The Red Raiders took the rubber match against BYU in the final home game of the regular season.
Texas Tech Baseball sent off the home crowd happy as the final game of the regular season at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park ended in a 15-11 win for the Red Raiders over BYU.
The win captured a series victory in Big 12 play for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders had not won a conference series since taking two out of three against Arizona in late March.
After a win in Game 1, 2-1, and a loss in Game 2, 12-3, the Red Raiders' offense finally kicked into gear in the rubber match series finale on Saturday, which also served as senior day in Lubbock and a celebration of Mother's Day before having Sunday off.
The scoring started immediately. Tech tallied three in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI fielder's choice and two-run single.
Both teams combined for 29 hits and alternated scoring nearly throughout. The Red Raiders trailed 7-5 after 3.5 innings, but retook the lead for good with a six spot in the bottom of the frame.
Eight of the nine Texas Tech starters recorded at least one hit. Designated hitter Connor Shouse was the most productive bat, going a perfect 5 for 5 with two runs batted in and four runs scored on the base paths. Catcher Matt Quintanar added a trio of hits and three RBIs.
"Our guys came out and really swung the bat good today," said Tech head coach Tim Tadlock. "As far as the overall weekend, probably went into today more making it about your moms and senior day than we did us, and sometimes that helps ... make it about more than just yourself."
On the mound, five Red Raider pitchers saw action, but it was Jonny Lowe who picked up his fourth victory of the season. Shouse built on his stellar offense by slamming the door by pitching the final two innings, allowing just two hits, no runs and striking out a pair.
"Good to see him come out today, get some good pitches to hit and hit them hard," Tadlock said of Shouse. "The pitching deal is not as easy as he makes it look. Sometimes, he's got really good stuff; you gotta keep in mind he's playing 27 innings this weekend ... that's just not that easy.
"I thought he handled it really good. I have a lot of fun watching him do both."
Texas Tech jumps above .500 on the year at 26-25 and now turns its attention to the final series of the schedule: a set against the Cincinnati Bearcats on the road May 14-16.
"I think there is reality to, 'You want to win a series,'" Tadlock said about his satisfaction against the Cougars. "You want to win games, and you want to go into Sunday, and if you're not 2-0, you want to win that game to win the series.
"I think there's a lot of satisfaction with that, and I think it can carry over into ... practice on Monday and Tuesday and ... into more momentum going into Cincinnati."
