Texas Baseball 2012: Longhorns Drub Texas Tech 14-3, Win Series

Texas clinched a Big 12 series win with emphasis in Lubbock Saturday afternoon, overwhelming Texas Tech with 19 hits en route to a 14-3 win.

Texas Tech took a 1-0 first inning lead on a Tim Proudfoot home run, but the Texas offense awoke in the fourth and strung together four singles and a hit batsman against starter John Neely for a 4-1 lead. The No. 25 Longhorns (17-12, 7-2) added one more in the fifth and then posted crooked numbers in each of the seventh through ninth innings to complete the blowout.

Texas third baseman Erich Weiss went 4-for-6 with a homer, giving him a .588 average for the series. Jonathan Walsh was 3-for-6 and scored thrice, and Mark Payton drove in three, while five other Longhorns drove in two runs each. Freshman starter Ricky Jacquez earned the win by going 5.2 innings, giving up four earned runs and striking out five. John Curtiss threw three innings to pick up the save, allowing four baserunners and a run.

The win keeps Texas tied with No. 4 Texas A&M in the Big 12 standings and provides an immediate lift from the disappointment of a 14-inning 7-6 loss on Friday night. The Texas bats had scored four off Red Raiders ace Duke von Schamann over seven innings and the game was tied after nine. Closer Corey Knebel struck out eight and allowed only one earned run in 6.2 innings of relief work, but an infield hit and a muffed double-play ball led to Texas Tech rallying from a two-run 14th inning deficit to claim the win.

On Tuesday at 6 p.m., Texas hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, then opens home conference play against Oklahoma State Friday evening.

Follow all the Texas baseball action at Burnt Orange Nation.