Red Raiders Fall to NM State, 7-6
By: TTU Press Release
Updated: March 27, 2012
LUBBOCK, Texas -
Texas Tech had its eight-game midweek winning streak snapped with a 7-6
loss against New Mexico State on Tuesday evening at Dan Law Field at
Rip Griffin Park. The midweek winning streak dated back to last season.
Texas
Tech (15-11) held a 6-5 lead going into the ninth inning before New
Mexico State (22-8) started the inning with a single and a walk, which
both moved into scoring
position on a sacrifice bunt. Zach Voight then hit a sacrifice fly to
right field to tie the game, 6-6. One batter later, Zac Fisher scored
the game-winning run with a single to left-center field giving the
Aggies the win.
Texas
Tech reliever Trey Masek (1-3) suffered the loss allowing the
game-winning run on one hit and a walk with one strikeout. NMSU reliever
Tyler Mack (2-1) earned
the win pitching 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and closer
Scott Coffman pitched a perfect ninth inning with three strikeouts to
notch his fifth save of the season.
New
Mexico State led twice while Texas Tech grabbed the lead on three
occasions during the opening six frames. With the score tied at five in
the bottom of the sixth,
Tech freshman shortstop Tim Proudfoot doubled off the left-field wall to
score left fielder Brennan Moore to give the Red Raiders a 6-5
advantage.
Neither team scored in the seventh or eighth inning while the Aggies plated two runs in the ninth.
The
Red Raiders left 12 runners on base, including runners in scoring
position in the third, fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
Junior
second baseman Jamodrick McGruder led Texas Tech at the plate going
3-for-4 with two RBI, a double and a run scored with a walk. Junior
center fielder Barrett
Barnes hit his team-leading sixth home run of the season - 30th of his
career - with a solo shot in the fifth inning over the center field
wall. Barnes finished the game going 2-for-3.
Moore
also finished with a multi-hit game for the second straight contest
going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. McGruder is now batting .650
(13-for-20) over his last
five games played.
The
Red Raiders used six pitchers in the game, including starting pitcher
Brannon Easterling who went three innings with two strikeouts while
allowing one run on two
hits in his second start of the season.
The
Red Raiders will be back in Big 12 action this weekend with a
three-game series at Kansas, March 30-April 1, with the series starting
Friday (6 p.m.) and continuing
on Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) from Hoglund Ballpark.
