Pitching gives Tech split with UTSA

MIDLAND - Texas Tech got the solid midweek pitching for which it had searched all season, but still managed only a split.

Right-hander Lorenzo Douglas allowed just two runs on eight hits over six innings but was saddled with a 2-0 loss to UT-San Antonio in the first game of a doubleheader. Right-hander Nate Karns followed that by striking out a career-high 11 Roadrunners in the second game, and he got enough offensive support to stave off a late UTSA rally as the Red Raiders came back for a 7-6 victory in the nightcap.

With the split, the Red Raiders stand at 15-20 overall heading into a weekend Big 12 Conference series at No. 11 Oklahoma. UTSA exits the split at 17-15.

After dropping the first game, the Red Raiders finally found their bats with a five-run fifth inning, and that supported Karns' solid effort.

Karns (2-3) allowed three runs - all solo home runs - and scattered six hits over six innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts while not allowing a single walk.

Trailing 3-1, Tech got three straight hits to start the fifth inning, with Scott LeJeune pulling Tech to within 3-2 with a single to left-center. One out later, Nick Hanslik walked to load the bases ahead of RBI singles by Justin Berry and Jeremy Mayo to pull Tech into the lead at 4-3. Garrett Totten followed with a bases-loaded walk, and Michael Reed plated the final run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 6-3.

Joey Kenworthy drove in a big insurance run with a two-out RBI single to right to push the lead to 7-3. That run became huge when the Roadrunners struck for three runs in the top of the eighth, two coming on a bases-loaded single by Ryan Hutson.

Reliever Louis Head shut down the rally there, striking out Tyler Carpenter then working a perfect ninth to earn the save.

Ryan Proudfoot (0-1) took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks with two strikeouts over four innings.

The Red Raiders could not figure out UT-San Antonio starter Andy Benedict (2-1) in the first game as the left-hander tossed a three-hit, complete-game shutout in a game that lasted just seven innings.

It was the first shutout loss for the Red Raiders since a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Missouri on March 28 of last season, and the first shutout in non-conference action since the 2008 season (opener against Louisiana-Lafayette in San Antonio.

Chris Richburg had two of Tech's three hits in the game and Logan Brown the other on a bunt single. But the Red Raiders got just one runner past first base, and that was only because of a Benedict balk. Benedict struck out five and walked two, one of which was erased on a double play.

Douglas was solid in his first appearance since March 17 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, walking three and striking out five.

UTSA struck for its first run in the second inning on a pair of singles and an RBI fielder's choice by Casey Selsor. The Roadrunners then tacked on a run in the third on a two-out single by Michael Rockett and an RBI triple by Aaron Powell. Douglas finished the game strong by retiring 10 of the last 11 batters he faced, and Colt Farrar worked a scoreless seventh despite giving up a pair of hits.

Game 1

UT-SAN ANTONIO 2, TEXAS TECH 0 (7)

UT-SAN ANTONIO TEXAS TECH

AB R H BI AB R H BI

Carpenter rf 3 0 1 0 Totten 2b 3 0 0 0

Davis ss 4 0 0 0 Reed lf 2 0 0 0

Hernandez lf 4 0 1 0 Hanslik ph/rf 1 0 0 0

Rockett cf 4 1 3 0 Kenworthy ss 3 0 0 0

Powell dh 4 0 1 1 Richburg 1b 3 0 2 0

Brown 3b 2 1 1 0 Ashby cf 3 0 0 0

Rummel c 2 0 1 0 Mayo dh/c 2 0 0 0

Selsor 1b 3 0 0 1 Berry 3b 2 0 0 0

Hutson 2b 2 0 0 0 Whitehead c 1 0 0 0

Macnoll pr 0 0 0 0

Farrar p 0 0 0 0

Brown rf/lf 2 0 1 0

Totals 28 2 8 2 Totals 23 0 3 0

UT-San Antonio 011 000 0 - 2

Texas Tech 000 000 0 - 0

DP - UTSA 1. LOB - UTSA 9, Texas Tech 3. 3B - Powell (1). SH - Carpenter (1). CS - Brown (2).

IP H R ER BB SO

UT-San Antonio

Benedict (W, 2-1) 7 3 0 0 2 5

Texas Tech

Douglas (L, 0-2) 6 6 2 2 3 5

Farrar 1 2 0 0 0 1

BK - Benedict (1). U - Sharpe, Leible, Freese. T - 1:54. A - N/A.

Game 2

TEXAS TECH 7, UT-SAN ANTONIO 6

UT-SAN ANTONIO TEXAS TECH

AB R H BI AB R H BI

Carpenter c 3 1 1 1 Reed lf 2 1 0 1

Davis ss 5 0 0 0 Kenworthy ss 4 1 2 1

Hernandez lf 5 0 1 0 Richburg 1b 4 1 1 0

Rockett cf 5 1 0 0 LeJeune dh 5 1 2 1

Powell dh 3 1 1 0 Ashby cf 4 0 3 1

Brown 3b 4 1 2 1 Hanslik rf 2 1 0 0

Selsor 1b 3 0 0 0 Brown rf 0 0 0 0

Mohn rf 4 1 1 1 Leslie ph 1 0 0 0

Hutson 2b 3 1 3 3 Macnoll rf 0 0 0 0

Berry 3b 4 1 2 1

Mayo c 3 0 1 1

Totten 2b 3 1 0 0

Totals 35 6 9 6 Totals 32 7 11 6

UT-San Antonio 002 010 030 - 6

Texas Tech 100 050 010 - 7

E - Mayo (7), Brown (1), Ashby (1). DP - Texas Tech 1. LOB - UTSA 4, Texas Tech 11. 2B - Ashby (10). HR - Hutson (5), Carpenter (3), Mohn (3). SH - Ashby (4), Carpenter. SF - Reed (2).

IP H R ER BB SO

UT-San Antonio

Proudfoot (L, 0-1) 4 5 3 3 4 2

Ruepke 1/3 2 3 3 1 0

Clarke 21/3 2 1 1 2 1

Crocker 2/3 1 0 0 0 0

Calhoon 2/3 1 0 0 0 1

Texas Tech

Karns (W, 2-3) 6 6 3 3 0 11

Kilcrease 11/3 2 3 0 2 0

Head (S, 1) 12/3 1 0 0 1 3

WP - Karns 2(6). HBP - by Proudfoot (Richburg), by Crocker (Berry). BK - Proudfoot (2). U - Leible, Freese, Thomas. T - N/A. A - N/A.