Breaking out: Big games a good sign for Tech's Masters, Stilwell
When your team scores 17 runs, as No. 10 Texas Tech did Sunday in a 17-7 run-rule victory against No. 9 TCU, nearly everyone does something to contribute offensively.
For the Red Raiders, it was nice to see Cody Masters and Cole Stilwell have productive days at the plate. Both reached base four times, scored three times and homered. Both came into the day batting .200, lower than expected for players who have been multi-year contributors.
Tim Tadlock is focusing more on their career bodies of work than what they've done over the past month.
"Those guys have been putting good quality at-bats together and haven't had a whole lot to show for it," the Tech coach said. "Obviously, both have been in and out of (the lineup). I thought they had a really good approach to what they were doing and got some pitches to hit.
"There's a history there with those two guys. They've always hit and so, to me, that's more what we look at right now than what the batting average says."
Tech (22-7) resumes a five-game homestand when it hosts Stephen F. Austin (12-14) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and 1 p.m. Wednesday. Freshman righthander Brendan Girton (1-0, 5.73 earned-run average) is scheduled to make his first start for Tech in the opener.
Stilwell, in a 6-for-35 stretch from the beginning of March through Saturday's game, broke out Sunday with an RBI double, a solo homer and two walks. Masters, who was 5 for 30 from the beginning of March through Saturday, hit a three-run homer early in Sunday's game to give Tech separation, as well as drawing three walks and scoring on a double steal.
Their performances wound up being overshadowed by Jace Jung's second three-homer game in 10 days. But it was meaningful to Masters, who had gone 0 for 4 with two strikeouts the day before in a 6-5, 10-inning victory.
"If you're DHing, you've got one job," he said. "I got the nod (Saturday) as well and didn't really help us win at all. So it felt good to grind out some walks and cross home plate and really help us win."
Masters said he got himself into bad counts Saturday, swinging at first-pitch off-speed pitches out of the zone. In the third inning Sunday, he crushed a 1-0 pitch over the wall in center field, increasing the Red Raiders' lead to 6-1 and chasing TCU starter Johnny Ray.
"Today, I was seeing the slider in the dirt," he said. "I think about all of (the at-bats), I was able to get 1-0 each time and put me in good position to get a heater. And I think he kind of left it up, middle of the plate, and I hit it well."
Masters walked on four pitches in the second, got ahead 2-0 en route to a walk in the fourth and got ahead 3-1 on the way to a walk in the sixth.
Quotable
Tech had lost three Big 12 games in a row — the last two of a road series at Kansas State and Friday's series opener against TCU — before taking the last two from the Horned Frogs. TCU came in ranked No. 9.
"I think it really shows our heart and our determination to win," Jace Jung said. "It really shows a bunch of savages in the box. I think the last two days, you saw a bunch of savages. We were hiding a little bit for three games, but now we're coming back."
Jung's 15 home runs and 44 runs batted in both were tied for the lead in NCAA Division I through Sunday's games. South Carolina designated hitter Wes Clarke also has 15 homers. Old Dominion right fielder Andy Garriola and Eastern Illinois shortstop Trey Sweeney also have 44 RBI.
Poll watch
Tech moved up two spots to No. 8 in the weekly National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll released Monday. The others from the Big 12 are No. 3 Texas, No. 10 Oklahoma State and No. 12 TCU.
After the two-game midweek series, Tech visits West Virginia (12-14, 4-5) for games at 5:30 p.m. CDT Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.