LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 13 Texas Tech baseball team wrapped its five-game home stand with a 5-4 victory over Stetson Monday afternoon at Rip Griffin Park.
The Red Raiders (16-6, 1-2) rebounded from a disappointing effort on Sunday to bounce the Hatters (9-14) thanks to a strong start from sophomore right-hander Bryce Bonnin (2-0), who delivered a career-high 6.1 innings of one-hit ball.
Tech held a 5-0 lead through six before Bonnin exited the game. Stetson put up a pair of runs in the seventh and eighth to pull within one, but sophomore right-hander Ryan Sublette threw the final inning to close out the win and earn his first career save.
Sophomore shortstop Easton Murrell made his first start as a Red Raider and jumpstarted the Tech offense in the third inning with a leadoff double, his first hit in the scarlet and black. A double from sophomore Dylan Neuse scored Murrell for the first run of the game.
Following a walk to sophomore outfielder Gabe Holt, junior third baseman Josh Jung delivered a two-run triple to make it 3-0. Jung would score on a sacrifice fly from junior second baseman Brian Klein to cap a four-run third.
Jung led the Red Raiders at the plate, going 3-for-4 with his first triple of the year and two RBI. The San Antonio, Texas, native’s three-hit performance was his second of the year and extends his hitting streak to seven games. Five of his seven hits over the five-game weekend went for extra bases.
Sophomore outfielder Cody Masters recorded his second multi-hit effort in four games played this weekend. He went 2-for-4 with a double to mark his fifth multi-hit game of the season. Neuse, who batted leadoff for the first time this year, also went 2-for-4 with a double for his team-leading 12th multi-hit game of the season.
Tech added what would prove to be the game-winning run in the fourth after Masters led off with a double and ended up at third on a failed pickoff attempt catch by the Hatter second baseman. Senior Cameron Warren dropped a perfectly placed hit to right center that allowed Masters to touch home with Warren racing around for the double.
Stetson battled back in the seventh with a one-out double that brought in its first run of the game. Following a stolen base, a sacrifice fly made it 5-2 going to the eighth. A double, a triple and a sac fly allowed the Hatters to score two more in the next inning to make it 5-4 going to the ninth.
Sublette got a pair of fly balls to work around a one-out single. With two away and the tying run on second, he earned a strikeout swinging for the final out of the game.
The Red Raiders will continue Big 12 play next weekend with a trip to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on Kansas State. The three-game series begins Friday with a 6 p.m. first pitch from Tointon Family Stadium. All three games will be available on ESPN3 and can be heard on the Texas Tech Sports Network.
Courtesy of Texas Tech Athletics Communications Department