Logan Hughes leads as Texas Tech baseball salvages series finale: What we learned

The Texas Tech baseball team always appreciates Logan Hughes's presence, given that he leads the Red Raiders in home runs and runs batted in.

They got a gentle reminder of his importance Sunday.

Hughes delivered a go-ahead two-run double in a five-run eighth inning, then made a diving catch in left field to end the game as Tech rallied past Cincinnati 12-8, salvaging the last game in a doubleheader and a three-game Big 12 series at Dan Law Field/Rip Griffin Park.

That was after Hughes homered in the third inning and drew a warning from an umpire.

"He got a warning because he turned and looked at (first-base coach) J-Bob (Thomas) and made a gesture, and they thought he turned and looked at the (Cincinnati) dugout," Tech coach Tim Tadlock said. "Which, I could see how you can misinterpret that. So he got a warning. Thank goodness it was just a warning."

The outcome snapped a seven-game win streak by Cincinnati (19-12, 6-6 in the Big 12) and a six-game losing streak by Tech (9-19, 5-7). The Bearcats won Friday's game 8-7 in 12 innings and won Sunday's opener 8-1 behind a complete game from lefthander Kellen O'Connor.

In the finale, Cincinnati rallied from a 7-3 deficit with a five-run seventh, started by homers from Kory Klingenbeck and Donovan Ford. Down 8-7, Tech answered in the eighth. Hughes' two-run double put the Red Raiders ahead 10-8 before RBI base hits from Antonelli Savattere and Dylan Maxcey.

The Bearcats had a runner on in the ninth when Christian Mitchelle drove a ball to the left-center gap and Hughes laid out for a game-ending catch.

"If that play is not on Sports Center, somebody's in trouble," said winning pitcher Zach Crotchfelt, who threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings. "That's one of the greatest catches I've ever seen. To end the game with an exclamation point like that, I owe him big-time. That was huge."

"That was probably the best play of my life," Hughes said.

Tech led 4-0 in the first on a homer by Damian Bravo and a three-run blast by Davis Rivers.

This week, the Red Raiders play at New Mexico (16-15) at 3 p.m. CDT Tuesday and host Baylor (21-10, 5-7) in a three-game series Friday through Sunday.

Here's what else we learned this weekend:

It's getting late early for Texas Tech baseball team

As of Sunday night, the Red Raiders rank No. 1 in the nation in strength of schedule, but that helps only so much if you don't win games. Tech reached the midpoint of the regular season over the weekend. Being 10 games below .500 with 25 regular-season games left, Tech might have already reached the point of having to win the Big 12 tournament and an automatic bid to make an NCAA regional.

Zane Petty, Jack Cebert keep stacking good performances

Petty pitched six innings in Sunday's finale and left with a 6-3 lead. In his past five starts dating to March 9, the junior righthander from Corsicana has a 2.88 ERA. He pitched the five innings necessary to qualify for a victory in three of the five, but has yet to get a win this season.

Last year, Petty made only six appearances and none after March 19 because of injury.

"I think he's really maturing into a nice Sunday starter," Tadlock said. "For a guy who didn't throw a lot in the fall and what he went through ... I think he's throwing strike one a lot, and he's ahead in the count a lot. He's executing pitches."

Petty's performance, coupled with Mac Heuer's return to the rotation after being scratched from his previous scheduled start, was good news for the rotation.

Meanwhile, Cebert continues to flourish as a bulk-innings middle reliever, lowering his ERA to 3.41 with no earned runs allowed in six innings Friday. The senior righthander has a 1.88 ERA over his past seven appearances.

Pitcher Parker Hutyra, infielder T.J. Pompey on the shelf

Hutyra would be a high-leverage relief option, but he last pitched on March 22 and wasn't on the active 30-man roster for the Cincinnati series, Tadlock said, because of arm soreness.

Tadlock said after Friday's game it would be 10 days to two weeks before Pompey's physical status is evaluated again. The sophomore third baseman has missed eight of the past 11 games with an undisclosed injury.

Junior righthander Jacob Rogers, yet to pitch this season, was back on the active 30-man for the series.

Dylan Maxcey, Antonelli Savattere show up

Maxcey's four hits in the series finale snapped a 3-for-32, no-RBI skid.

Wanting to get another left-handed batter into the lineup against Cincinnati, Tadlock put Savattere in the 5-hole twice this weekend. The second baseman responded with a two-run homer Friday and three hits in the series finale.