No. 5 Red Raiders Beat Sooners in Season Finale: Big 12 Tournament Next
The Red Raiders sent seniors home happy on Saturday night with a 10-2 win in the series finale against the Oklahoma Sooners at Rip Griffin Park.
Saturday night's win also served as the Big 12 season finale as the seedings are now set for the Big 12 tournament which will begin on May 25 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, with No. 2 seed Tech facing No. 7 seed Kansas State.
Coach Tim Tadlock said the win was big leading into the tournament, "Today's win was big, you never want to get swept. When you line up to play, you play to win. Baseball is an interesting game. Sometimes the more you focus on that, the harder it is. You've really got to stick to simpler thoughts and pitch to pitch and really have good awareness and be in the moment. I think Oklahoma really helped us with that. I think good teams make good teams better."
Seniors Easton Murrell, Kurt Wilson, and Parker Kelly each played their hearts out on their big night as Murrell finished 2-for-3 with a double, Wilson went 2-for-5 with a home run, and Kelly went 2-for 3 with a home run and a double.
Chase Hampton set the tone for the win in his 11th start of the season. He worked six strong innings matching his career-high of nine strikeouts and allowing just one walk.
The Sooners struck first offensively for the third straight night with two runs in the first inning, both charged to Hampton, but the Red Raiders answered with five runs in the home half.
The Oklahoma bats were quiet the rest of the game thanks to Hampton, Mason Molina, and Austin Becker. Molina pitched two scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh while Becker handled the eighth.
Offensively, the Red Raiders were rolling in the first with six batters reaching base. Ty Coleman got the first RBI by plating Murrell who reached on a leadoff walk. Hudson White singled with the bases loaded scoring two runs and Kelly doubled to plate two more runs for a 5-2 Tech lead.
John Moore, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Tech scored three more in the fourth led by Jace Jung's 13th homer of the season, a two-run blast after Cole Stillwell brought home Dillon Carter on a sac-fly.
Wilson and Kelly added two more solo home runs in the seventh to seal the game.
Tadlock was quite proud of his seniors on senior night, "Those guys have been really good players, they're going to continue to be really good players. I'm awfully proud of them. Don't kid yourself, if you think about it, you go up to the plate today and think to yourself that this could be your last at-bat in this ballpark. Pretty neat.
"These guys have been here a while. You think of 2020, you've got Cody Masters, Parker Kelly, Kurt Wilson and it giving them an extra year, these guys have been around a while. They've played with some really good baseball players and played on some really good teams. They have definitely seen firsthand what it is supposed to look like. These guys are the ones that can impact you on and off the field. That's probably one of the best compliments you can give them, they're just great teammates."
Next up for the Red Raiders is the Big 12 tournament which kicks off May 25 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, as Tech faces the No. 7 seed Kansas State Wildcats.
You can follow Timm Hamm on Twitter at @IndyCarTim
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