Texas Tech baseball beat No. 17 West Virginia 4-1 as Jackson Burns dominated into the eighth and the Red Raiders broke through late in Lubbock.
Texas Tech baseball leaned on a brilliant start from Jackson Burns and a late offensive push to knock off No. 17 West Virginia 4-1 on Saturday at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
The win gave the Red Raiders a much-needed response in Lubbock and evened the series heading into Sunday’s rubber game.
Burns was the story for most of the afternoon.
The Texas Tech right-hander turned in the best start by a Red Raider this season, carrying a shutout deep into the eighth inning while keeping one of the Big 12’s top teams off balance.
Burns finished 7.2 innings, allowed just one run, struck out five and didn’t issue a walk. He threw 106 pitches, including 76 for strikes, and stayed in command from the first inning on.
That outing was especially important because runs were hard to find.
West Virginia starter Maxx Yehl matched Burns for much of the day, and the game stayed tight well into the late innings. Texas Tech finally scratched across the first run in the seventh, but the Mountaineers answered in the eighth when Gavin Kelly launched a solo homer to tie it at 1-1.
That could’ve swung the game, but Tech answered fast.
After Logan Bevis came in and recorded the final out of the top of the eighth, the Red Raiders went right back to work at the plate.
Linkin Garcia and Logan Hughes opened the bottom half with sharp singles, setting the table for the breakthrough. Matt Quintanar and Jesse Rusinek followed with back-to-back RBI knocks, and Tracer Lopez added another run with a productive ground ball that gave Texas Tech breathing room at 4-1.
Garcia finished 3-for-4 and also made key defensive plays in the field, helping preserve the tight contest before the offense erupted.
Bevis closed the door from there and picked up the win as Texas Tech moved to 20-14 overall and 6-8 in Big 12 play.
The series finale now brings another intriguing storyline, with freshman Adam Hayes set to make his first weekend start Sunday.
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