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SPORTS
JUNE 12, 2018
BASEBALL
CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 Fate seemed to be on the side of Tech and Duke, as the Blue Devils won four elimination games in a row to keep their season alive and bring the super regional to Lubbock. After a 6-4 win in game one, Tech found themselves in an unfamiliar spot in game two, losing 11-2. For the first time on the road to Omaha, the Red Raiders were in a win-orgo-home game. Less than an hour after the loss, senior shortstop Michael Davis said the team was ready to play again and they wanted to leave it all on the field. “That final out was probably the most enjoyable thing I’ve gotten to do here,” Davis said. The Red Raiders knew the game was an opportunity to play again in front of a home crowd with a trip to the big show on the line. So, they continued with that same mentality they’ve had all season and came out swinging in game three. “We’re fortunate. We brought a bunch of guys in in some tough spots and guys executed some pitches, that’s what it kind of comes down to, against some really good hitters,” Tadlock said. The finale was scoreless through the first two and a half innings until both teams started rolling in the middle stretch. Stringing hits together on offense and solid pitching helped keep Tech in the lead until
the game was over, but the score remained close until Tech started to pull away in the eighth. “It’s a relief honestly. It’s a relief when that game’s over and you get it in the books,” Tadlock said. “We really enjoy close baseball games.” After a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth inning, Tadlock made a call to the bullpen that resulted in senior Dylan Dusek getting to take over the mound one final time at Dan Law Field. He came in to the game and, after a sac groundout, found himself in a jam with two runners in scoring position and no out. He recorded the next two outs himself, closing out the game and securing the Red Raider win. Having pitched earlier in the series, Tadlock said there wasn’t a moment too big for Dusek to come into, and they felt confident in his ability to finish. “The game was telling us what to do,” Tadlock said. “The game was saying ‘Hey, you’ve got a guy down there that can get a left hander out, trust him. Let him do it.’” With his team headed to Omaha for the third time during his six-year term as head coach at Tech, Tadlock said he knows his team plays the game the right way and executes. While they’re on the field, he’s enjoying watching them do it and coaching them along the way. “Good baseball’s fun. Playoff baseball is a lot of fun.”
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1: Members of the Texas Tech baseball program take a picture with their College World Series signs while Red Raider fans put their Guns Up in the background on Monday, June 11, 2018, at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. After defeating Duke, 6-2, in the Lubbock Super Regional finale, Tech secured its spot in the 2018 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. 2: Tech sophomore pitcher John McMillon yells in celebration while walking back to the dugout after completing an inning in game three of the Lubbock Super Regional against Duke. McMillon came in for relief during the game and got out of his first inning on just four pitches courtesy of a double play and strikeout. 3: Tech senior pitcher Dylan Dusek tags a Duke base runner out in the ninth inning of game three of the Lubbock Super Regional against Duke on Monday, June 11, 2018, at Dan Law Field. Dusek came in to close out the game in the ninth and recorded the last two outs himself for his final appearance in Lubbock. 4: Sophomore second baseman Brian Klein points to the sky after hitting a home run in the Lubbock Super Regional finale against Duke on Monday, June 11, 2018, at Dan Law Field. Of Tech’s six runs scored, four of them came from homers – two single shots and a two-run home run.
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