Tech rolls to Friday night 11-4 win over KU

Friday, March 13

6:30 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

12-5, 0

Kansas

10-7, 0

Kansas

Texas Tech

Tech rolls to Friday night 11-4 win over KU

March 13, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF) Highlights

The Red Raiders open Big 12 play with a resounding win over the Jayhawks

By: Andrew Stern

LUBBOCK, Texas – Logan Hughes homered, scored three times and reached base all five times to the plate, while his corner outfield mate Jesse Rusinek finished a home run shy of the cycle, in Texas Tech's 11-4 wire-to-wire win over Kansas in the Big 12 opener Friday night at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

In the win, Texas Tech (12-5, 1-0) placed six of eight hitters to lead off an inning on base and scored at least eight runs for the program-record 14th-straight game.

The Red Raiders scored in the bottom half of all three innings that KU scored in and got 3.1 innings of one hit relief from a trio of pitchers.

After starter Lukas Pirko struck out two in a scoreless first, the Red Raiders got off to a fast start when Kyeler Thompson was hit by a pitch, stole second and eventually came around to score on an RBI groundout by Connor Shouse.

The 1-0 lead for the Red Raiders lasted just five pitches, as Hughes ripped a 2-2 offering from Kansas (10-6, 0-1 Big 12) starter Mason Cook for his fifth home run of the season. The ball
traveled 426-feet and left the lefty sluggers bat at 104 MPH.

Armed with the lead for the first time, Pirko used a 4-6-3 double play and a strike out to fire a shutdown second inning.

In the home-half of the second, the Red Raiders got back-to-back singles from catcher Matt Quintanar and Rusinek to place runners on second and third with nobody out.

After a strikeout put the first out of the frame on the board, Thompson worked a full count walk to load the bases.

Kansas ultimately used a strike out and a deep flyout to keep the game at 2-0.

With the game still 2-0 Tech in the fourth with two outs, Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Brady Ballinger launched a solo home run, his first of the season, to cut the Tech lead in half (2-1).

Not fazed, Pirko used a 6-3 putout to send the Red Raiders back to the dish.

After stranding back-to-back singles to open the second and third, the Red Raiders finally converted a lead-off base runner, when Robin Villeneuve scored Rusinek from second on his
team leading seventh home run of the season. Villeneuve's home run tied for him for fourth in the Big 12.

The ball flew well over the coke bottle in right-centerfield and landed on Akron Ave after traveling an estimated 424-feet. The ball left the Canadian's bat at 110 MPH.

With one out and the bases empty, the Red Raiders were able to strike for three more runs using a two-run RBI single from SS Linkin Garcia and a sac-fly from Caden Ferraro to take a 7-1 lead.

The RBIs for Garcia were his 31st and 32nd of his true freshman campaign.

After KU used an RBI single from Dylan Schlotterback to pull to within 7-2, Pirko coaxed a line drive to right field that with Schlotterback running with the pitch turned into a 9-4 double play.

In their half of the fifth, Tech answered the KU run with a singular run of their own when Thompson sacrificed home Rusinek.

Just one out from recording six innings of two run ball, Pirko ran into trouble when a Ballinger single and an E9 scored a run and placed the LF in scoring position.

On the very next pitch, KU pulled to within 8-4 on another RBI single this time from catcher Augusto Mungarrieta.

The pitch was the 86th and final of the night for Pirko who tossed five-and-two-thirds of four run (three earned) ball. He walked just on batter and struck out seven to earn his team-leading third win of the season.

With a runner on first and two outs, the Red Raiders turned to sidewinder Heeryun Han who ended coaxed an inning ending grounder.

In their half of the sixth, the Red Raiders answered the two runs from KU with a run of their own on a two-out RBI single from Ferraro that scored Hughes from second. The run was the outfielders 31st run scored.

Entering the day, the 31 runs scored would have tied him for the nations lead with Georgia's Daniel Jackson. Jackson did not score on Friday night, but his teammate Tre Phelps did bringing him into a three-way tie with Hughes atop the nation's lead.

The game remained 9-4 Tech until the eighth, when Tech was gifted a pair of runs by a pair of KU errors to make the game 11-4.

After tossing a 1-2-3 eighth, Tech reliever Logan Bevis worked around a two-out single to close out the Red Raiders 12th overall win of the season and 11th home victory.

One season after Tech went 12-13 at Rip Griffin Park, the Red Raiders are now an impressive 11-2 at home this season, meaning with just one more victory against KU, Tech can equal its entire home win total from a season ago on the opening homestand of the season.

UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders will look to win the series on Saturday afternoon when Sophomore Connor Mohan takes the ball for his second-straight Saturday start. First pitch from The Rip is set for 2 p.m.