T.J. Pompey, Ryan Free lead way in win at TCU | Texas Tech baseball takeaways

Two weeks ago, the Texas Tech baseball team was sinking in the Big 12 standings with a conference record three games under .500. The Red Raiders have been in turnaround mode since.

T.J. Pompey homered and drove in three runs and starting pitcher Ryan Free bested TCU ace Payton Tolle, helping the Red Raiders beat the Horned Frogs 7-1 in a Big 12 series opener Friday in Fort Worth. Tech (26-9, 10-7) has won eight games in a row, its longest streak of the season.

The victory was Tech's first at Lupton Stadium since 2018. The 2020 series was canceled on account of the Covid outbreak, and the Horned Frogs swept the 2022 series.

After TCU's Karson Bowen homered in the third inning, Tech erased the 1-0 deficit in the fourth. Drew Woodcox doubled home the tying run, Owen Washburn singled home the go-ahead run and Pompey's two-out single made it 3-1.

Pompey added his eighth homer of the season in the sixth and a run-scoring groundout in the eighth.

Tolle (3-3) struck out 11 in five innings for TCU (20-12, 5-11).

The series continues at 3 p.m. Saturday.

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Texas Tech beat one of the Big 12's best pitchers

TCU starter Payton Tolle showed how overpowering he can be, posting double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time in five starts. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound lefthander has 83 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings.

So it's a shot in the arm for the Red Raiders to win, scoring three runs off Tolle and getting a strong start of its own from Ryan Free.

Tech pitchers were up to the challenge

Tolle hasn't allowed more than four runs in nine starts this season, so runs figured to come at a premium. Tech pitchers met the moment.

Free (4-0) held the Horned Frogs to three hits and left after five innings with a 4-1 lead. Jacob Rogers and Josh Sanders followed with two scoreless innings apiece. Combined, they yielded five hits and struck out six.

Red Raiders putting up numbers during hot stretch

Friday was the second time in Texas Tech's eight-game win streak the Red Raiders didn't score in double digits. Tech is averaging 11.6 runs per game during the streak.

One of the hottest hitters is T.J. Pompey. In the past four games, the freshman second baseman is 7 for 15 with four home runs and 14 RBI. Two of the homers were grand slams.