Red Raiders Earn Twinbill Split Against Dallas Baptist - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

Roger Kieschnick went 2-for-5 with a game-high three RBIs to lead Texas Tech to a 9-8 win over Dallas Baptist on Tuesday afternoon in the second game of a doubleheader that gave the Red Raiders a twinbill split with the Patriots.  Dallas Baptist won the first game of the day 8-4.

The win pushed Texas Tech to 23-29 on the season while Dallas Baptist fell to 34-17.  The Red Raiders return to the diamond on Friday evening at Dan Law Field for the start of a three-game series against the Baylor Bears.  First pitch on Friday is set for 6:05 p.m. and will be the biggest series of the season for the Red Raiders as the final spot in the Big 12 Conference Championship is up for grabs.

After spotting the Patriots three runs in the top of the second, the Red Raiders came firing back in the bottom half of the inning with five runs of its own to grab a 5-3 lead.  Sophomore shortstop Chris Hall drove in the first two runs with a double to left center and then fellow infielder Willie Rueda plated the tying run with a sacrifice fly to center.  Joey Kenworthy broke the tie with an RBI single and then Roger Kieschnick made it a two-run game with an RBI double down the right field line.

The Patriots regained the lead in the top of the fourth as they plated three runs of Tech starter Robbie Kilcrease.  Just as they did in the second inning, the Red Raiders responded as they put up three runs of their own to regain the lead (8-6) and one they would not relinquish.  Kieschnick fueled the Red Raiders in the inning with his second double of the game, one that plated two runs and gave Tech a 7-6 lead.  Chris Richburg's RBI double made the score 8-6.

The Red Raiders got what turned out to be the game-winning run in the fifth when Rueda plated Hall from first with an RBI double down the left field line.  Hall reached on a one-out walk to set up the RBI opportunity for Rueda.

Dallas Baptist made a comeback in the top of the eighth off Tech left-handed reliever James Leverton.  The Patriots roughed up Leverton for two runs on four hits and had the go-ahead run on first base when Tech went to its bullpen for right-hander Brian Cloud.  Cloud came in and closed the door by retiring the next two batters to end the threat. 

Cloud retired DBU in order in the ninth to pick up his first career save.  Robbie Kilcrease picked up the win in what was his longest outing of the season.  He held the Patriots to six runs (three earned) on nine hits with three strikeouts over nine innings of work.

GAME ONE - DALLAS BAPTIST 8, TEXAS TECH 4

Dallas Baptist's Jared Stafford threw seven shutout innings before giving up four in the eighth but the Patriots held on for an 8-4 win over Texas Tech in the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at Dan Law Field.

The win by DBU gave the Patriots back-to-back wins over the Red Raiders as they earned a 16-7 win last Wednesday evening at Patriot field in Dallas.

Trailing 2-0 in the top of the seventh, things fell apart for the Red Raiders as reliever Owen Brolsma surrendered four runs on four hits and the Patriots grabbed control of the game with a 6-0 lead.  Evan Bigley's two-RBI single up the middle capped off the rally for DBU and he ended the contest with a game-high three RBIs.

Texas Tech made a run in the bottom half of the eighth and cut an 8-0 deficit in half.  The Red Raiders plated four runs in the inning that included a two-RBI double by Doug Thennis. 

Junior left-hander Cory Large (1-2) was tagged with the loss despite a solid effort as he matched his career-high with six innings of work.  He allowed three runs on four hits and struckout four.

GAME ONE LINE SCORE

                                                                    R     H    E
Dallas Baptist   -    010     100     420   -     8    11    1
Texas Tech       -     000     000    040   -     4    10    2

WP = Jarred Stafford (3-0)
LP = Cory Large (1-2)
SV = None

GAME TWO LINE SCORE

                                                                  R    H     E
Dallas Baptist   -   030     300     020   -    8   15    2
Texas Tech       -   050     310      00x   -   9    9     2

WP = Robbie Kilcrease (2-0)
LP = Brett Lester (2-1)
SV = Brian Cloud (1)

GAME NOTES

• Texas Tech now leads the all-time series against Dallas Baptist 6-5 and snapped a two-game losing skid against the Patriots with a 9-8 win in the second game of today's doubleheader.
• Junior second baseman Willie Rueda has now hit safely in 19 of Tech's last 22 games and is second on the team with a.356 average. During that 22-game stretch, he has also turned 12 multiple-hit games and is tied for third on the team with 17 on the season.
• Junior right fielder Roger Kieschnick seems to have found his stroke again as he has posted six hits in the last three games along with five RBIs. His three-straight multiple hit games now make him the team leader with 20. He also paces the squad with 15 multiple-RBI contests.
• Junior right-hander Brian Cloud picked up his first career save in the second game of the doubleheader against Dallas Baptist as he pitched the final 1 2/3 innings. His outing comes just days after holding Oklahoma State to just one run over four innings and helped setup Tech's dramatic come-from-behind win on Sunday in the series finale.
• Freshman left-hander Robbie Kilcrease logged a career-high five innings of work in what was just his third start of the season in the second game of the doubleheader against Dallas Baptist. His previous long outing was 4 1/3 against Kansas State back on April 18. He picked up his second win of the season (last vs. New Mexico State on April 20) by holding the Patriots to six runs (three earned) on nine hits.