By Ty Parker
LUBBOCK — The No. 10 Texas Tech baseball team won its seventh-straight home game, taking a 12-2 victory in the first of three games against Wichita State Friday night in front of 3,587 fans at Rip Griffin Park.
The Red Raiders (9-3) took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth, and exploded for six runs in the seventh on their way to the victory. Four Red Raiders posted multi-hit games while 8-of-9 position starters reached base safely.
The Shockers (5-7) were limited to two runs on 10 hits as the Red Raider pitching staff finished the night with 12 strikeouts to one walk. WSU trotted out seven pitchers in the contest after the Red Raiders were able to chase starter Preston Snavely (1-2) in the sixth.
Tech starter Erikson Lanning went 4.1 innings and gave up a run on seven hits with three strikeouts. The junior has pitched into the fifth inning in all three of his starts this season and now has 16 strikeouts on the year to three walks.
Junior left-hander pitcher Dane Haveman (1-0) earned the first win of his Red Raider career as he delivered 1.2 innings of work, highlighted by three-consecutive strikeouts in the sixth after allowing a leadoff triple. Freshman Micah Dallas impressed once again in two innings of work, while sophomore Ryan Sublette lit up the radar guns with a pair of strikeouts to close out the win.
The Red Raiders broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth as junior second baseman Brian Klein smoked a two-run double to left center, making it 3-1. The next inning, senior Cameron Warren hit his second home run in as many games, connecting on a solo blast over the bullpen in left to make it 4-1.
Tech opened up its lead with six runs in the seventh. WSU walked the bases loaded before freshman Dru Baker, sophomore Braxton Fulford, sophomore Gabe Holt and freshman Max Marusak combined for four straight hits to boost the lead to 10-2.
The Red Raiders loaded the bases again in the eighth and plated its final two runs of the night with consecutive bases-loaded walks.
Klein led the Red Raiders at the plate with his fourth game this season of three-plus hits, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, two RBI and two runs. The Keller, Texas, native leads the team with 19 hits on the year and has hit safely in eight of the last nine games.
Holt went 2-for-4 to extend his streak of reaching base safely to 27-straight games. The center fielder has hit safely in six straight games, although he was caught stealing by the catcher for the first time in his career Friday.
Warren went 1-for-2 with the dinger and matched his career high with three walks. The Midwest City, Okla., native has homered in back-to-back games after his ninth-inning grand slam on Wednesday. Warren now holds the team lead with four home runs this season to make it 14 for his Red Raider career.
The Red Raiders and Shockers continue the three-game series on Saturday with a 2 p.m. first pitch at Rip Griffin Park on TexasTech.TV. Junior right-hander Caleb Kilian will be on the mound for Tech, while the Shockers will go with right-hander Tommy Barnhouse.