Quick takeaways from Texas Tech baseball team's victory against WVU
ARLINGTON — Mason Molina threw six strong innings, Gavin Kash and Austin Green homered and No. 6 seed Texas Tech beat No. 3 seed West Virginia 6-2, capping a string of upsets on Wednesday's first day of the Big 12 tournament at Globe Life Field.
Tech was the third consecutive lower seed to beat a higher seed in the first round. Earlier, No. 8 seed Kansas beat No. 1 seed Texas 6-3, and No. 7 seed Oklahoma beat No. 2 seed Oklahoma State 9-5. The only high seed to take care of business in the first round was No. 4 seed TCU, which run-ruled No. 5 seed Kansas State 16-3.
More: Big 12 tournament pairings
Texas Tech (38-19) and Oklahoma (31-24) will play a winners' bracket game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Here are a few quick takeaways on the Red Raiders' first-round victory:
Texas Tech pitcher Mason Molina makes himself at home at Globe Life Field
The California sophomore was the Red Raiders' starting and winning pitcher for the second year in a row in Tech's Big 12 tournament opener. Last year, Molina struck out 10 over 6 2/3 innings in a 5-3 victory against Kansas State.
Molina limited West Virginia's strong lineup to four hits, leaving after six innings with a 6-1 lead. He gave up a solo homer to Mountaineers right fielder Caleb McNeely in the fourth inning that made the score 4-1.
Brandon Beckel made sure Molina's handiwork didn't go for naught. Beckel picked up a three-inning save, his sixth save of the season.
It was Molina's third career start at Globe Life Field. He made his college debut in the third game of the 2022 season, allowing two runs over four innings of a 13-2 loss to Arizona.
Gavin Kash moves up the record books
The Texas Tech first baseman took WVU starter David Hagaman into the Red Raiders' bullpen in right-center in the third. It was Kash's 24th home run of the season, tying him for second in the Tech single-season record book with John Grimes, whose 24 came during his all-America season of 1984.
Kash and the Red Raiders would have to go on a postseason tear for him to challenge the school record: Joe Dillon's 33 homers in 1997.
The sophomore from Beaumont Kelly moved into a tie for ninth in Big 12 history in single-season home runs. The others who hit 24 were Oklahoma State's Rusty McNamara in 1997, Oklahoma State's Billy Gasparino in 1999 and Texas' Kody Clemens in 2018. The Big 12 record is 34 set by Texas A&M's Daylan Holt in 1999.
Nolen Hester is still Nolen Hester
It makes no difference whether he's shaggy or clean cut. The Red Raiders' season-long leadoff batter came into the tournament leading the Big 12 in walks (54) and on-base percentage (.537), most of it accomplished with a mane of hair spilling from beneath his batting helmet.
Hester got a haircut last week, for the first time in a year and a half, he said. Most of the locks are gone, but the plate discipline remains. Against WVU, he put together a Hester special: a bases-loaded walk, a single, a hit by pitch in five plate appearances.
Quite a night for Hudson White
The Texas Tech catcher reached base all five times he came to the plate via three singles and two walks. He singled home Austin Green for the game's first run in the second inning.
White led off the fourth inning with a base hit and scored after back-to-back singles by Tracer Lopez and Hester.
Red Raiders extend Mountaineers' misery
The loss was the fourth in a row for West Virginia (39-17), the Mountaineers' longest skid of the season.
WVU went into the last week of the regular season in the driver's seat to win the Big 12 championship. Instead, the Mountaineers settled for a three-way tie for the title with Texas and Oklahoma State. UT swept WVU in Austin in the last regular-season series.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Quick takeaways from Texas Tech baseball team's victory against WVU
