LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 17 West Virginia University baseball team fell to Texas Tech, 4-1, Saturday afternoon at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. The Mountaineers drop to 23-8 and 9-5 in the Big 12 while the Red Raiders improve to 20-14 and 6-8 in league play.
Redshirt junior Maxx Yehl suffered his first loss of the season despite a quality start of 7.1 innings with eight strikeouts while allowing three runs.
Sophomore Gavin Kelly had two hits including his fifth home run of the season, tied for most on the team. Graduate student Sean Smith added two hits for the Mountaineers.
Both Yehl and Texas Tech pitcher Jackson Burns cruised through the first six innings as the game remained scoreless until the seventh when the Red Raiders broke through for a run on a fielder’s choice.
In the top of the eighth, Kelly tied up the game with a two-out solo home run, but in the home half of the inning, the Red Raiders put up three runs to retake the lead.
West Virginia put one runner on in the ninth but could not muster any more in the inning as the Red Raiders evened up the series.
First pitch for game three of the series on Sunday is set for 2 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
