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Texas Tech baseball: Offense erupts late in victory over UCONN

By Matthew Conner

STILLWATER, OK - SEPTEMBER 25: The Texas Tech Red Raiders flag flies outside the stadium before the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys September 25, 2014 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys defeated the Red Raiders 45-35. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
STILLWATER, OK - SEPTEMBER 25: The Texas Tech Red Raiders flag flies outside the stadium before the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys September 25, 2014 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys defeated the Red Raiders 45-35. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
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In Saturday’s 10-3 win over UCONN, the Texas Tech baseball team finally saw its offense put up a big inning late in the ballgame.

When playing at Dan law Field, the Texas Tech baseball team is known for coming up with huge innings at the plate.  But in recent games, Tim Tadlock’s team has had to scratch and claw for every run.  And it looked again as if that was going to be the case on Saturday against UCONN before a big inning came around late in a 10-3 win.

Entering the day, Tech had scored five runs or fewer in four-straight games.  And though all four games went the way of the good guys, each was up for grabs late and two required the Red Raiders to make near-miraculous defensive plays to hang on.

That appeared to be the formula Tech was going to have to follow again on Saturday.  After plating four runs in the first two innings, Tech was held off the board for the next five frames allowing the Huskies to creep back into the game.  And when the Red Raiders’ turn to hit in the 8th came around, they were protecting a 4-3 lead.

But then, one of those famous Dan Law Field innings popped up.  And it started with a bang.

Tech’s leadoff hitter in the inning, Cody Masters, got the party going with a solo homer to right-center field on a 2-0 count.  The big fly, which hit the video board beyond the outfield wall, was Masters’ second round-tripper of the season.

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Then, following a Nate Rombach sacrifice fly that plated Parker Kelly, Dylan Neuse and Dru Baker would both score on a play that saw the UCONN catcher throw the ball down the left-field line while trying to throw out Baker as he attempted to steal third base.  The throw went so far down the line that the speedy Neuse was able to score all the way from first base.

Shortstop Cal Conley, would later score on a balk after walking to get on base and moving up two bases on wild pitches.  Finally, the scoring would conclude with a Braxton Fulford double to score Kurt Wilson.

Though the inning was as much about UCONN miscues as it was Red Raider dominance, it was nice to see the offense finally wreak some havoc on the opposition after being held relatively in check for four games.

On the mound, Tech’s new ace, Patrick Monteverde picked up his third win of the year.  But this outing wasn’t nearly as flawless as his previous three were.

Entering the day, the lefty had not allowed a run in three starts (18 innings in total).  However, the Huskies got to him for three runs (two earned) in five innings.  It was an afternoon in which Monteverde had to battle through two errors from his defense, which didn’t make his day any easier.  In fact, Tech would commit four errors on the afternoon.

But when you can create a big inning as the Red Raiders did in the 8th, it can cover up a ton of flaws.  And thankfully, Tech was able to finally put a big frame on the scoreboard late against the Huskies, even if most of the damage UCONN endured was self-inflicted.

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