LUBBOCK, Texas — No. 7 Texas Tech hit two homers during another abbreviated outing by Alek Manoah and held on for a 4-1 win over West Virginia on Friday night.
The Red Raiders (22-6, 2-3), whose 14-game home winning streak was snapped Thursday night, responded to even the series against WVU (10-13, 1-4). They’ll play the rubber game Saturday.
The Mountaineers were no-hit into the sixth inning by Caleb Killian (3-1) before breaking through on Darius Hill’s two-out double. After a wild pitch, Marques Inman’s single supplied the visitors their lone run.
Texas Tech’s Ryan Shelter picked up the three-inning save, yielding only one additional hit.
For the sixth time in seven starts, Manoah (1-4) failed to survive the fifth inning. The 6-foot-6 sophomore fell behind 1-0 in the third when catcher Braxton Fulford hit his first homer of the season.
Michael Davis added a two-run shot in the fourth, and Texas Tech chased Manoah in the fifth after the first two batters reached. BJ Meyers came on and yielded a sac-fly that stretched the lead to 4-0, but West Virginia’s bullpen was not charged with a run, giving it 10 scoreless innings in the series through two games.