March 29, 2002

Box Score

LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech Head Coach Larry Hays picked up the 1,300th win of his career on Friday night as the Red Raiders edged the Missouri Tigers 7-4 in the first game of a three-game Big 12 series at Dan Law Field.

Hays becomes just the fourth active head coach to win 1,300 games and just the sixth coach in NCAA history to achieve this historic milestone.

The Red Raiders (22-12, 6-7) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first after Missouri starter Abel Newton walked leadoff hitter Jon Slack and after a stolen base and a passed ball he brought him home on a wild pitch that went soaring into the Tech dugout.

Jake Brown extended his current hit streak to nine games in the bottom of the second when he picked up an RBI single to give Tech a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, senior shortstop Gera Alvarez extended his current hitting streak to 15 games with a double down the left field line. The 15-game streak is the longest hit streak by any player in the Big 12 this season. Alvarez was tied with Missouri's Jayce Tingler at 14 games coming into tonight. Alvarez helped spark a three-run inning in which the Red Raiders got three hits including an RBI single by Jon Slack.

Missouri got on the board in the top of the sixth inning when the Tigers scored twice on RBI singles by Jody Roughton and Mick Weiss.

Sophomore Brent Fossum put the game out of reach in the bottom of the eighth when he got a two-run pinch-hit home run that padded the Tech lead to 7-2. Missouri added two mores runs in the top of the ninth before senior reliever Steve Rowe struck out the final two batters to end the game.

Chris Phillips (4-2) picked up the win for Texas Tech while Abel Newton (3-2) suffered the loss for Missouri. Steve Rowed picked up his fourth save of the season after pitching the final 2 1/3 innings.

Texas Tech and Missouri will square off at 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon (weather permitting) at Dan Law Field for the second game of the three-game set. If weather becomes a factor, please check www.texastech.com for the latest updates on game times.