Texas Tech baseball picks up dramatic win over Texas in Big 12 Tournament

The 2024 Texas Tech baseball season hasn't gone as expected. But for at least one night in the Big 12 Tournament, the Red Raiders provided fans with a chance to celebrate.

Tied 4-4 with No. 3 seed Texas, third baseman Cade McGee launched a two-run ninth-inning homer off of the left field foul pole to propel his Red Raider squad to a 6-4 win. The victory snapped an 8-game Big 12 losing streak for Tech and sent Tim Tadlock's team into the winner's bracket where they will face No. 2 seed Oklahoma State on Wednesday.

McGee was 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored on the night. It was the continuation of a hot streak for the Arizona native who has homered in his last three games to give him 15 long balls for the season.

Homers were a key for the Red Raiders on Tuesday night. Trailing 1-0 in the top of the second, Tech got a run off of a big fly from Drew Woodcox to knot the game.

Then, down 4-1 in the top of the fourth, a three-run bomb by Austin Green again evened the score. The game would remain deadlocked until the top of the ninth when the Red Raiders got the benefit of McGee's heroics.

On the mound, there were plenty of Red Raiders who also stepped up. Kyle Robinson turned in a respectable start tossing 5.1 innings and allowing four runs. He struck out six and walked four over the course of 105 pitches to keep his team in the game.

Then, three Texas Tech relievers, Brendan Lysik, Jacob Rogers, and Josh Sanders combined to toss 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. Between them, they gave up only two hits. Sanders picked up the win after tossing the final two frames to move to 5-1 on the season.

Despite the win, the Red Raiders still likely need to win the Big 12 Tournament if they want to reach the NCAA Tournament next week. Taking down Oklahoma State on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM central would be a huge boost to those hopes but given that the Cowboys are 2-0 against Tech this year, that's something that won't be easy.

Still, getting past Texas in the opener was the perfect way to start off the week in Arlington, Texas. It gives a team that has struggled down the stretch something to feel good about and who knows, maybe it will be the start of a Cinderella run for a team that could use a little magic this year.