The No. 4 Texas Tech baseball team recorded a 1-0 victory over West Virginia in the series opener on Saturday afternoon at Monongalia County Stadium.

The Red Raiders (38-12, 12-7) and the Mountaineers (26-18, 10-9) were postponed on Friday night because of severe weather in the area, which was the second cancellation of the week for Tech. It was the first shutout win of the year for the Red Raiders.

Sophomore lefty Erikson Lanning got the start for the Red Raiders in the first game of the doubleheader, putting together his best outing of the season. The Woodstock, Georgia, native tossed 6.0 innings of shutout baseball, giving up only two hits, walking two and striking out one. Lanning improved to 3-1 with the win.

It was the third time this season Tech’s pitching staff had allowed only two hits in a game and the second time during conference play.

He gave way to another left-hander, junior Jacob Patterson, who finished off the final three frames, ringing up four batters without allowing a hit, to earn his first save of the year.

After four scoreless frames to begin Saturday’s game, the Red Raiders pushed across the first and only run of the afternoon in the top of the fifth. With one away, Cody Farhat laced a triple past the diving right field and all the way to the wall in right-center field to move into scoring position. With the infield in, Grant Little chopped a double over the leaping third baseman to easily score Farhat for the run.

Lanning & Patterson combined to keep the Mountaineers off the base path for most of the game after the fourth inning. After a two-out hit from Hill, West Virginia failed to post another knock, while reaching base only twice via walks.
 

Game Two

The No. 4 Texas Tech baseball team clawed back from down 3-1 to earn a hard-fought 4-3 victory over West Virginia on Saturday night at Monongalia County Stadium.

After an hour & 19-minute rain delay, the Red Raiders (39-12, 13-7) scored three runs, including a tally in the eighth to tie the Mountaineers (26-19, 10-10) and one in the ninth to snatch the win and the series. It is the first series victory for Texas Tech when on the road against West Virginia.

Sophomore Cody Farhat racked up three hits on Saturday night, including the knock that scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning. Senior Ryan Long & junior Orlando Garcia both recorded two-hit bids, as the Red Raiders totaled 10 against the Mountaineers. It was the 26th time this season Tech has thrown down 10 or more hits in a game.

Another sophomore, right-handed pitcher Ryan Shetter, made his 12th start of the year on Saturday night for Tech, but had his outing cut short due to the rain delay. The Friendswood native tossed 4.0 innings, giving up three runs on five hits, walking one & striking out five. It was the seventh time this season he’s rung up at least five hitters in a start.

After the delay, junior righty Ty Harpenau took over, throwing 2.0 scoreless frames, giving up just two hits, while striking out three. Jose Quezada, another junior RHP, followed with 2.2 shutout innings of his own, ringing up five, to earn the victory and improve to 5-4 this season. Junior lefty Parker Mushinski closed the door for his fourth save of the year.

The Mountaineers struck first in the opening frame of the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. An RBI single from Kyle Davis plated Zarbnsiky, who began the inning with a double to right-center field. Davis would score later in the frame on a balk to take an early 2-0 lead.

Tech got one back in the top of the third to make it a 2-1 game. A two-out, RBI double from Long to the gap in left-center drove in Michael Davis, who scored all the way from first on the knock for Tech’s first run of the night.

However, West Virginia pushed its lead back to two in the home half of the inning thanks to a solo homer from Davis.

Then came the rain.

After an hour & 19 minute rain delay, the Red Raiders returned to action and brought the score to back a one-run game in the fifth. A wild pitch with the bases loaded and two outs scored Garcia from third to cut the deficit to 3-2. Tech evened the score in the top of the eighth as Little was brought in on a double play up the middle. Little reached to begin the eighth on a walk, then was moved over to third thanks to a single from Long to the left fielder, who booted the ball, giving Little the opportunity to scoot up another base.

Tech picked up its first lead of the night in the ninth behind an RBI single up the middle from Farhat with one out. Before his at-bat, Garcia placed a single to right field, then swiped second to move into scoring position before Farhat brought him home with the knock.

It was the second time this season the Red Raiders have picked up a go-ahead run in the ninth inning, with the previous a walk-off win against then-No. 2 LSU at the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic on March 5 in Houston. Farhat was involved in that one as well, crossing home behind a Tanner Gardner base hit.

The Red Raiders and the Mountaineers will wrap up their weekend series with a noon finale on Sunday afternoon at Monongalia County Stadium.

(Courtesy Texas Tech Sports Information Department)