.  And the two most recent of those wins were the most exciting of the year.

In Saturday’s opener with the Noles, a 6-5 win, Tech battled back from a 4-1 deficit and forced extra innings when Dru Baker launched a solo homer to right field to tie the game at 5-5 with Tech down to its final two outs.  In the 11th inning, the Red Raiders scored the winning run when Dillon Carter scored from first after Dylan Neuse reached base on an infield single, a play that also saw the Seminoles throw the ball down the right-field line allowing the speedy Carter to cross home.

In the bottom of the frame, John McMillon pitched his second of two scoreless innings on the evening to pick up the win.  He struck out seven of the eight batters he retired in the game.

Sunday, Tech again fell behind before rallying for a 4-3 win, this time after jumping out to a 2-0 lead after a Cole Stillwell homer and a Cal Conley RBI fielder’s choice which allowed Cody Masters to score in the top of the second inning.  The home team pulled ahead with a three-run homer in the fifth but that would be all the Seminoles would muster on the afternoon.

A solo shot by Conley would tie the game in the 7th and a Masters sacrifice fly would bring home Brian Klein for the winning run in the 8th.  Andrew Divine closed out the game by picking up the save sending the Red Raiders home with a sweep that will pay huge dividends when postseason seeds are handed out.

It was an important early-season test for this young Red Raider team and Tim Tadlock’s boys played gutsy and relentless baseball in one of the more difficult road environments in the game.  Here are some takeaways from this key early-season showdown with a team that also expects to be back in Omaha this summer.

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