West Virginia Drops Opener to Texas Tech

Morgantown, WV - The Texas Tech Red Raiders (35-16, 10-9) pitching staff combined to strike out 14 West Virginia batters to knock off the No. 11 Mountaineers (37-13, 13-6) Friday evening 5-2.

West Virginia grabbed the early 2-0 advantage in the second when Dayne Leonard received a one-out walk, followed by a double from Caleb McNeely to place runners at second and third before freshman Ellis Garcia drove a two-RBI double into the gap of left-centerfield.

Texas Tech responded in the top of the third after Ty Coleman hit a leadoff single, then with two outs, Nolan Hester ripped a double into left centerfield, scoring Coleman and cutting the deficit to one, 2-1.

Kevin Bazzell tied the game in the fourth with a leadoff home run and the Red Raiders claimed the lead after placing runners at second and third, Montgomery put the ball in play for a sacrifice RBI and the 3-2 Texas Tech advantage.

West Virginia sophomore Aidan Major came in relief for the starter Ben Hampton to begin the sixth.

In the top of the ninth, Major allowed one hit in three innings of work going into the final frame but with one out, beaned Dillon Carter on the 2-2 pitch, then Ty Coleman singled before Austin Greene doubled for a pair of assurance runs and extending the lead 5-2.

The Mountaineers brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth but were unable to bring any runners across as West Virginia

West Virginia will look to even the series Saturday afternoon in game tow with the first pitch set for 4:00 p.m. EST and streaming on ESPN+.

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