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Texas Tech baseball has a long night courtesy of Tennessee baseball's A.J. Russell
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- Texas Tech baseball has a long night courtesy of Tennessee baseball's A.J. Russell
ARLINGTON — Frank Anderson can remember a time 25 or a few more years ago when he was pitching coach for the Texas Tech baseball team and would never have to take out a starting pitcher.
Times change, and that goes double for season openers in February.
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"It's not like back in the day when we'd throw Shane Wright," Anderson said, "and he'd throw a complete game the first time out of the chute."
Wright, pitching for the Red Raiders from 1997-99, threw a school record 24 complete games. Anderson was his pitching coach, and now Anderson is pitching coach for eighth-ranked Tennessee , which used two pitchers Friday night and racked up 17 strikeouts in a season-opening 6-2 victory against No. 22 Texas Tech .
A.J. Russell, a 6-foot-6 sophomore who was overpowering out of the bullpen last year, struck out 10 in his first career start, one that lasted 4 1/3 innings. A.J. Causey went the rest of the way and struck out seven, but Russell was the conversation piece, given that he fanned eight of the first nine batters.
Quick hits from Globe Life Field: Texas Tech baseball takeaways: What to make of all those strikeouts vs. Tennessee
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Season preview: Formidable foes confront Texas Tech baseball team in first week at Globe Life Field
Anderson was looking to get 65 pitches out of Russell — with his adrenaline pumping, maybe 80. He wound up making 73 pitches, which was more than enough for the Red Raiders' liking.
"I thought their guy, Russell, was really good," Tech coach Tim Tadlock said. "He had an above-average fastball, had a lot of carry on it. We made some adjustments after the first time through. We weren't very good the first itme through, obviously."
The Red Raiders had a top-30 offense in NCAA Division I last season, averaging 8.1 runs per game. The biggest ringleaders — Gavin Kash, Kevin Bazzell, Gage Harrelson and Austin Green — are back. Tech finished with five hits, two by designated hitter Owen Washburn. Kash, Bazzell and Harrelson fanned three times apiece.
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Russell's line last year was an attention getter: 47 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings with only nine hits allowed an earned-run average of 0.89.
"I hate to be a big analytics guy," Anderson said, "but it is a part of the game now, and he's a big guy and throws from a little bit lower slot, and the ball takes off and jumps on you. It really does. Obviously, it doesn't rise, but the perception is it stays on line and kind of rises because he throws from a little lower (angle). Plus, it's usually 95 and above, so that's tough.
"That's a good (Tech) team right there, and they've got some offensive guys that can hit fastballs, and he beat them today with his fastball pretty much."
Russell mowed down one batter after another with fastballs at 95 to 97 mph.
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"He's a guy you really do have to have a good approach against," Tadlock said. "You've got to stay above the ball. It's easier said than done. ... Sometimes, video doesn't do stuff justice. We knew the guy's stuff played up. But then he was 95-96 (mph), and it played up from there."
Veteran Texas Tech players have played a number of games in Globe Life Field, both in early season events such as this weekend's Shriners Children's College Showdown and in the Big 12 tournament. Russell, on the other hand, was making not only his first college start, but pitching in a Major League stadium for the first time.
"Last night, it was kind of a surreal moment," he said, "because we were practicing and I was like, 'This place is huge.' But I thought it was a lot of fun. It was a cool environment for sure."
On Saturday, Texas Tech plays Nebraska at 3 p.m., and Tennessee takes on Oklahoma at 7 p.m.
Texas Tech’s Kevin Bazzell (4) prepares to go to the batter’s box during a second-round game Thursday, May 25, 2023, against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Bazzell recorded the game-winning hit in the ninth inning to give the Red Raiders a 10-9 win.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: A.J. Russell's heat overloads Texas Tech baseball in season opener
