Texas Tech baseball sweeps 3-game series vs. Houston

To say that the wind was a factor in the Texas Tech baseball team's weekend series with Houston would be putting it mildly. Fortunately, it was the home team that took advantage of those conditions more effectively in a three-game sweep of the Cougars.

Friday, the Red Raiders got on the board early with three runs in the bottom of the first. However, the visitors would plate seven unanswered runs to take a four-run lead by the top of the fourth.

Fortunately, the Red Raider bats stayed. hot. Tech would get two in the fourth, four in the fifth, and three in the seventh on the way to a 12-9 win.

At the plate, Kevin Bazzell went 3-4 with three RBI. Meanwhile, Gavin Kash moved back to the leadoff spot and went 3-5 with an RBI and three runs scored. In all, Tech racked up 16 hits.

On the mound, Josh Sanders was the star of the night. In a game that saw Ryan Free and Jacob Rogers each give up four earned runs, Sanders tossed the final three innings giving up no runs or hits while striking out three over the course of just 31 pitches to earn the win.

Saturday, another slugfest ensued with the Red Raiders coming out on top 15-12. This time, Damian Bravo was the hero at the plate with four hits and four runs driven in. Tech also got a grand slam from TJ Pompey as part of a seven-run third inning to answer a two-run Houston salvo in the top of the second.

Tech would then plate five more runs in the fourth before the visitors would score four runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Fortunately, Tech would end the game with two runs in the bottom of the sixth and one in the eighth to give the team enough cushion to withstand a two-run Houston rally in the top of the ninth.

Relief pitcher Parker Hutyra pitched 2.2 innings allowing no runs and only two hits while striking out three to get the win. Kyle Robinson started but struggled with the wind giving up six runs on eight hits over 4.2 innings. However, only one of those runs was earned.

Sunday, Tech got out the brooms as they swept their first Big 12 series since 2022. Kash had a grand slam of his own in the third inning as part of a seven-run outburst to put the Red Raiders on top. Tech would then score three more in the fourth and one in the fifth.

On the hill, Sanders and Hutyra allowed only one hit in 2.1 combined innings to help settle things down after the Cougars tried to mount another rally. Sanders was awarded the win after tossing 1.1 innings of perfect baseball.

Coming after a mid-week sweep of Stanford, this sweep was much-needed because the schedule soon will pick up in difficulty. After a Tuesday game at Abilene Christian, Tech then travels to Fort Worth for three games with a TCU team that has disappointed this year.

The Frogs were picked atop the Big 12 preseason baseball poll but are currently just 5-10 in conference play. Still, getting wins in Fort Worth has always proven tough for the Red Raiders.

After that, Tech continues to head further east to face Arkansas for a pair of mid-week road games. The Hogs are currently No. 1 in the national polls and have a sparkling record of 27-3. That includes a mark of 11-1 in the rugged SEC.

With the next six games being played away from Dan Law Field, it was imperative that Tech take care of business against Houston. That's exactly what the Red Raiders did as they played the wind like a fiddle all weekend to potentially help get the season back on track.