Kansas sweeps Texas Tech baseball team for first time in 10 years
Ten years ago, Kansas swept the Texas Tech baseball team in a three-game series in Lawrence, Kansas. A month later, the Red Raiders clinched their first trip to the College World Series, and Tim Tadlock was national coach of the year.
Now the Red Raiders will try to turn the tide in the same way.
John Nett homered, Kodey Shojinaga hit a three-run double and Kansas beat Texas Tech 7-3 Sunday in Lawrence, the Jayhawks completing their first three-game sweep of the Red Raiders since May 2014.
Kansas (25-15, 12-9 in the Big 12) won for the 10th time in 11 games. Tech (29-17, 12-12) has lost four in a row after winning three last weekend against West Virginia, a Big 12 co-leader at the time.
Tech took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a run-scoring single from Gavin Kash and a triple by Damian Bravo.
Tech hosts UT-Rio Grande Valley (21-18) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and Big 12 leader Oklahoma (26-14, 15-4) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Series opener takeaways: Record-breaking Texas Tech baseball defense can't hold on to lead against Kansas
Second game takeaways: Texas Tech baseball bats silenced in second loss to Kansas in Big 12 series
Here are three takeaways:
Kansas made Texas Tech pay for walks
With his team trailing 2-0, Nett hit his fifth homer of the season in the third inning, and Tech pitchers fell apart in the fourth. Starter Mac Heuer (4-4) walked five in the fourth, and they all scored.
Bases-loaded walks to Nett and Jake English gave Kansas the lead. Jacob Rogers came on to replace Heuer and gave up Shojinaga's bases-clearing double that made the score 6-2.
Kansas pitching rules the weekend
Why is Kansas on the upswing under second-year coach Dan Fitzgerald? The Jayhawks have had one of the best weekend rotations in the Big 12 with USC Upstate transfer Reese Dutton (7-2, 3.14), freshman Dominic Voegele (6-2, 2.90) and, until he went down a month ago, junior-college transfer Patrick Steitz (2-2, 2.16).
Dutton and Voegele delivered quality starts in 4-3 and 11-2 victories Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, Tech chased J'Briell Easley in the third, but Ethan Lanthier (3-0) was superb, giving the Jayhawks' 4 2/3 innings of scoreless, two-hit relief.
Red Raiders get good news regarding Dylan Maxcey
The Tech sophomore catcher and designated hitter was back with the team and in the dugout Sunday, a day after he was hit in the head by a pitch. Tech athletics issued a statement early Sunday saying Maxcey underwent tests at a Lawrence, Kansas, hospital and was discharged. The statement said Maxcey was "doing well."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Kansas sweeps Texas Tech baseball team for first time in 10 years
