Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Texas
Hays Wins No. 600 As Tech Crushes Texas 9-0
March 10, 2002 | Baseball
March 10, 2002
LUBBOCK, Texas - Nick Blankenship hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning to help lift the Texas Tech Red Raiders to a 9-0 shutout of No. 14 Texas on Sunday afternoon to claim the series (2-1) win for the sixth consecutive year.
Texas Tech improves to 17-8 on the season and 2-4 in the Big 12 while Texas falls to 16-6 and 2-4 in the league. The Red Raiders have not lost a Sunday game to Texas since April 25, 1992 and has a 7-0 record against the Longhorns since that game. Texas Tech also claimed its sixth regular-season win in six seasons of Big 12 play.
The Red Raiders drew first blood in the game as Texas starter Ray Clark loaded the bases on two hits and a walk. Willie Durazo got an RBI in the next at-bat when he grounded into a double play allowing Joel Buchenauer to score from third.
Texas Tech tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI single by senior catcher Willie Durazo and a bases loaded hit-by-pitch from reliever Alan Bomer that put Tyler Carson on first and scored Durazo.
Senior Nick Blankenship delivered the fatal blow when he hit a grand slam on a 1-2 count to give the Red Raiders a 7-0 lead. The grand slam was Blankenship's second of the season and was his ninth home run of the year. Tech added two more runs in the inning thanks to a triple by shortstop Gera Alvarez, an RBI double by Bryon Smith and an RBI single by Jake Brown.
Junior Nathan Fouts, despite walking five batters in the first three innings, picked up the win after scattering just four hits in 5 1/3 innings and improved to 5-1 on the season. Senior Steve Rowe picked up his second save of the season when he replaced Fouts with one out in the sixth. Rowe gave up just three hits and struckout five batters in 3 2/3 innings of work. Texas starter Ray Clark suffered the loss for Texas and fell to 1-2.
