No. 17 Tech opens Big 12 play vs. No. 24 UT

LUBBOCK, Texas – After a hard-fought 11-8 road victory Tuesday afternoon at New Mexico, the No. 17-ranked Texas Tech Baseball program opens a five-game homestand this weekend when they welcome No. 24 Texas to Rip Griffin Park at Dan Law Field.

The weekend set will mark the start of Big 12 Conference play as Tech will play the next 10 weekends against conference foes.

Tech enters the final all-time Big 12 weekend series against UT riding a seven-game winning streak after the victory in Albuquerque earlier in the week. Over the Red Raiders seven-game winning streak, they are outscoring opponents 127-37 overall.

The Red Raiders enter the weekend leading the country in runs scored (163), doubles (48) and on-base percentage (.488). The Red Raiders are third in the country in both batting average (.364) and hits (162) and fourth overall in slugging percentage (.631).

INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:

GAME ONE:
MATCHUP: No. 17 Texas Tech (10-2) vs. No. 24 Texas (7-5)
DATE: Friday, Mar. 8, 2024
TIME: 6:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Rip Griffin Park (Lubbock, Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: RHP Kyle Robinson (2-1, 3.12 ERA) vs. RHP Lebarron Johnson Jr. (1-1, 2.25 ERA)

GAME TWO:
MATCHUP: No. 17 Texas Tech (10-2) vs. No. 24 Texas (7-5)
DATE: Saturday, Mar. 9, 2024
TIME: 2 p.m.
LOCATION: Rip Griffin Park (Lubbock, Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: RHP Mac Heuer (1-0, 2.61 ERA) vs. RHP Cody Howard (2-0, 3.29 ERA)

GAME THREE:
MATCHUP: No. 17 Texas Tech (10-2) vs. No. 24 Texas (7-5)
DATE: Sunday, Mar. 10, 2024
TIME: 2 p.m.
LOCATION: Rip Griffin Park (Lubbock, Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: RHP Jack Washburn (1-0, 8.49 ERA) vs. RHP Charlie Hurley (1-0, 5.11 ERA)

1-2-3 HEADLINES:

* Riding a seven-game winning streak, the 17th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders open Big 12 Conference play on Friday night when No. 24 Texas pay its final visit as a Big 12 foe this weekend. The Red Raiders have scored at least nine runs in all seven of those wins and have scored 127 runs over that streak.

* The weekend series marks the second time in the last three seasons that UT and Tech are meeting to open Big 12 play, as the Red Raiders and Longhorns also met in Lubbock to open Big 12 play in 2022.

* Following a quick midweek trip to Albuquerque that saw the Red Raiders win at New Mexico for the first time since the 2019 season, the Red Raiders return to the friendly confines of Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin rocking a perfect 6-0 mark at home after sweeping Texas Southern and Gardner-Webb by a combined mark of 116-29. The Red Raiders scored 32 and 29 in single-game victories over the Bulldogs and Tigers. The 32 runs scored two Friday's ago were the most in school history.
WEEKENDNOTES:

BRAVO. DAMIAN BRAVO.
Damian Bravo has been on fire through the seasons first 12 games. Bravo is hitting .562 so far with 27 hits in 48 at-bats. The co-leading hitter in the NCAA, Bravo leads the country in doubles per game and in total doubles. He's also fifth in the country in RBIs (23) and 14th in on-base percentage (.610). Bravo leads the Big 12 Conference in average, on-base percentage and doubles.

GIMMIE GIMMIE A ZERO
Senior lefty Ryan Free has picked up right where he left off after a strong 2023 campaign. Free has allowed just five hits and one run in his first eight and one-third innings of the season. Opposing batters are hitting just .179 against the lefty this season, as Free has now earned a pair of victories and a save in his first four appearance. Free was nails in Friday's contest against Gardner-Webb striking out three in his 1.1 pitched. Free threw just 19 pitches to earn his first save of the season. The lefty entered with the bases loaded and two outs and used a nasty breaking pitch to strand the tying runs on base in the 10-7 game. On Tuesday, Free threw yet another scoreless inning to low his ERA to 1.08 on the season. The lefty has produced a WHIP of .96.

THE BATS HAVE BEEN HOT
Over the seven-game winning streak the Red Raiders are hitting .420 with 18 home runs and 35 doubles. Tech leads the country in runs scored (163), doubles (48) and on-base percentage (.488). The Red Raiders are third in the country in both batting average (.364) and hits (162) and fourth in slugging percentage (.631). The Red Raiders lead the Big 12 in all of those marks. The Red Raiders are also eighth in the country in walks (94) and are 33rd int he country in home runs. Only Texas (22) has slugged more homers than the Red Raiders 21.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
The Red Raiders freshman class was highly acclaimed coming into the season and through the first 12 games of the season they certainly look the part. At the plate three different freshman (Pompey, Rivers and Sanders) have combined to go 30-of-79 (.380) with three home runs, 10 doubles and 31 RBIs. TJ Pompey has done the lions share of the damage as the Coppell product is hitting .392 with two home runs and 19 RBIs. On the mound, the freshman have thrown 22.2 innings, allowing just four runs (1.62 ERA). That group includes Chandler Coe, Mac Heuer, Parker Hutyra Cole Kaase and Brady Trombello and has struck out 18 batters with just two walks. Pompey enters the weekend riding a 12-game hit streak.

BACK WITH THE WASH
Former Team USA standout and 2022 national champion Jack Washburn is back and healthy for the 2024 season, as the right-hander made his much anticipated Red Raider debut. Pitching for the first time since June of 2022 for Ole Miss, Washburn went over 600 days without an appearance. Washburn got off to a roaring start in the start against the Ducks, striking out four batters in the first two innings he pitched. Washburn retired the first seven batters before running out of gas in the fifth. In the end, Washburn went four innings plus allowing six hits, three runs (all earned). On Sunday against Texas Southern, Washburn earned his first career victory as a Red Raider and his first college win since May 20, 2023 against Texas A&M. Washburn struck out a career-best eight batters in the Red Raiders run-rule win over the Tigers.

ROLLIN' IN THE DEEP
Another pitcher who changed his warmup song in 2024 was senior Josh Sanders, who will now warmup to Adelle's Rolling in the Deep. So far it seems the warmup song is working for Sanders, as the righty has pitched 5.1 innings in thus far, allowing just four hits and four runs (two earned). Sanders was extremely strong in the Wednesday contest against No. 7 OSU, as the Yukon, Okla. native threw 1.1 perfect innings. Sanders has now struck out 11 batters in his 7.2 innings of work.

THE OTHER WASHBURN IS ALSO BACK
After being limited to just 18 games (52 at-bats) due to various injuries in 2023, Tech outfielder Owen Washburn is back and healthy in 2024. Owen has started 10 of the 12 games this season and is currently hitting .359 with three home runs and nine RBIs. In the Red Raiders Sunday victory over TX Southern, Washburn hit a pair of home runs and drove in five to help his older brother Jack earn his first career win. Washburns' on-base percentage sits at .479 through his first 39 at-bats.

MCGEES BEEN ON BASE A LOT
Former Freshman All-American and Gonzaga transfer Cade McGee continues to provide a different and unique approach to the lineup this season. McGee has played and started in every game yet only has recorded 33 official at-bats because he has walked 15 times and been hit by 9 pitches. When you add it up, McGee has come to the plate 57 times through the first 12 games of the season and he has reached base safely in 35 of those at-bats. His on-base percentage sits at an eye-popping .593. Despite only having three extra-base hits (two doubles, home run) McGee's OPS sits at 1.078 this season.

BACK IN BLONDE
After dying his hair platinum blonde ahead of his freshman season, junior Trendan Parish has returned to a familar look, as he once again is sporting the flowing blonde locks. After getting off to a strong start his freshman season before suffering an injury, Parish is once again looking the part of back-end bullpen arm. Parish has allowed just one run over his 6.2 innings pitched. Parish pitched 2.2 innings in the Sunday win over Gardner-Webb to earn his first victory of the season, while the righty earned the save in Tuesday's win at New Mexico.

THE BACK END IS COMING TOGETHER
The Red Raiders back end of the bullpen is starting to come together rather nicely, as the quarter of Free, Hutyra, Parish and Sanders have combined for a perfect 3-0 record and three saves. Free has pitched 8.1 innings and allowed just one run, while Hutrya has allowed just one run over his first 4.1 innings pitched. Sanders has allowed just two earned runs in 7.1 innings with 11 punchouts, while Parish has pitched to a 1.35 ERA this season. The quartet has pitched to an ERA of 1.66.

KA$H BOMBS AND RECORDS
After a slow start to the 2024 season the saw him hit .185 through the seasons first eight games, All-American Gavin Kash has raised his average nearly a point-and-a-half in the last three games after going 9-for-his-last-17 with seven RBIs, two home runs and seven runs scored. Kash's two home runs have gone 483 feet and 478 feet.

RETURN OF THE MAC
Freshman Mac Heuer will once again take the ball for the Red Raiders for a weekend start, after throwing five one-run innings in last Saturday's 29-3 victory over Gardner-Webb. Heuer earned his first career victory in the game against the Bulldogs and has pitched to a 2.61 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched. Heuer was a 16th-round selection by the Cleveland Guardians in the 2023 MLB Draft.

KNOW YOUR FOE - TEXAS

• The Longhorns enter the weekend series in Lubbock riding a four-game losing streak that started a week ago in Houston at the Astros Foundation College Classic finale with a 6-3 loss to No. 3 LSU. On Saturday of last weekend, the Horns dropped a wild 11-10 contest to Texas State before falling in the weekend finale 14-11 to No. 9 Vanderbilt. On Tuesday the Longhorns played their third SEC foe of the week, falling at home to No. 7 Texas A&M, 9-2.

• In last Friday's opener against the Tigers, UT fell 6-3 to the defending national champions in front of the seventh-largest crowd in college baseball history. The game was zero-zero through three innings before LSU scored a pair of runs over UT ace Lebrarron Johnson. Johnson lasted just three-plus innings, allowing four hits and two runs. The righty struck out six and walked three, throwing 91 pitches. Johnson departed after allowing a lead off double, a walk and a wild pitch to place a pair of Tigers in scoring position with nobody out. LSU ultimately took the 2-0 lead on a bases loaded single. LSU used a solo home run and a three run homer to race out to a 6-0 lead, but UT used a home run from catcher Kimble Schuessler and a two-run double from designated hitter Casey Borba.

• On Saturday, the Longhorns faced Texas State, falling 11-10 in a wild see-saw affair that saw the Horns fall behind 6-0 in the second inning on a solo home run, a wild pitch and a grand slam. The first four runs were charged to starting pitcher Charlie Hurley with the last two being charged to the account of reliever Luke Harrison. Harrison who came into the game with runners on the corners and two outs allowed a walk to load the bases before surrendering a grand slam that gave the Bobcats a 6-0 lead. Hurley allowed three hits and four runs in 1.2 innings pitched in the loss.

• UT pulled to within 6-3 and 7-5 in the third and fifth innings respectively before TXST answered with a run in the top of the sixth to go ahead 8-5. In the seventh, UT used an RBI triple from Max Belyeu and a three-run bomb from Vandy transfer Jack O'Dowd to take a 9-8 lead. Down for the first time in the game, Texas State used a single, a sac-bunt and a second single to plate a run that tied the game at nine-all. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, UT outfielder Porter Brown once against put UT on top with a home run. Up 10-9 , UTs David Sahw retired the first two batters of the inning, before allowing a single and a two-run home run to Alex Lugo. UT went down 1-2-3 with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth, as the Horns fell for the second time in less than 24 hours.

• On Sunday, UT found itself in yet another wild game. After a two-run home run from Schuessler gave UT a 3-0 lead, Vandy answered with a two run home run to pull to within 3-2. After UT scored its fourth run of the game on a solo home run from O'Dowd in the second, the Horns used another home run from Porter Brown and a two-run double from Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year Will Gasaparino. Gasaparino scored on a wild pitch to cap the four-run third and give UT an 8-2 lead. After Vandy pulled to within 8-3 in the home half of the third, the Longhorns used another two-run homer from Brown and a sac-fly from Gasparino to pull ahead 11-3. In the fifth, the Commodores struck for a lead off home run and a two-out big fly to pull to within 11-5. The two blasts also chased UTs starter, Cody Howard. Howard went 4.2 innings allowing six hits and five runs. In the sixth, Vandy used a pair of singles and a double to pull to within 11-6, before a squeeze bunt plated the second run that cut the UT lead to 11-7. In the seventh, UT turned to Friendswood product Easton Tumis who did not record an out. Tumis hit a batter and allowed back-to-back singles to load the bases. UT turned to LSU transfer Grant Fontenot who allowed four runs on a sac-bunt that turned into an error and a bases-clearing triple. The triple tied the game at 11-all. Vandy ultimately took the lead for good on a sac-fly two batters later. Vandy ultimately added a pair in the eighth inning on a pair of singles and a two-RBI double. In the end, seven different UT pitchers saw action, as five of the seven allowed multiple runs.

• On Sunday, UT found itself in yet another wild game. After a two-run home run from Schuessler gave UT a 3-0 lead, Vandy answered with a two run home run to pull to within 3-2. After UT scored its fourth run of the game on a solo home run from O'Dowd in the second, the Horns used another home run from Porter Brown and a two-run double from Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year Will Gasaparino. Gasaparino scored on a wild pitch to cap the four-run third and give UT an 8-2 lead. After Vandy pulled to within 8-3 in the home half of the third, the Longhorns used another two-run homer from Brown and a sac-fly from Gasparino to pull ahead 11-3. In the fifth, the Commodores struck for a lead off home run and a two-out big fly to pull to within 11-5. The two blasts also chased UTs starter, Cody Howard. Howard went 4.2 innings allowing six hits and five runs. In the sixth, Vandy used a pair of singles and a double to pull to within 11-6, before a squeeze bunt plated the second run that cut the UT lead to 11-7. In the seventh, UT turned to Friendswood product Easton Tumis who did not record an out. Tumis hit a batter and allowed back-to-back singles to load the bases. UT turned to LSU transfer Grant Fontenot who allowed four runs on a sac-bunt that turned into an error and a bases-clearing triple. The triple tied the game at 11-all. Vandy ultimately took the lead for good on a sac-fly two batters later. Vandy ultimately added a pair in the eighth inning on a pair of singles and a two-RBI double. In the end, seven different UT pitchers saw action, as five of the seven allowed multiple runs.

• Tuesday, UT fell to No. 7 Texas A&M 9-2 for the fourth-straight loss. A&M took a 2-0 lead in the game off a two-run home run off starter Tanner Witt. Witt went 3.1 innings allowing three hits and two runs. Witt threw 68 pitches. After an O'Dowd sac-fly pulled the Horns to within 2-1, A&M used a fifth inning run and a four-run seventh to go-ahead 7-1. Texas pulled to within 7-2 on a sac-fly in the seventh before a two-run single gave the Aggies a 9-2 lead. Sunday's projected starter, Hurley, allowed the final two runs in the eighth on three hits. He struck out one batter in his 27 pitches of work. UT reliever Andre Duplantier II pitched the ninth, striking out a pair in an 11-pitch 1-2-3 ninth.

• As a team, UT is hitting .312 on the season with 22 home runs and 97 runs scored. Five different Longhorns led by Jared Thomas are hitting over .300 on the season. Thomas is leading the Longhorns in average (.457) and on-base percentage (.569). Catcher Kimble Schuessler is hitting .452 with a pair of home runs and four RBis in 31 at-bats. Redshirt senior Peyton Powell is hitting .440 with four home runs and 19 RBIs over the seasons first 12 games while Jalin Flores has hit five longballs and driven in 15 this season. Freshman Will Gasparino rounds out the Longhorns hitting over .300. Gasparino is hitting .303 in 33 at-bats.

• On the mound, UT has been led by Johnson and Howard as the right-handers have pitched to a 2.25 ERA and 3.29 ERA respectively. Johnson has allowed just four runs this season and struck out 20 in 16 innings while Howard has allowed just five runs in 13.2 innings. After allowing just one un-earned run in his first two starts of the season, Howard allowed his first five earned over his 4.2 innings pitched. UTs third projected starter, Charlie Hurley, has allowed seven runs in 12.1 innings pitched. Hurley has allowed six of his seven runs over the last two appearances against Texas State and Texas A&M. Hurley allowed just one earned run in 9.2 innings against San Diego and Cal Poly. As a team, the Longhorns have pitched to a Big 12-best 3.80 ERA on the season. Five different relievers have pitched at least four innings this season and pitched to an ERA lower than four. The group includes lefty Gage Boehm who has pitched to a 3.52 ERA in 7.2 innings. Boehm has struck out 12, the second-most on the UT team.

UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders close out the five-game homestand on Tuesday and Wednesday when they welcome New Mexico State for a midweek series. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 6:30 p.m. with the finale set a 2 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday.

No. 17 Tech opens Big 12 play vs. No. 24 UT

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Players Mentioned

Damian Bravo

Chandler Coe

Ryan Free

Mac Heuer

Parker Hutyra

Cole Kaase

Gavin Kash

Cade McGee

Trendan Parish

TJ Pompey

Kyle Robinson

Josh Sanders

Brady Trombello

Jack Washburn

Owen Washburn

Texas Tech University Athletics