The No. 11 Texas Tech baseball team clinched game one in the four-game series against California, posting a 4-2 win against the Golden Bears on Friday afternoon at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

The Red Raiders (5-1) picked up their second consecutive home victory, to improve to 2-0 in Lubbock in 2017. Cal (2-2) was held to its lowest run total of the season in Friday’s tilt, scoring just two tallies. The Golden Bears evened the score in the fifth inning, but a three-run eighth for Tech helped secure the series opening win.

Sophomore RHP Davis Martin got his second start of the year for the Red Raiders, tossing a season-high seven frames. It was the third time in his career to pitch seven innings in a start. The San Angelo native allowed only one walk, an intentional walk that loaded the bases, setting up an inning-ending strikeout to escape the jam.

Senior outfielder Ryan Long recorded Tech’s only RBI of the game after he shot a single to left field, driving in senior infielder Hunter Hargrove to strike first in the bottom of the second. It was the fifth time this season Tech has scored first in a game.

The Red Raiders led the Golden Bears, 1-0, through the first four innings, until Cal broke through in the fifth to tie the game at one. Cal’s Jonah Davis led off the frame with a single to right field. Davis would advance to second after a failed pick-off attempt by Martin and would move over to third behind another single to left field by Tyrus Greene. Davis would eventually score on a RBI groundout to shortstop by Lorenzo Hampton.

Martin completed two more scoreless frames before giving way to junior lefty Jacob Patterson, who worked his way out of an eighth inning jam to keep the game knotted. Martin would finish the night with three strikeouts and only one run allowed, making it the ninth time in his career to allow one or fewer runs in a start.

Tech’s three-run eighth inning was kick-started by back-to-back walks issued to Long and freshman catcher Michael Berglund to begin the inning. Long was replaced by speedy outfielder Connor Beck on the base path after reaching safely and Cal turned to Erik Martinez to thwart a Red Raider attack. After falling behind in the count, junior infielder Orlando Garcia put down a dangerous 0-2 bunt in between the third base line and the pitcher. Martinez picked the ball cleanly, but overthrew the third baseman, sending the ball into left field and scoring both Beck & Berglund to give Tech a 3-1 lead.

The Golden Bears would call upon Arman Sabouri to control the damage; however, a wild pitch advanced Garcia to third and a walk to sophomore outfielder Cody Farhat put runners on the corners with no outs. The next at-bat would result in a 3-6-3 double play, but scored Garcia from third to put Tech up, 4-1.

In the top of the ninth, Cal would earn one back thanks to a double by Greene and a single up the middle from Ripken Reyes, but that would be all, as Patterson slammed the door with a strikeout to earn his first win since 2015.

The Red Raiders will continue the four-game series tomorrow with a doubleheader, beginning at noon, with game two to follow at approximately 4 p.m. at Dan Law field at Rip Griffin Park.

(Courtesy Texas Tech Sports Information Department)