Texas Tech Baseball Is Omaha Bound After Beating Duke in Super Regional
Texas Tech needed all three games, and it was tense 'til the finish, but they put the Duke Blue Devils away 6-2 for the opportunity to play in the 2018 College World Series.
By the end of Monday night, Texas Tech will be one of the final eight teams left in the race for a National Championship. It isn't called the Elite 8 but this Red Raider baseball team is just that.
Fun fact: Texas Tech is now undefeated in Super Regionals in the last five years, and all of those teams were from the Carolinas.
The final score today was 6-2, as Texas Tech pitchers Davis Martin, Ty Harpeneau and John McMillon turned in a masterful eight innings (not without their trouble), before handing it over to Dylan Dusek, who got the final three outs with ground balls to close out the home season for Texas Tech.
Martin got the start for the Red Raiders going three full innings before yielding to Harpeneau in the fourth inning. He would leave a runner on that would score in the inning he scattered three hits on 64 pitches, he got some support before he left though when Gabe Holt his a solo shot to right field in the third inning to start the scoring.
After Harpeneau's first inning of work, Michael Davis would hit a two-run bomb scoring Zach Rheams to go ahead 3-1.
Harpeneau would give up a run of his own in his three innings of work, on a misplayed ball by Gabe Holt in right field, making it 3-2 in the top of the sixth inning.
Jose Quezada threw a four-pitch walk to his only batter faced in the opening at-bat of the seventh inning and was replaced by John McMillon, who hadn't pitched since the Big 12 Tournament. He would get a double play and a huge strikeout to end the seventh inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning Brian Klein would hit a home run to stretch the lead to 4-2.
John McMillon danced around Duke batters for a clean 8th inning before Texas Tech would plate two more insurance runs, with RBI hits by Gabe Holt and Josh Jung.
John McMillon would start the ninth inning, but yielded after a lead-off walk to Dylan Dusek.
Dusek would need just five pitches to get three final outs.
Here's the final out and ensuing dogpile:
Here's another angle for good measure:
For the third time in five seasons (even years), Texas Tech is heading to Omaha, where they'll face the winner between Florida and Auburn to open their portion of the 2018 College World Series.
Texas Tech's first game in Omaha will either be Saturday, June 16 or Sunday, June 17.