Texas Tech Baseball splits double-dip with No. 16 WVU

GRANVILLE, W.Va. (TTU) - Battling wet and damp conditions, Texas Tech Baseball split a Saturday doubleheader with No. 16 West Virginia, taking the series opener 6-4 before falling in the nightcap 3-2 at Kendrick Family Ballpark.

In the opener, Texas Tech (16-27, 11-12 Big 12) got four strong innings apiece from Mac Heuer and Jack Cebert before Lukas Pirko nailed down his first save as a Red Raider in the ninth.

The 16th-ranked Mountaineers (38-7, 17-4 Big 12) rebounded in the second game, using seven innings from Reese Ballinger to set up a rubber-match tomorrow afternoon. Ballinger entered the game in relief of WVUs starter, Gavin Van Kempen, who departed the game with an injyr.

GAME ONE:

Tech got off to a good start in Saturday’s opener using an RBI ground out from Damian Bravo and a balk to take a 2-0 lead.

Armed with the lead, Heuer made the two-spot in the first stand, working around a two-out walk to fire a zero.

The game remained 2-0 Tech until the third when WVUs Grant Hussey went backside for a lead-off home run that cut the Tech lead in half.

After the Red Raiders went down in order (1-2-3) in the fourth, WVU nearly tied the game in pouring rain in their half of the fourth, but in the thick and humid air, WVUs DH Sam White’s long fly ball stayed in the ballpark for a long double.

With White at second and two men out, Heuer blew the final pitch of his outing past Gavin Kelly for his fourth and final punch out of the afternoon.

The pitch once again proved to be Heuer’s last, as after the game entered a 50-minute delay that Heuer did not return from.

Still on top 2-1, Tech turned to Cebert, who used a grounder to first and a pair of punchouts to send the game to the sixth.

In the top half of the sixth, Tech used a four-pitch walk from Logan Hughes and a single from Bravo to place the first two runners on. After a grounder to second advanced both runners, designated hitter Antonelli Savattere plated Hughes on a sac-fly.

Pitching with a two-run lead for the first time, Cebert made the insurance run stand up, as he stranded two runners on a foul out to third.

Facing WVUs Griffin Kirn for the fourth time on the afternoon, the Red Raiders used a little two-out magic to load the bases. After back-to-back two-out singles from Tracer Lopez and Kyeler Thompson and a walk loaded the bases, before a 104 MPH seed from Bravo in the left-center field gap that cleared the bases and gave his Red Raider squad a 6-1 lead.

Down by five runs, the Mountaineers used a one-out RBI groundout and a two-out, two-run home run from Skylar King to get to within 6-4.

After the teams traded zeros in the eighth, Tech got a lead-off single Thompson, but he thrown out trying to leg the single into a double.

With two outs and following a lineout to second, the Red Raiders used a single from Bravo and a walk to place two on of Savattere.

Ahead in the count 3-1, Savattere dunked a single into left. Looking for a key insurance run, the Red Raiders sent Bravo from third base, but the outfielder was gunned down by King at the plate.

In the ninth, Tech turned to sophomore Lukas Pirko, who after retiring the Mountaineers lead-off batter allowed back-to-back two-strike singles to place the tying runs on base.

After a three-pitch strikeout of King, Pirko lost a 3-2 battle with catcher Logan Sauve to load the bases for WVUs Kyle West. Ahead in the count 0-2, Pirko got a flyout to center to end the game.

In the victory, Cebert earned his sixth overall victory of the season running his Big 12 record to a perfect 6-0.

GAME TWO:

After Tech managed just a two-out Hughes single in the first, starter Tyler Boudreau retired the first two batters he faced before WVU placed its first runner on base on a throwing error.

The two-out error ultimately scored one batter later when White split the gap to plate Sauve from first.

The game remained 1-0 WVU until the third, when the Red Raiders after a double play ball got a homer from Lopez to tie the game at one.

In the bottom of the third, WVU again used another two-out rally when White and Jace Reinhart contributed back-to-back RBI hits to put the Mountaineers up 3-1.

Tech immediately answered in the fourth, using singles from Hughes, Savattere and Schulze to cut the WVU lead to 3-2.

Even in the count at 1-1, Tech’s next batter, Villeneuve ripped a ball into the right-center gap before finding a glove. With runners on the corners, WVUs Reese Bassinger struck out Rivers to strand a pair.

In the fourth, WVU nearly scored multiple times, but the Red Raiders used a caught stealing at third and an outfield assist from Bravo to escape the threat.

Riding a bit of momentum, the Red Raiders put runners on the corners with two outs in the fifth, but Bassinger escaped the threat with another strike out.

In the bottom of the fifth, WVU chased Boudreau on a lead-off double, but freshman Will Jordan used two flyouts and a strikeout to strand the lead-off two-bagger.

The fifth inning threat was the final time Tech would have a runner in scoring position in the game.

UP NEXT:

The Red Raiders will play for the series again on Sunday afternoon with the 16th-ranked Mountaineers. First pitch from Kendrick Family Ballpark is set for Noon (CT).