WVU Baseball Loses 6-2 to Texas Tech to Open Big 12 Tournament

WVU Baseball lost their opening game of the 2023 Big 12 Tournament 6-2 to Texas Tech, pushing them to the brink of elimination.

Texas Tech built a big lead early, and the Mountaineers couldn’t come back from the deficit as they struggled to get hits in key moments. The loss marked the fourth in a row for West Virginia, their worst stretch of the season by a significant margin.

A pair of walks and a double steal put two runners in scoring position for West Virginia in the first inning, but they couldn’t scrape a run across. 

Red Raiders Jump Ahead

Mountaineers’ pitcher David Hagaman—making his first career start as head coach Randy Mazey opted for a bullpen game to preserve his top starters for later in the tournament—allowed two runs in the second on an opposite-field slap single and a bases-loaded walk. 

Red Raiders’ first baseman Gavin Kash homered in the third to push the lead to 3-0.

Two singles gave Texas Tech runners at the corners with no outs in the fourth, and a third single made it 4-0.

West Virginia started to inch back in the bottom of the frame, when right fielder Caleb McNeely hit a two-strike, two-out moonshot to left-center. McNeely’s home run marked the Mountaineers’ lone extra base hit on the day.

McNasty hits one McOutta here!@Caleb_McNeely gets WVU on the board with a solo shot!#HailWV pic.twitter.com/lUwyivzrZJ

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) May 25, 2023

Red Raider second baseman Austin Green hit a full count homer to open the fifth, retaking a four run lead.

A walk and a hit batter from Mountaineers’ pitcher Aidan Major put two on with no outs in the sixth. A bunt moved the runners over, and a balk made it 6-1.

McNeely and designated hitter Logan Sauve singled to put two runners in scoring position with the top of the order up in the seventh. A Tevin Tucker sacrifice fly plated another run, but the rally died there.

The Red Raiders loaded the bases in the ninth, but West Virginia managed to escape without allowing any runs to keep the comeback chance alive, but their offense went down in order to end the game.

WVU Baseball advances to play Oklahoma State at 1:30pm Thursday. They’ll need to win to avoid going home in the double elimination tournament.