Flying Objects in Roswell

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Junior left fielder Chris Richburg became just the fifth player in school history to hit for the cycle as he helped lead the Red Raiders to a 16-10 win over New Mexico State on Wednesday afternoon at Coca-Cola Field that gave Texas Tech a two-game sweep of the Aggies.

Texas Tech’s five home runs on the afternoon helped push its win streak to three games as the Red Raiders now stand at 20-23 overall while New Mexico State drops to 18-25.

New Mexico State loaded the bases of Tech starter Lorenzo Douglas in the bottom half of the first and right fielder Franky Busani made him pay with a two-RBI single that took a bad hop through the left side of the infield.  Busani’s single gave the Aggies a 2-0 early lead.

The Red Raiders didn’t take long to regain the lead as Tech used the longball to grab a 4-2 advantage in the top of the second.  Jason Seefeld blasted a two-run homer while Tanner Rindels and Chris Hall each added solo jobs.  Hall’s home run was his first of the season and the third of his career.

New Mexico State’s Marcus Quade cut into the Tech lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the second and then Chris Auten came back and tied it with a solo blast of his own in the bottom half of the third.  The Aggies regained the lead (5-4) in the very next at-bat as Tyler Hardt laced a solo home run over the right field wall.

A leadoff home run by Roger Kieschnick ignited a six-run outburst by the Red Raiders in the top of the fourth inning as Tech took a 10-5 lead, one they would not relinquish.  Willie Rueda picked up his first hit of the game in the inning, a two-run single to right that helped give Tech a 7-5 lead.  Richburg notched his third hit of the game when he laced a two-RBI triple off the right field wall that gave Tech the five run lead.

After New Mexico State scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth, the Red Raiders padded their lead in the top of half of the sixth.  Tech plated four runs in the frame to take a 15-8 lead.  Kieschnick added an RBI single while catcher Monk Kreder added an RBI double.  The Red Raiders plated its two other runs on a balk and a bases-loaded wild pitch.

Richburg hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh and became the first Red Raider to hit for the cycle in nine years.  His home run gave the Red Raiders a 16-8 advantage and was his second homer of the season.

Texas Tech will return to Big 12 Conference action on Friday night as the Red Raiders host the Oklahoma Sooners in a crucial three-game series at Dan Law Field.  The Red Raiders are currently in 10^th place in the league standing while Oklahoma comes in with a ninth-place standing.