Texas Tech rallies to defeat Duke, 6-4, in Super Regional opener

Trailing by three runs, the Texas Tech Red Raiders came from behind to beat Duke 6-4 in Game 1 of the Lubbock Super Regional.

As a result, the Red Raiders need only one more victory to advance to the College World Series.

Game 2 is set for Sunday afternoon. A third game, if necessary, would be played Monday.

Texas Tech scored two runs in the fifth, one each in the sixth and seventh and two more in the eighth to account for the eventual final score.

Gabe Holt smacked an RBI single and Brian Klein added a run-scoring double in the eighth to give the Red Raiders the lead.

Duke put runners on first and third with one out in the ninth but hit into a game-ending double play.

Zack Cone smashed a two-run double in the fifth to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead.

Records

Texas Tech 43-17
Duke 44-17

Texas Tech, Texas set to host in NCAA Super Regional round

When the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Texas Longhorns clinched NCAA regional titles in baseball on Sunday night, it appeared likely that both Big 12 Conference powerhouses would be playing on the road in the next round.

A day later, both moved into position to host best-of-three NCAA Super Regionals at their respective home fields this weekend.

By Tuesday morning, it was made official.

Texas Tech will host the Duke Blue Devils starting Saturday afternoon at Rip Griffin Park in Lubbock.

Texas also will host on Saturday, taking on the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Disch-Falk Field in Austin. UT has already announced a sellout.

Winners of the eight Super Regionals will advance to the College World Series.

Texas Tech, the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, and Texas, the No. 13 seed, both won three straight games at home last weekend to win their respective first-round regionals.

When Texas Tech closed out its Lubbock Regional sweep with an 11-6 victory over Louisville on Sunday, fans figured the Red Raiders would be headed to Athens, Ga., to play the No. 8-seeded Georgia Bulldogs.

Duke had other ideas, eliminating Georgia by sweeping the Dawgs 8-5 and 8-4 on Monday to win the Athens Regional.

Texas was in a similar situation after it polished off Indiana 3-2 on Sunday night to claim the Austin Regional.

The Longhorns figured they would be headed to Oxford, Miss., to play the No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels.

But Tennessee Tech scrambled the picture by shocking the Rebels 15-5 and 3-2 on Monday to claim the Oxford Regional title.

Entering play on Monday, all that Georgia and Ole Miss needed was one victory on their home field against a lower-seeded program, and both would have hosted a Super Regional.

But as it so often happens in college baseball, what appeared likely didn’t actually come to pass, which in turn sent a pair of Super Regional series to the Lone Star State.

Lubbock Super Regional
Duke 44-16
at Texas Tech 42-17
Best of three, starting Saturday

Austin Super Regional
Tennessee Tech 52-10
at Texas 40-20
Best of three, starting Saturday

What ever happened to …

Here is what happened to the other five NCAA tournament teams from the state of Texas on opening weekend.

Texas A&M — The Aggies (40-22) endured a tough weekend in losing two of three at Austin. After walloping Indiana on opening night, A&M lost to Texas on Saturday and Indiana on Sunday, falling short of the Super Regional round for the first time since 2014.

Houston — The Cougars (38-25) went 2-2 in a spirited run at the Chapel Hill Regional. The American Athletic Conference champions beat Purdue twice but also lost twice to tournament host North Carolina. The Tar Heels pounded the Cougars 19-11 in the championship round Sunday.

Baylor — The Bears (37-21) went 1-2 at the Stanford Regional, losing to Cal State Fullerton, beating Wright State and then losing to host Stanford. Fullerton knocked off the tournament host Cardinal to win the regional.

Dallas Baptist — The Patriots (42-21) bowed out of the tournament with a 2-2 record at Fayetteville, Ark., but they did enjoy their moments. Following a 9-0 opening-night loss to Southern Miss, Dallas Baptist beat Oral Roberts 18-9 and Southern Miss 9-4 to reach the championship round, where it lost to Arkansas, 4-3.

Texas Southern — The Tigers (27-28) were swept out of the tournament in Austin, losing to Texas, 10-0, and to Indiana, 6-0. Texas Southern, from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, has now played in NCAA tournaments in 2015, 2017 and 2018.