Texas Tech baseball takeaways: What to make of all those strikeouts vs. Tennessee
ARLINGTON — Facing a top-10 team guarantees a challenging start to the season, and the Texas Tech baseball team wasn't quite up to it.
Power pitcher A.J. Russell set a tone with 10 strikeouts, third baseman Billy Amick put his team on the board with a two-run homer and No. 8 Tennessee added on late to beat No. 22 Texas Tech 6-2 Friday night in a season opener at Globe Life Field. The game was one of three on the first day of the Shriners Children's College Showdown.
The Red Raiders' second game of the three-day event comes at 3 p.m. Saturday against Nebraska (1-0).
Will making contact be a problem for Texas Tech baseball?
Texas Tech batters piled up 17 strikeouts, but let's put that into context. Tennessee starter A.J. Russell fanned 10 in his 4 1/3 innings, most on fastballs that clocked 95 to 97 mph. That's probably not the last time the 6-foot-6 righthander will have such a stretch.
Working out of the bullpen last year, Russell struck out 47 in 30 1/3 innings while allowing nine hits.
How did Texas Tech pitcher Kyle Robinson handle the opening-night start?
Answer: Better than he did last year when Gonzaga chased Robinson with no outs in the third. This time, the tall righthander went 3 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and three runs.
Robinson held Tennessee scoreless through three innings and ran into bad luck in the fourth. Vols third baseman Billy Amick hit an opposite-field, two-run homer off the pole a few feet above the wall in right. The inning's third run scored on a two-out throwing error by second baseman Tracer Lopez.
The Red Raiders are counting on Robinson to deliver this season, now that he's an upperclassman and coming off strong postseason performances last year against Oklahoma State and Florida.
Texas Tech baseball shortstop T.J. Pompey has a memorable first game
Among Red Raiders freshman, probably none has been more eagerly anticipated than shortstop T.J. Pompey, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound freshman from Coppell. Even Tim Tadlock said this week the Tech coaching staff assumed at this time last year Pompey would be a high draft pick and sign with a Major League organization.
Pompey delivered a two-run triple in his college debut, and it came at an opportune time with Tech trailing 3-0 and two outs in the fourth inning.
Season preview: Formidable foes confront Texas Tech baseball team in first week at Globe Life Field
All sorts of shortstops: How Texas Tech baseball coach Tim Tadlock views his myriad middle-infield options
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech baseball quick hits: Did Tennessee expose a contact issue?
