Tag: Texas Tech Baseball

Texas baseball wins two of three games against Texas Tech

Texas got a bounce back series win on the road against Texas Tech.

The Texas Longhorns got back in the win column against the Texas Tech Red Raiders over the weekend. The Longhorns took a series win with two victories in three days.

The much needed performance followed a four-game losing streak. The losing skid is in the rear view mirror after the team began Big 12 play with a 2-1 start in Lubbock.

Texas scored 22 runs in the first of three games to highlight the series performance. Its high scoring output unleashed four games worth of frustration on the diamond.

That it was able to put up so many runs against an opponent of Texas Tech’s caliber is noteworthy for the team moving forward. While series win doesn’t erase big picture concerns we have for the program, it was an impressive response to an adverse start to the season.

Texas will look to channel the momentum into more wins in Big 12 play. The Longhorns improve to 9-6 on the season.

Texas Baseball: Giving due credit to head coach David Pierce

David Pierce joins Rodney Terry in exceeding expectations this season.

Texas baseball continued its run of excellence on Friday. The No. 21 Texas Longhorns (20-7) defeated the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowboys (20-7) in an impressive 5-3 victory. Texas might not be ranked No. 21 for long.

An early offensive explosion saw the Longhorns build a 5-1 lead with powerful extra base hits. It’s the style of play that makes head coach David Pierce’s team so fun to watch.

We were critical of the ball club and its coach earlier in the season. Now they are due for praise. The team has won 16 in a row. The last five have come against Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State, all of which have high postseason aspirations.

This team replaced first baseman Ivan Melendez and six other bats in its lineup. Starting pitcher Lucas Gordon was elevated to Pete Hansen’s role as staff ace. Pitchers who were unable to perform in big game roles last season have made this team a winner and more reliable than last season’s top heavy squad.

We challenged the team to play better baseball. Over the last 16 games, David Pierce is more than passing every test.

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Texas baseball walks off to win second straight over No. 14 Texas Tech

The winning streak continues for Texas baseball.

Texas baseball has quietly climbed its way back into relevance. Saturday marked 13 consecutive wins for the program after a slow start. Continue reading “Texas baseball walks off to win second straight over No. 14 Texas Tech”

Texas vs. Texas Tech: Preview and pitching matchups

Texas baseball starts Big 12 play on Friday.

Texas (15-7, 0-0) hosts No. 14 Texas Tech (18-4, 2-1) for its first series of Big 12 Conference play. Continue reading “Texas vs. Texas Tech: Preview and pitching matchups”

Sooners overcome early deficit, slam past Liberty in Regionals opener

The Sooners opened Regionals with a massive 16-3 win over Liberty

After the disappointment of not getting to host a Regional after winning the Big 12 Tournament, the Sooners flew off into SEC country to play the Liberty Flames in Gainesville. After trailing early 3-0, the Sooners scored 16 unanswered runs and will move on to the second round.

After allowing three runs to open the ballgame in the top of the first, Sooners pitcher Jake Bennett weathered the storm and didn’t allow another run. Bennett struck out seven batters and walked two through 5.2 innings.

OU threatened in the first with two singles but wasn’t able to bring anyone home to immediately respond to Liberty’s big first inning.

That changed in the second.

After an RBI single from Wallace Clark to get OU on the board, the hits just kept on coming from an OU squad looking to make it to Omaha for the first time since 2012.

John Spikerman and Peyton Graham both had four RBIs. Not wanting to be outdone by their softball counterparts, Graham hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth, leading to this phenomenal world play from the OU Baseball Twitter account.

The job is nowhere near finished for this team. It’s only going to get more difficult from here.

They will play the winner of Central Michigan and no. 13 Florida on Saturday. The Gators are the host of this NCAA Regional and will have a strong home crowd should they defeat the Chippewas later today.

Since losing the final game of the regular season to Texas Tech and just barely missing out on the Big 12 Regular Season title, the Sooners have won five straight.

Big 12 Baseball Tournament: Seeding, schedule and how to watch

Texas and Oklahoma State will start things off on Wednesday morning.

The 2022 Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament will begin on May 25 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Continue reading “Big 12 Baseball Tournament: Seeding, schedule and how to watch”

Oklahoma run-ruled at home by No. 7/8 Texas Tech, drops series

Oklahoma baseball was run-ruled at home by No. 7/8 Texas Tech on Sunday to drop the series and fall to .500 on the year at 25-25.

Oklahoma baseball finished up their final home series of the year on Sunday with the rubber match of their three game set with No. 7/8 Texas Tech.

Unfortunately for the Sooners, their pitching woes against the Red Raiders continued in a major way allowing 13 runs to come across the plate to help Texas Tech win the game on run-rule in just seven innings.

Luke Taggart (1-6) was given the start and he, like many other Oklahoma pitchers this weekend, had immense struggles allowing four earned runs and only working into the second inning. Carson Carter, Wyatt Olds and Jake Bennett would team up to finish the game after Taggart.

The Red Raiders were held scoreless by Taggart in the first inning but changed that quickly in the second striking for six runs on three home runs. The Sooners would get one of the runs back in the bottom of the third on an RBI hit from right fielder Jace Bohrofen to have the score sitting at 6-1 Texas Tech after three.

Tech would strike for five more runs in the fourth inning on two more long balls off of Carter. Olds would then allow a couple more runs to cross in the sixth to have the Red Raiders lead balloon out to 13-1.

Oklahoma would strike for a run in the bottom of the seventh with shortstop Brandon Zaragoza being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, but weren’t able to add on any more to try and avoid the run-rule. The loss drops the Sooners back down to .500 at 25-25 on the season and 9-12 in conference play.

This series was always going to be an immense challenge for Skip Johnson’s club given what Texas Tech can do offensively as a true national title contender. All in all, Friday’s win was very important but it has to still be disappointing to have the last two games of the set be so lopsided.

Oklahoma will now hit the road for the final week of the season beginning a three-game series against Baylor in Waco starting on Thursday night.

Oklahoma gets rolled at home by No. 7/8 Texas Tech 15-2

Oklahoma baseball was blown out at home 15-2 by No. 7/8 Texas Tech on Saturday.

Oklahoma baseball returned to L. Dale Mitchell Park on Saturday looking to pick up what would arguably be their most impressive series win of the year against No. 7/8 Texas Tech after taking the opener on Friday night.

Unfortunately for the Sooners, game two of the series didn’t go nearly as well as game one as Oklahoma was blown out on their home field by the Red Raiders to the tune of a 15-2 margin.

Getting the start was the normally reliable Braden Carmichael (6-2) who would have massive struggles in this game only working into the third inning and allowing six runs. He earned just his second loss of the year in this one.

After giving up a run in each of the first and second innings to allow Texas Tech to jump out to a 2-0 lead, the third would be where the Red Raiders would make this one a laugher plating six runs to make the score 8-0 highlighted by a grand slam from right fielder Dru Baker. After plating another run in the top of the fifth, Texas Tech held a 9-0 lead at the midway point of the game.

The Sooners would break through on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the frame on an RBI single by first baseman Tyler Hardman to make the score 9-1. The score would remain there until the seventh, when the Red Raiders would put up another big inning.

Catcher Braxton Fulford hit a home run as well as shortstop Cal Conley – his being another grand slam. After Hardman picked up another RBI on a double in the bottom half of the inning, Texas Tech would go on to win by a final score of 15-2.

There isn’t much to say about this one as, obviously, the Red Raiders dominated their way to evening up the series. While Oklahoma (25-24, 9-11) did get a win on Friday, across all three matchups between these two teams this year Texas Tech has simply feasted on the Sooners’ pitching. And now, Oklahoma has burned some of their bigger guns in Jason Ruffcorn and Carmichael – which doesn’t exactly imply good things are ahead in the series finale.

The rubber match of the three-game set will be back at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. CT.

When, where, how to watch and pitching matchups for Oklahoma baseball’s series against Texas Tech

Everything you need to know for Oklahoma baseball’s final home series with No. 7/8 Texas Tech this weekend in Norman.

Oklahoma (24-23, 8-10) is back at its home ballpark for the final time this season as it hosts No. 7/8 Texas Tech (31-11, 10-8) for a three-game set this weekend.

The Sooners have had as much of an up and down year as you could possibly have. This season has featured some very high high’s and some very low low’s, leaving most unsure of what Oklahoma team they are going to get from game to game. One thing that is undeniable is that when they are playing their best, they can beat some of the best in the country. But when things aren’t on track, it’s not always pretty.

The Red Raiders, meanwhile, are among the elite teams in college baseball and have aspirations of Omaha in their future. Due to COVID-19 issues with Illinois-Chicago, Texas Tech has not taken the field since they matched up with the Sooners in Amarillo a week and a half ago. So they’ll be looking to knock off a little rust and get things rolling again with the postseason nearing.

In a bold move from head coach Skip Johnson, the starting rotation for this weekend has gotten an overhaul. Preseason All-American closer Jason Ruffcorn is stepping into a starting role on Friday night. Normal Sunday-starter Braden Carmichael is going to get the nod on Saturday and the finale is still undetermined at this point, although it can probably be safely assumed Wyatt Olds and Jake Bennett will see innings in that game in some fashion or another.

Center fielder Tanner Tredaway is not expected to return to the team this weekend as he recovers from injury. He has missed the last seven games. Shortstop Brandon Zaragoza was described as being “day to day” by Johnson as he nurses an ankle injury sustained against Oklahoma State.

For the final home series of the year for the Sooners, here is everything you need to know:

Game 1 – Friday

PITCHING MATCHUP: Oklahoma RHP Jason Ruffcorn (4-1, 1.43) vs Texas Tech LHP Patrick Monteverde (6-2, 3.26)

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. CT

WHERE: Norman, Oklahoma (L. Dale Mitchell Park)

HOW TO WATCH: SoonerSports.tv (Toby Rowland & George Frazier)

HOW TO LISTEN: Sooner Sports Radio Network – SportsTalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF; Tune In Radio App; Sportstalk1400.com (Taylor Maples & Blake Brewster)

Game 2 – Saturday

PITCHING MATCHUP: Oklahoma LHP Braden Carmichael (6-1, 3.88) vs Texas Tech RHP Micah Dallas (2-2, 3.30)

WHEN: 2 p.m. CT

HOW TO WATCH: Bally Sports Oklahoma (Toby Rowland & George Frazier)

HOW TO LISTEN: Sooner Sports Radio Network – SportsTalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF; Tune In Radio App; Sportstalk1400.com (Taylor Maples & Blake Brewster)

Game 3 – Sunday

PITCHING MATCHUP: Oklahoma TBA vs Texas Tech LHP Mason Montgomery (2-3, 4.62)

WHEN: 2 p.m. CT

HOW TO WATCH: SoonerSports.tv (Toby Rowland & George Frazier)

HOW TO LISTEN: Sooner Sports Radio Network – SportsTalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF; Tune In Radio App; Sportstalk1400.com (Taylor Maples & Blake Brewster)

When, where, how to watch and pitching matchup for Oklahoma baseball’s game against Texas Tech

Everything you need to know for when Oklahoma baseball takes on No. 5/6/7/10 Texas Tech on Tuesday night in Amarillo.

Oklahoma (19-17, 4-8) is returning to action on Tuesday night when they face off with Big 12 rival No. 5/6/7/10 Texas Tech (26-8, 7-5) in what will go in the books as a non-conference matchup.

The Sooners are coming off dropping two of three in Manhattan to Kansas State over the weekend to suffer a tough series loss that puts them even further behind the eight ball in terms of climbing back into the NCAA Tournament conversation. Every game is precious at this point in the season, and this one is no different as a big chance for a resume-builder.

The Red Raiders are among the elite teams in college baseball once again with a top-10 ranking in every poll and are playing good baseball as of late having taken six of their last seven games including a series win in Morgantown against West Virginia over the weekend. This will be a stiff test for Skip Johnson’s club, to say the least.

This matchup will provide the 91st all-time meeting between Oklahoma and Texas Tech, with the Sooners holding the slight historical edge 48-41-1. The Red Raiders, however, have won five of the last six games between the two. Texas Tech is coached by Tim Tadlock in his ninth year with the program.

For this non-conference matchup of Big 12 schools, here is everything you need to know:

PITCHING MATCHUP:   Oklahoma RHP Christian Ruebeck (0-0, 7.04) vs Texas Tech RHP Brendan Girton (1-0, 4.20)

WHEN:   7:00 p.m. CT

WHERE:   Amarillo, Texas (Hodgetown)

HOW TO WATCH:   ESPNU (Anish Shroff & Mike Rooney)

HOW TO LISTEN:   Sooner Sports Radio Network – SportsTalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF; Tune In Radio App; Sportstalk1400.com (Toby Rowland)