Fifth-year senior Cody Masters enjoys home finale send-off in Texas Tech win over OU
Cody Masters has put in his time.
The fifth-year senior has enjoyed his fair share of memorable moments, including a grand slam in the eighth inning of a midweek win over Stephen F. Austin back in March.
More: Masters' slam marks a personal comeback
Along with those highs, come the lows of enduring the bumps of bruises of the college baseball season that sometimes develop into injuries. Masters has suffered through several of those, including contracting an illness just before the season that hospitalized Masters for 15 days, causing him to miss the first 23 games.
Back in March, he called it "probably one of the biggest battles I've had to face in the entirety of my career and maybe even my life."
So, on Saturday afternoon, it made sense as to why Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock sent Masters in to pinch hit for junior designated hitter Ty Coleman in the eighth inning of the finale of a Big 12 Conference series against Oklahoma.
An announced sellout crowd of 4,432 realized what was happening before standing up and cheering for the Coppell, Texas, native.
Masters may not have started for Texas Tech, but he earned the right for an at-bat on senior day.
Masters almost marked the occasion with a send-off hit, but he didn’t get a storybook ending. Instead, Masters hustled down the first-base line, as he's done anytime he came up to bat the 13 previous times this season, before he was thrown out to the crowd's dismay.
"Really cool moment," Tadlock said, cracking a smile. "We just need to get the second baseman to cooperate. ... Really glad we were able to get him in there. He's meant a lot to our program."
OU second baseman Jackson Nicklaus turned in a stellar play, making a diving stop before rocketing the ball to first for out No. 1. Masters turned back toward the dugout to another standing ovation, tipping his helmet towards the Red Raider faithful for possibly the last time.
He got his send-off in another form.
It was one of many moments for the six Red Raider seniors as No. 5 Texas Tech’s 10-2 win over Oklahoma in the regular-season finale at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
Third baseman Parker Kelly made his mark by stepping to the plate before launching the first pitch he saw to left field for a solo home run in the seventh inning to give the game its final ledger at 10-2. He also drove in two other runs in the first inning with a single, giving him a team-high three RBIs.
Both Masters and Kelly, alongside shortstop Kurt Wilson, pitcher Colin Clark, shortstop Kurt Wilson and outfielders Cooper Swanson and Easton Murrell celebrated what could've been their final game at Rip Griffin Park.
All six were honored with a pre-game ceremony in which they walked out to the field with friends and family before each received a framed jersey and a commemorative video.
Despite losing the series to OU on Friday, Tech’s seniors would not go out with a loss.
That resilience is something Tadlock appreciated about a group that's always found ways to make him smile when they take the field.
“We know how much Kurt (Wilson) has impacted our program,” Tadlock said, pausing for a moment to compose himself. “The big hits he’s had and the number of places he’s played on the field. Parker (Kelly) really turned himself into a guy that I'll get a chance to go play. On top of that, he’s a great teammate.
“Easton (Murrell)... has had some really big at-bats here. I don't know that we've ever had a guy hit that many leadoff home runs in games and a season. Cody (Masters) committed when he walked through the door here. The guy, … has really matured in our program. He's going to impact your locker room day in and day out. You can say that about all those guys, and that's probably the best compliment you can give. They’re all great teammates.”
After losing twice to the Sooners (33-20, 15-9) on Thursday and Friday, erasing the chance of winning a Big 12 regular season championship, the Red Raiders were trying to salvage anything in the series finale.
Texas Tech’s senior class does not have the chance to play more games at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park — unless the Red Raiders host a Regional and potential Super Regional in the NCAA Tournament.
But, if that doesn't happen, Tech's seniors seem to be grateful they ended their home career on a winning note.
“I never take for granted games I get to play here,” Murrell said. “If it is the last one, I definitely just embraced it. But, no one’s really thinking about (the chance to host a Regional). There's a new season coming up, so everybody's excited, and we're ready to go.”
Murrell marked his senior day with a first-inning lead-off double, fouling three times before finding his pitch to hit. He finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Along with his offensive numbers, Murrell moved close to a peculiar record in Tech history. In the fifth inning, he was hit by a pitch for the 25th time this season, three away from Nick Blankenship’s school record 28 times back in 2002.
Murrell’s been a magnet for pitches his entire career, once having his left hand broken by a pitch playing for Prosper High School in Prosper. The injury forced him to bat solely left-handed instead of being a switch-hitter.
Despite the risk of getting injured again, Murrell likes it when pitches come inside.
“I’m a little bit in on the plate,” Murrell said. “I want them to come inside on me because I like pulling the ball. And if they come too far in, I get hit and get on base. It’s a win-win.”
With the regular season complete, Texas Tech’s seniors shift their focus — along with the rest of their teammates — to securing more wins on the field in hopes of gaining another chance to play at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
The journey begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday when the Red Raiders (36-18, 15-9 Big 12) face Kansas State in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament held at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
But, for the moment, they aren’t thinking about that.
At least on Saturday and maybe parts of Sunday, they’re going to relish in the fact they sent themselves out with a home win.
“Everybody was fired up,” Murrell said. “There’s a couple of older guys on this team, so I really wanted to go out there and end it the right way. We did that.”
BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
at Globe Life Field, Arlington
Seeds, records in parentheses
Wednesday's First-Round Games
Oklahoma State (4) (36-18) vs. Texas (5) (39-17), 9 a.m.
TCU (1) (35-18) vs. Baylor (8) (26-26), 12:30 p.m.
Texas Tech (2) (36-18) vs. Kansas State (7) (27-27), 4 p.m.
Oklahoma (3) (33-20) vs. West Virginia (6) (33-20), 7:30 p.m.
Thursday's Games
Elimination bracket semifinals
Game 5: Oklahoma State-Texas loser vs. TCU-Baylor loser, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Texas Tech-Kansas State loser vs. Oklahoma-West Virginia loser, 12:30 p.m.
Winners' bracket finals
Game 7: Oklahoma State-Texas winner vs. TCU-Baylor winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Texas Tech-Kansas State winner vs. Oklahoma-West Virginia winner, 7:30 p.m.
Friday's Games
Elimination bracket finals
Game 9: Game 7 loser vs. Game 5 winner, 3:15 p.m.
Game 10: Game 8 loser vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
Saturday's Games
Top bracket final
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 9 a.m.
Game 13 (if necessary): Game 11 winner vs. Game 11 loser, if both teams have one loss, 4 p.m.
Bottom bracket final
Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 12:30 p.m.
Game 14 (if necessary): Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser, if both teams have one loss, 4 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.
Sunday's Championship
Top bracket winner vs. bottom bracket winner, 5 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Fifth-year senior Cody Masters enjoys home finale send-off in Texas Tech win over OU
