No. 7 Red Raiders Manhandle No. 18 Mountaineers

Oklahoma City, OK – The No. 18 West Virginia Mountaineers (36-19) fell 10-3 to the No. 7 Texas Tech Red Raiders (39-16) Saturday afternoon inside Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. WVU led through four innings, but the Red Raider bats caught fire and put a beat down on the Mountaineers.

Mountaineer lead-off hitter Tyler Doanes opened the game with a single to left-centerfield. Brandon White advanced him on a sacrifice bunt, then Marques Inman hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Doanes, to give WVU the early lead.

West Virginia starting pitcher Kade Strowd began his day walking dangerous lead-off hitter Gabe Holt and he immediately stole second to get into scoring position. Brian Klein ripped a one-out RBI single into left-center to tie the game.

Texas Tech starter Mason Montgomery’s day ended early after giving up a single to Ivan Gonzalez and walked the bases loaded in the top of the second inning. Red Raider head coach Tim Tadlock called on Ryan Sublette to take the mound with the bases loaded and one out.

Sublette came in and had a dominating performance. However, West Virginia regained the lead when Tyler Doanes hit a sacrifice line-drive right to right fielder Gabe Holt to score Gonzalez but got Brandon White to ground out to the short to end the inning.

The Red Raiders again tied it up in the bottom of the inning after Strowd walked two and hit Braxton Fulford to load the bases. Holt put the ball in play with a grounder to second for a fielder’s choice RBI.

Sublette sat five consecutive batters before TJ Lake hit a high-deep solo homerun to centerfield, in the fourth, giving WVU back the lead 3-2.

Texas Tech held their bat on the shoulders through four innings and started to be more aggressive earlier in the counts in the fifth and it paid off. Strowd started the inning hitting Max Marusak and took second on a wild pitch.

Brian Klein took advantage of the runner in scoring position and ripped an RBI double down the left field line into the corner to tie the game at three.

Josh Jung followed it up with a two-run shot over the left-centerfield wall that gave the Red Raiders a two-run lead.

West Virginia head coach Randy Mazey went to another one of his starters in Jackson Wolfe to take the mound.

Wolfe gave up a single and a double before Kurt Wilson hit an RBI sacrifice groundball to short that capped off a four-run fifth inning for the Red Raiders and now held a 6-3 lead.

Sublette would go four and a third only giving up two hits and a run. Tadlock went to Dane Haveman and picked up right where he left off closing out the game, keeping the Mountaineers off the board as the Red Raider bats produced four more runs to close the game out.

The Mountaineers will play Texas Tech for the right to play in the Big 12 Championship later on at approximately 7:30 pm est.