1500 Reasons to Love Coaching

LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech Head Baseball Coach Larry Hays became just the fourth coach in NCAA history to reach 1,500 wins in a career as his Red Raiders notched a 10-5 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday afternoon that completed a two-game sweep of the Islanders at Dan Law Field.

Hays, the winningest coach in school history, joins elite company with today's historic win as only Texas' Augie Garrido, Wichita State's Gene Stephenson and Florida State's Mike Martin are the only coaches to reach this milestone. Hays is in his 38th season as a head coach and all 38 of those years have been spent in Lubbock as he led the Lubbock Christian Chaparrals for 16 years and has guided the Red Raiders for 22 seasons. Against Texas on March 21, 2008, he picked up the 800th win of his Texas Tech career and now has 805 victories as the Red Raider skipper.

For the first 4 1/3 innings of today's game, it looked as though Hays might have to wait another day for his 1,500th career win as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi right-hander Cory Blair had a no-hitter brewing. The Islanders had scored a run in the top of the first and then tacked on two more in the top of the fourth to take a 3-0 lead.

Sophomore left fielder Taylor Ashby finally broke up Blair's attempt with one out in the fifth as he laced a single into shallow right field. Ashby's single set off a big inning for the Red Raiders as they plated eight runs to take an 8-3 lead. Following Ashby's single, junior center fielder Tanner Rindels put the Red Raiders on the board for the first time when he blasted a two-run home run over the right field wall to make the score 3-2. Junior second baseman Willie Rueda tied the game with an RBI fielder's choice that plated catcher Jeremy Mayo who reached on a single following the home run by Rindels. With Tech up 4-3, sophomore shortstop Chris Hall broke the game open as he laced a bases-loaded RBI double down the left field line that cleared the bases and gave the Red Raiders a 7-3 lead. 

In the top of the sixth, Mayo laced his first home run of the season over the left field wall that pushed the Red Raider lead to 9-4.

Junior right-hander Lorenzo Douglas (1-0) picked up his first win of the season as he logged three innings in relief of Cory Large. Douglas allowed just one run on three hits and struckout one. Brian Anderson (1-4) was charged with the loss for the Islanders as he gave up six runs on four hits while walking two over just 2/3 of an inning.

Taylor Ashby and Jeremy Mayo each picked up two hits on the afternoon while Chris Hall led the way with three RBIs.

Texas Tech (16-12; 4-5 Big 12) returns to Big 12 play on Friday night as the Red Raiders travel to ninth-ranked and Big 12-leader Nebraska. The Red Raiders and Cornhuskers will get underway at 6:35 p.m. on Friday evening at Haymarket Park in Lincoln.