Texas Tech baseball brings a five-game win streak and red-hot bats into a first-ever series vs. CSU Bakersfield at Rip Griffin Park.
Texas Tech baseball is back in Lubbock, and the Red Raiders are suddenly swinging like a team that forgot how to lose.
After stumbling out of the gate at 0-3 against nationally ranked Oklahoma and Arkansas, Tech has flipped the script with a five-game winning streak and a full-blown offensive eruption heading into a weekend series against CSU Bakersfield at Rip Griffin Park.
The Roadrunners (4-5) are making their first trip to the Hub City, and this marks the first meeting in program history between Texas Tech (5-3) and CSU Bakersfield.
It’s unfamiliar territory for both sides, but the Red Raiders look far more comfortable right now.
Over the last five games, Texas Tech has outscored UTRGV and UAlbany 70-27 while hitting a scorching .406 as a team. The power numbers jump off the page with 31 extra-base hits, including 21 doubles and nine home runs, with just 31 strikeouts in that span.
Shortstop Linkin Garcia has quickly become “The Missing Link” in this lineup.
The freshman is hitting .344 with a 1.200 OPS and leads the Red Raiders in home runs (3), doubles (4), and slugging percentage (.750). His 447-foot blast at 111 mph last week turned heads, and his 13 RBIs over a five-game stretch earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.
Logan Hughes looks locked in again at Rip Griffin Park.
After a quiet showing in Arlington, Hughes went 7-for-14 last weekend with two doubles, two homers, and eight runs scored. He now owns 21 career home runs in just 60 games and is hitting .360 at home for his career.
On the mound, Tech’s arms have tightened up. Lukas Pirko delivered a complete-game gem against UAlbany, earning a 67 game score by Bill James’ formula.
Connor Mohan (1.17 ERA) has allowed just one earned run this season, while Kaysen Raineri is holding hitters to a .143 average with 13 strikeouts in 7.2 innings.
The weekend rotation lines up Jackson Burns (6.43 ERA), Pirko (5.06 ERA), and Mohan against a CSU Bakersfield staff that has struggled to find consistency.
With shutdown innings finally stacking up and the bats thundering, Texas Tech baseball looks like a team rediscovering its identity ... and Rip Griffin Park is about to feel it.