The No. 6 Texas Tech baseball team dropped a heartbreaking 10-9 loss to No. 29 Baylor on Sunday afternoon at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
Despite the decision, the Red Raiders (28-7, 6-3) picked up its second conference series win this season after going 2-1 over the Bears (20-12, 3-6) this weekend. The first came on March 17-19 in Austin, when Tech swept then-No. 21 Texas in the team’s opening Big 12 series.
Junior infielder Orlando Garcia had another strong performance at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two singles and two home runs. He racked up four RBI on Sunday and had a home run in every game of the series against the Bears.
Sophomore right-hander Ryan Shetter got the start for the Red Raiders on Sunday, going 4.0 innings against the Bears. The Friendswood, native allowed just two runs on six hits, while striking out one. Junior righty Jose Quezada was charged with the loss, moving to 3-3 this season after giving up the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth at the end of a six-run final frame for Baylor.
For the first time in the three-game series, Tech pushed across the first runs of the game, scoring four in the first for a quick 4-0 lead. With one away, Josh Jung lifted a single to right-center & was moved over to second thanks to a hit-by-pitch to Michael Davis. Enter Hunter Hargrove, who crushed a three-run homer of the left field wall to make it 3-0. The dinger was his fourth of the season and first in Big 12 action in 2017.
With the bases clear and two away, Connor Beck stepped to the box and ripped a double into the gap in right-center field. He was fulfilled by Gardner, who dropped a single to right-center to push the lead to 4-0. Beck finished the day with three hits and two runs scored.
It was the 18th time this season the Red Raiders have scored four or more runs in a single inning and the third time against the Bears this weekend.
The Bears responded in the top of the second with a homer of their own, coming from Dodson. The solo shot cut the deficit to 4-1, but the damage would be held there in the inning behind a pair of grounders & a strikeout from Shetter. It was part of a three-home run day for Dodson, who hit another solo homer in the top of the fourth and a three-run shot in the ninth.
Davis was hit-by-a-pitch again in his second at-bat in the third and was quickly moved to second thanks to a single from Hargrove. Fans at Rip Griffin Park over the weekend had been treated to homers in consecutive games by Garcia, so he decided to make it three-straight games with a three-run blast in the third.
Garcia become the first Red Raider with a home run in three consecutive games since Eric Gutierrez on May 16-18, 2013, also against Baylor. He would do it again in the bottom of the fifth, this time a solo shot over the wall in right-center for his fourth of the weekend. It was the second time this season Garcia has hit two home runs in a game, also doing so on Feb. 21 against New Mexico State.
The Bears tacked on two in the fifth to cut the Red Raider lead to 7-4. With one away, a pair of singles put two on and a wild pitch moved them into scoring position. An RBI groundout from Dodson plated one run, while a single in the next at-bat from Wendzel scored the other.
After Garcia made it 8-4, Beck immediately followed with his second base hit of the day, this time a single to left-center field. A pinch-hitting Anthony Lyons smacked a two-out triple perfectly down the right field line to plate Beck and give Tech a 9-4 advantage.
Dodson’s ninth inning home run was the start of a six-run scoring effort from the Bears in the final frame. Baylor got another two batters later from Cunningham with a man on to tie the game, then found the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly from Raguse.
The Red Raiders will wrap up their four-game home stand on Tuesday afternoon at 2 against New Mexico at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
