Texas Tech Athletics
West Virginia
No. 29 Texas Tech Falls in Game Two at WVU
May 15, 2015 | Baseball
Raley became the first Red Raider to lead off a game with a home run since 2008.
May 15, 2015
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - No. 29 Texas Tech dropped its second straight game at West Virginia with an 8-2 loss on Friday evening in game two of the three-game Big 12 series with 1,883 fans in attendance at Monongalia County Ballpark.
Tech (29-22, 12-11 Big 12) will be the No. 4 seed at next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Red Raiders will take on the No. 5 seed - which has yet to be determined - at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20 in the first game of the conference tournament.
West Virginia (27-24, 9-12 Big 12) clinched its own spot in the Big 12 Championship while winning its second Big 12 series of the season -its first at its newly built ballpark that opened last month.
WVU had three multiple-run innings, including two in the first, three in the fifth and two in the seventh inning while out-hitting the Red Raiders, 11-6, in game two. Tech ended the game leaving 13 runners on base.
Tech starter Cameron Smith (6-4) took the loss giving up four runs on six hits in 4.1 innings with six strikeouts and two walks. WVU starter Ross Vance (7-4) picked up the win going 7.1 innings allowing just one run on four hits with four strikeouts and four walks.
Junior designated hitter Cory Raley led off the game with a solo home run over the left-field wall on the second pitch of the game - his third homer of the season.
WVU answered back immediately with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first inning and would not trail the rest of the game.
Tech scored its second and final run of the game in the last inning with senior second baseman Bryant Burleson leading off with a single to center field, moving to third base on sophomore outfielder Stephen Smith's line-shot double off the left-field wall, and scoring on junior outfielder Tyler Neslony's RBI ground out to third base.
Raley went 2-for-4, Stephen Smith went 2-for-4 while Burleson (1-for-3) and sophomore rightfielder Hunter Hargrove (1-for-5) were the only other Red Raiders with a base hit in the game.
Tech and WVU will play the third and final game of the series on Saturday, May 16 with a noon CT first pitch at Monongalia County Ballpark.
TEXAS TECH VS. WEST VIRGINIA - ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES -
- Texas Tech and West Virginia are tied, 4-4, in the all-time series that dates back to 2013 ... WVU leads the series, 4-1, in games played in West Virginia ... WVU is 2-0 - both games played this year - against Tech in games played in Morgantown (Red Raiders played WVU in Charleston in 2013) ... WVU's eight runs tonight are the most by either team in the all-time series (previous high was six runs done by each team once before) ... six of the eight all-time meetings have been decided by two or fewer runs - only Tech's 4-0 win in game three last season and tonight's six-run win by WVU have been decided by more than two runs.
PLAYER NOTES -
- Cory Raley became the first Red Raider to lead off a game with a home run since 2008 (Doug Thennis, at UTSA).
- Cory Raley has reached base safely in 22 consecutive games.
- Cory Raley has a 13-game hit streak.
- Cory Raley has 17 multi-hit games this season - tied for the team lead (Gutierrez, Neslony).
- Stephen Smith has reached base safely in 20 consecutive games.
- Stephen Smith posted his 16th multi-hit game (29th career).
- Stephen Smith recorded his 10th double giving him 22 extra-base hits this season (tied for the team lead - Neslony).
- Stephen Smith tallied his Big 12-leading 40th walk of the season in the sixth inning ... the walk was intentional - marking his first of the season (2nd career).
- Eric Gutierrez has started in 173 straight games - spanning his entire three-year Tech career ... streak ranks him ninth among active players in NCAA Division I baseball.
- Bryant Burleson played in his 203rd career game as a Red Raider ... is 1-of-4 players in school history with 200 career games played (Clint Bryant - 240 ... Taylor Ashby - 216 ... Madison Edwards - 212).
- Burleson has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games.
- Tim Proudfoot has 639 career at-bats - ranks 9th in school history ... he moved past Barrett Barnes, who had 637 during his three-year career (2010-12).
