Fulford and Dallas Help No. 5 Tech Baseball Even Series

LUBBOCK, TX – Junior Braxton Fulford ripped a three-run double down the left-field line with two outs in the eighth inning to lift No. 5 Texas Tech baseball to a 4-1 win over Baylor on Saturday at a sold out Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

The Red Raiders (27-9, 8-6 Big 12) evened the series after falling, 12-4, on Friday to the Bears (25-13, 6-8) in the opener. Baylor has not left Lubbock with a series win since 2010.

Micah Dallas set a career-high with 10 strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work in the no-decision, while Ryan Sublette (5-1) earned the win for the Red Raiders after throwing the final two innings of relief. Dallas scattered six hits and didn’t allow a walk or an extra base hit over his seven frames. Sublette faced the minimum six batters in his relief appearance by coaxing an inning-ending double play in the eighth and retiring the Bears in order in the ninth.

It was a scoreless ballgame until the sixth inning as Baylor got its lone run of the game with two outs on a wild pitch. Tech answered in the bottom of the frame to tie it up as Parker Kelly recorded his first career triple before scoring on an Easton Murrell single to center.

Dallas would throw a 1-2-3 seventh inning with two strikeouts to keep the score at 1-1 before exiting for Sublette. The preseason All-American had his longest outing of the season and matched a career-high by going 7.0 innings. His 10 strikeouts topped his previous career-best of nine during his freshman season against Oklahoma State.

Murrell would get the eighth inning started for the Red Raiders with a one-out walk which was followed by a Jace Jung single. Dru Baker grounded out to move the runners into scoring position with two away. The Bears opted to intentionally walk Cal Conley, bringing Fulford, who was 0-for-3 at that point, to the plate with the bases loaded. With the crowd on its feet, the Lubbock native came through, turning on a 1-0 pitch and pulling it down the left-field line to bring in all three runs.

The Red Raiders finished the game with seven hits, led by Jung who was 2-for-4 with a pair of singles for the only multi-hit performance. Cole Stilwell and Kelly both tripled in the contest.

Baylor’s Jimmy Winston (6-3) took the loss after allowing the three runs in the eighth. Starter Hayden Kettler went 5.1 innings for the Bears, allowing one run on five hits with two strikeouts. Jared McKenzie and Estaban Cardoza-Oquendo each had two hits on the day to the lead the Bears, who finished with just seven singles a day after hitting four home runs.