No. 3 Tech Opens Midweek With 5-2 Win Over UNLV

Tuesday, March 21

Lubbock, Texas

6:30 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

18-4

UNLV

10-12

UNLV

Texas Tech

No. 3 Tech Opens Midweek With 5-2 Win Over UNLV

March 21, 2017 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Highlights Postgame Press Conference

The Red Raiders improved to 10-1 this season at Rip Griffin Park with the victory

LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 3 Texas Tech baseball team posted a 5-2 victory against the UNLV Rebels on Tuesday night at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

The Red Raiders (18-4, 3-0) held the Rebels (10-12, 5-4) to five-straight scoreless innings to begin the game, allowing only one run in both the sixth and seventh innings. It was the eighth win in program history over UNLV, with the series beginning in 1986, while improving head coach Tim Tadlock to 2-1 against the Rebels.

Five different Red Raiders recorded multi-hit performances on Tuesday night. Michael Berglund, Orlando Garcia, Josh Jung, Grant Little and Ryan Long all tallied two hits against the Rebels, giving Tech 10 or more base knocks for the 10^th time this season and second-straight game. In Sunday's contest at No. 21 Texas, six Red Raiders put down two or more base hits totaling 15.

All five RBI were produced by five different Tech student-athletes on Tuesday. Garcia, Jung & Little were joined by Michael Davis and Tanner Gardner in driving in runs against UNLV. Long also scored two runs for the second consecutive game.

Freshman righty John Henry Gonzalez started on the hill for Tech for the fifth time this season, improving to 2-1 with the win. Gonzalez tossed a career-high 6.0 innings against the Rebels, passing his previous-best of 5.1 IP in his first start of the year against New Mexico State (Feb. 21). He allowed only one run on five hits, while striking out two. It was the third start this season to give up only one run.

Tech opened the two-game series by taking an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, making it the 12th time the Red Raiders have drawn first blood this season. Long and Jung led off the frame with a pair of singles, immediately putting pressure on the Rebel defense with runners on the corners and no outs. The first run of the night was pushed across via a sacrifice fly to center field by Gardner.

In the fourth inning, Tech tallied two more to pull ahead 3-0, mirroring the first frame with back-to-back base hits from Berglund (single) and Garcia (double) to put runners on second & third with nobody out. A grounder from junior infielder Michael Davis allowed Berglund to score for the first run of the inning, while moving Garcia to third. Another sacrifice fly, this time by Little, drove in Garcia to make it 3-0.

The Red Raiders added two more in the fifth after Jung crushed a double off the center field wall, allowing Long to score from second, who singled to leadoff in the inning. After a pitching change and two quick outs, Garcia blooped his second double of the day into no man's land in right field, driving in Jung to go up, 5-0.

UNLV mustered up two runs, one in the sixth and the seventh. The Rebels picked up their first run on a sacrifice fly to center field from Rodriguez, scoring Squier. Their second tally came on a single to right field from Stott in the next frame, pushing Pool home to make it 5-2.

The Red Raider defense found its way out of a couple jams by turning two double plays, one ending the seventh inning, with the other coming in the opening frame. Tech held UNLV to only two runs and seven hits.

Texas Tech faces its quickest turnaround of the year, returning to action on Wednesday at noon at Rip Griffin Park for the series finale.

We'll see you tomorrow at noon for game 2 against UNLV, for Dollar Hot Dog Day! #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/0dixzmcaIh
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) March 22, 2017