The No. 3 Texas Tech baseball team closed the weekend with a 21-6 taming of Maine on Sunday afternoon at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

The Red Raiders (4-0) completed the sweep of the Black Bears (0-4) after posting another nine-run inning in the second, then followed with 11 unanswered runs over the course of the final six frames. Tech combined for 49 runs and 48 hits over the four games with Maine.

On Sunday, the Red Raiders dropped 17 hits, six for extra bases, while earning 18 free passes with 10 walks. On the flip side, the Tech bullpen finished the afternoon with 6.1 innings pitched, one hit allowed, no runs given up and six strikeouts.

Junior left-handed pitcher Erikson Lanning got the starting nod in the series finale, and tossed two strong opening frames before finding some trouble in the third. Lanning finished the afternoon at 2.2 IP, allowing six runs, four earned, on five hits, while striking out two.

He gave way to senior righty Jose Quezada, who hurled 2.1 hitless innings, punching out four and walking two. He earned his first win of the season & seventh as a Red Raider.

Four Red Raiders put together multi-hit performances at the plate in the finale, with sophomore infielder Josh Jung leading the way with four hits, including a three-run homer. Freshman infielder Gabe Holt racked up another three-hit day, while driving in four RBI.

For the third time in four games, the Red Raiders struck first, plating a run in the opening frame. Holt smashed a standup triple down the right field line, then scooted home after an errant throw went past the third baseman.

Tech added to it in the next frame, exploding for a nine-run second inning to push the lead to 10-0. Senior infielder Michael Davis began the inning with a rope to the center field wall, then was scored when Holt shot a single to right field. After a walk to sophomore designated hitter Brian Klein, Jung sent a knock through the left side of the infield, scoring both Holt & junior outfielder Cody Farhat to push the lead to 3-0. With the bases loaded later in the frame, senior outfielder Connor Beck brought a run in with a fielder’s choice.

From there, three-straight hits from Davis, Farhat & Holt pushed the Red Raiders to its second nine-run outpour in as many games. Davis & Holt sandwiched a pair of singles with Farhat’s double to give the Red Raiders a commanding 10-0 lead.

However, in the top of the third, Maine cracked the scoresheet with six runs to make it a 10-6 game. A one-out double from Kerbs and a throwing error on a grounder from Doody put the first run of the day on the board for the Black Bears. After a bases-loaded walk, Ridley knocked in two more with a double to the right-center field wall to push the score to 10-4. Maine added two more after a shallow single from Bennett to center field with two gone, cutting the gap to 10-6.

The Red Raiders got one of the runs back after a sacrifice fly from junior infielder Cameron Warren drove in Jung, who was hit-by-a-pitch to begin the inning. Tech didn’t score in the fourth, but added another run in the fifth thanks to a triple from sophomore catcher Clay Koelzer to the right-center field wall. With Klein on second after a leadoff double, Koelzer drove him in with a rocket to the wall, giving Tech a 12-6 lead.

Three more runs came across for the Red Raiders in the seventh to extend the advantage to 15-6. With the bases loaded, Warren sent a screamer at the third baseman, who was unable to corral it, allowing Jung to cross home plate. A balk later in the frame pushed Koelzer home, while a double play scored sophomore outfielder Grant Little for the third run of the frame.

Tech plated six more runs in the eighth inning to cap the scoring at 21 for the day. Jung rocketed a three-run homer over the left field bullpen, scoring pinch-hitting freshman Kurt Wilson & sophomore John McMillon, who singled & walked to begin the frame, respectively. The Red Raiders picked up another run off a bases-loaded balk, then a pinch-hitting freshman KC Simonich delivered another two-RBI base hit to give the Tech a 21-6 lead.

The Red Raiders return to action on Tuesday wrapping their five game home stand against New Mexico State at 2 p.m. at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

COURTESY OF TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS