Texas Tech Red Raiders news: Bad weekend for baseball, basketball loses recruit

Here is your Texas Tech news roundup for Monday, April 29, 2024.

Texas Tech baseball swept by Kansas

With the Texas Tech baseball team squarely on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament, a weekend sweep at the hands of Kansas is not what Tim Tadlock's squad needed but that's exactly what happened in Lawrence. What made that outcome all the more maddening is that the Red Raiders actually held a lead in all three games of the series.

Friday, Tech had a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. That was thanks to 5.1 strong innings by starter Ryan Free who allowed only one earned run despite giving up seven hits. His defense helped him out by turning a program-record six double plays. However, KU would score single runs in each of its last three at-bats to pull off the 4-3 comeback win.

In Saturday's 11-2 loss, the story was a scary moment for catcher Dylan Maxcey who was stretchered off of the field after being hit in the head by a pitch. He was later released from the hospital and rejoined his teammates for Sunday's game.

The finale of the series saw Tech jump out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning only to see KU answer with one in the bottom of the frame and five more in the bottom of the fourth. Eventually, the Red Raiders would be unable to mount any semblance of a comeback as they fell 7-3.

At 12-12 now in Big 12 play, the Red Raiders need conference wins to help bolster their tournament resume. However, the final two Big 12 series of the year are against Oklahoma (in Lubbock) and Oklahoma State (in Stillwater), the two top teams in the conference standings.

Texas Tech loses basketball recruiting battle to Kentucky

Over the weekend, Wake Forest transfer forward Andrew Carr visited Lubbock. However, on Sunday, he announced his intention to commit to Kentucky, which he visited after being on the Tech campus.

The 6-foot-9 forward scored 13.9 points, grabbed 6.8 rebounds, and dished out 1.5 assists per game this past season. Now, the Red Raiders may turn their full attention to recruiting Great Osobor a power forward who was the Mountain West Player of the Year this season at Utah State.

Texas Tech softball takes series at Houston

Finally, some good news. The Texas Tech softball team picked up a nice Big 12 series win this weekend by taking two of three games from Houston on the road.

Friday, Demi Elder smashed two of Texas Tech's four homers in a 7-6 win. Maddy Wright picked up her 10th win tossing 129 pitches and striking out five.

Saturday saw the Red Raiders shut out 8-0 in six innings. In the loss, Tech managed to register only one hit.

Sunday, Arianna Villa went 4-4 and Wright picked up her 11th win in a 5-2 Red Raider triumph. The Red Raiders picked up 10 hits on the day.

Tech now sits at 28-17 on the season and 8-13 in Big 12 play. The softball team returns to action this weekend with a three-game set at home against Texas. It is the final regular-season series of the year.