Texas Tech Red Raiders Drops Baseball Season Opener to the Oklahoma Sooners
As many Texas Tech Red Raider fans anxiously awaited the beginning of baseball season, Tim Tadlock and his team look to find their way back into being a dominant force in the conference on the diamond.
Opening their season against a familiar foe in the Oklahoma Sooners, it was Ace vs. Ace to start the season with the Red Raiders throwing Jackson Burns to begin their season.
The Red Raiders would see their offense sputter and bullpen woes would increase the lead to too much. They fall to 0-1 on the season after losing 10-3.
Striking Early
After a scoreless first inning, things got dicey for both teams. Burns found himself in a bases loaded situation after issuing two walks and hitting one of the Sooners hitters. With two outs in the inning though, Burns got a ground ball to Coleman Ryan at shortstop for the Red Raiders to get out of the inning without allowing any runs.
The Red Raiders found their spark on offense in the bottom of the second inning. Logan Hughes walked to lead off the inning, and a single by Linkin Garcia put two runners on. A passed ball would move Hughes up to third base with no outs. Matt Quintanar would ground into a fielders choice to get Hughes across the plate for the first run of the game, and the Red Raiders first run of the season.
Tie Game and A Pitching Change
Burns would make it to the top of the fifth inning, still pitching a shutout, but with a steadily increasing pitch count. The Sooners would get to him, and after only one hit through the first four innings, they would start the fifth with back to back singles. A steal would put runners on the corner, and the Red Raiders would get a double play but the Sooners would get across their first run of the game.
Tadlock decided it was time to go to the biggest question mark for the Red Raiders, going to their bullpen for the first time this season and calling on the division two transfer Ryan Free. The Red Raiders would catch a runner trying to advance on a wild pitch for the third out of the inning, but the game would be tied at one a piece heading into the bottom of the fifth.
Bullpen Woes
The Red Raiders knew they would have to answer the questions about their bullpen, just as they have in the past years. That same problem showed in the season opener, with both Free and Parker Hutyra allowing two earned runs each, and both of them coming from home runs. It really got away from the Red Raiders in the top of the ninth as they gave up five runs in the loss.
The offense tried to fight back, scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh and the bottom of the eighth, but the Red Raiders were unable to put a run together to drop their final game of the season. Freshman Linkin Garcia was the offensive standout of the day, going 1-2 with two walks.
The Red Raiders are back in action on Saturday, February 14 at 11 a.m. against the Vanderbilt Commodores.
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JD Andress is an accomplished sports writer and journalist with extensive experience covering a wide range of collegiate sports. JD has provided in-depth coverage of the TCU Horned Frogs and the Texas Longhorns. He looks forward to being part of the coverage of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. His experience spans various sports, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, rifle, equestrian, and others, reflecting his broad interest and commitment to sports journalism.