The No. 14 Texas Tech baseball team pieced together a seven-run sixth inning to blow past Western Illinois, 13-5, on Saturday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field at Polk-DeMent Stadium in Starkville.

The Red Raiders (3-0) racked up double digit hits for the second time in three games, putting down 17 against the Leathernecks (0-2) in Saturday’s tilt. Tech recorded 13 in their first meeting this season, a 15-1 win for the Red Raiders on Friday afternoon. Tech improved to 6-1 all-time against Western Illinois with the victory.

For the third-straight game, the Texas Tech pitching staff recorded a quality start on the mound, this time from sophomore right-hander Ryan Shetter. In only his second career start, the Friendswood, Texas, native tossed 6.0 innings, giving up just four hits, two runs and striking out a career-high six without issuing a walk.

Six Red Raider hitters notched multi-hit games, with senior outfielder Ryan Long and junior infielder Michael Davis each grabbing three in the contest. They were joined by senior Kholeton Sanchez, junior Orlando Garcia and freshmen Josh Jung & Grant Little. With his performance today, Jung has produced two or more hits in all three games this season.

Shetter began the game with seven consecutive retired batters and was quickly rewarded with a two-run lead in the bottom of the first, after a single from senior infielder Hunter Hargrove drove in Little for the first run of the afternoon. An error by the third baseman a batter later advanced Hargrove home for the 2-0 lead.

In the third inning, the Leathernecks picked up their first hit of the game behind a single through the right-side of the field and would find themselves with runners on second & third with only one out. Shetter would respond with a strikeout of Roman Visintine as the batting order wrapped to the top. However, a single by Johnathan Fleek cleared the bases and knotted the game at two.

Just like the night before, when Tech’s opponent pulled even, the Red Raiders responded to break the tie and on Saturday they continued that trend, tallying three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Junior outfielder Tanner Gardner opened the frame with a single to left field, then with two outs, freshman infielder Josh Jung sent a single up the middle to put runners on the corners. Senior outfielder Ryan Long, who already had a single in the first inning, pumped out another through the right side of the field to drive in Gardner and keep runners at each corner. Long, playing in his first game of the season, racked up three hits, two RBI and two runs scored in four at-bats.

Two more singles from junior infielder Orlando Garcia and senior catcher Kholeton Sanchez gave Tech two more runs as part of a five hit, three run bottom of the third to give the Red Raiders a 5-2 advantage. Texas Tech would score two or more runners in every inning they scored in on Saturday.

Over the next three frames, Shetter was dominant, allowing just one hit to the leadoff batter in the fourth. He would retire the next nine-straight Leatherneck hitters with three fly outs, three grounders and three strikeouts to complete his six-inning performance.

Tech would tack on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, after Little doubled to score Sanchez, who reached base after a five-pitch walk earlier in the inning. Four pitches later, junior infielder Michael Davis smacked another single to right field to get home Sanchez home.

A single and a triple for Western Illinois off junior lefty Jacob Patterson in the seventh cut Tech’s lead to 7-3 off, who countered with two K’s to end the inning, but once again, in the bottom of the frame, the Red Raider bats would respond in a big way, dropping six runs on the Leathernecks. Long’s third hit of the afternoon, a double up the middle, scored sophomore outfielder Cameron Warren, who came in to pinch run for junior designated hitter Zach Rheams. Back-to-back singles from Garcia and Sanchez followed, the former scoring Long from second.

During Little’s at-bat, Garcia & Sanchez pulled off the double steal and were rewarded with a throwing error by the WIU catcher, allowing both to add an extra base, sending Garcia home & Sanchez to third. When Little got his turn to put bat on ball, he took advantage, ripping a double to left field to send a scampering Sanchez in for the fourth run of the frame.

The Red Raider fans in attendance barely had time to sit down before Davis uncorked two-run home run to right-center field on the first pitch of his at-bat to move Tech ahead, 13-3. It was his first homer of the season and the third for the Red Raiders this year.

Freshmen pitchers Jake McDonald and Caleb Freeman came out for the eighth and ninth, respectively, as McDonald struck out one batter and completed the quiet frame in seven pitches. Freeman picked up two outs quick, but gave up a two-run homer to Drue Galassi to cut the lead to 13-5. That would be all though, as Freeman shut the door with a strike out to put away the Leathernecks.

The Red Raiders wrap up their four-game weekend in Starkville on Sunday, Feb. 19, when they take on Mississippi State at 3 p.m.