The No. 11 Texas Tech baseball team concluded game one of Saturday’s doubleheader against California with a 5-1 victory over the Golden Bears at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
The Red Raiders (6-1) racked up four runs in the sixth inning to take the second game of the series from the Golden Bears (2-3). For the second-straight game, Tech held Cal to its lowest hit (four) and run total (one) of the 2017 season.
The Red Raiders then followed up that performance with a walk-off 3-2 win over California after Michael Berglund hit one through the right side to score Grant Little, and clinch the series for the Red Raiders.
Sophomore LHP Steven Gingery made his second appearance of the 2017 season and picked up his second win behind a masterful seven innings of work. Gingery held the Golden Bears to just two hits, allowing only one run and one walk, while striking out seven batters.
Senior outfielder Ryan Long had another strong performance at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a single and a home run. Long was involved in four of Tech’s five runs in the first game of the doubleheader, with three RBI and two runs scored.
After three quiet frames, senior infielder Hunter Hargrove got the ball rolling the Red Raider offense, cracking a double to left-center field for the first hit of the afternoon for Tech. The extra-base hit improved Hargrove’s hitting streak to seven games. It would be the first of two hits on the day for the Mansfield native, who also recorded another double in the sixth.
In the fifth, Tech put the first tally on the board, as Long opened the inning with a single through the right side for his first of two hits on the day. Freshman catcher Michael Berglund would reach next via a walk to put two on with one out. After a balk by Cal’s Jared Horn, the duo advanced to second & third, making it easy for sophomore outfielder Cody Farhat to score Long from third behind a groundout to the shortstop for the 1-0 lead.
The Red Raiders exploded for four runs in the sixth inning, all coming with two outs. Hargrove started the frame by plowing a drive deep into right field, landing him on second base for his second double of the day. The next batter, junior designated hitter Zach Rheams, shot a single up the middle to drive in Hargrove and pushed Tech’s lead to 2-0.
Freshman infielder Grant Little took over for Rheams on the base path and immediately made an impact, stealing second base to move into scoring position, which would be followed by a walk to freshman infielder Josh Jung. Long made good on the freshmen’s previous moves by crushing an opposite-field three-run homer to give Tech a 5-0 lead. It was the first home run of the year for the Crandall, Texas, native and the seventh of the year by a Red Raider.
The Golden Bears responded in the top of the seventh with a RBI double Tanner Dodson, scoring Jonah Davis from first after he walked earlier in the frame.
That would be all for Cal in game one; however, as sophomore righty Ty Harpenau pitched the final two innings, picking up two strikeouts to complete the sixth victory of the season.
