West Virginia baseball was down on their luck in Lubbock this weekend.
On Sunday, the No. 22 Mountaineers faced a tough conference doubleheader on the road against Texas Tech, dropping back-to-back contests against the Red Raiders. The pair of losses followed a lopsided defeat to Tech on Friday night, keeping WVU from tasting victory during the weekend series.
After being wolloped 15-2 on Friday, WVU kept things closer in both of Sunday's games. The first game matchup saw them fall 6-4, followed by a 3-1 loss in the series finale. In the first contest, the Mountaineers were trailing 3-0 after two innings but managed to narrow the gap to just one run thanks to runs in the fourth and fifth, including an RBI double by senior Kyle West.
The Red Raiders extended their lead with two runs in the sixth, but WVU would respond in kind, pulling within one run in the eighth with a two-run double from junior JJ Wetherholt. But Texas Tech ended up securing an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, and despite the Mountaineers loading the bases in the final inning, there were unable to deliver on the scoring opportunity.
The second game saw West Virginia jump into lead first with a run in the second inning, but Texas Tech quickly responded with two runs of their own. The Mountaineers had a chance to tie the game in the eighth as West hit a double with senior Reed Chumley on first. Chumley made it around third and attempted to score the run, but an efficient Texas Tech relay prevented the tie.
With these losses, the Mountaineers' record stands at 23-16 overall and 11-7 in the Big 12, while the Red Raiders now boast a 29-13 record, including a 12-9 conference play record. Looking ahead, West Virginia will face Penn State on Wednesday with a scheduled first pitch at 5:30 p.m. at State College.