Now, that's pitching: Mason Molina takes no-hitter into 7th and Texas Tech baseball tops KSU
ARLINGTON — The Texas Tech coaching staff moved Mason Molina from the starting rotation to the bullpen in early April, after the first two series of the Big 12 schedule.
Given the chance to start his team's opener Wednesday in the Big 12 tournament, Molina rose to the occasion with his best performance of the season.
The freshman lefthander carried a no-hitter through 6 1/3 innings and finished with a season-high nine strikeouts, leading No. 2 seed Tech to a 5-3 victory against No. 7 seed Kansas State at Globe Life Field.
"Everything was kind of working and clicking," Molina said. "We were just able to get ahead of guys early in the count and kind of just went from there."
Kurt Wilson, playing about 10 miles from where he spent his last two high-school seasons at Arlington Martin, had three hits and Dillon Carter delivered a two-run double as Tech (37-18) advanced to Thursday's 7:30 p.m. winners' bracket final against No. 3 seed Oklahoma or No. 6 seed West Virginia.
Molina (2-5) struck out six of the first of the first seven K-State batters and had his nine after five innings. Nine-hole hitter Cameron Uselton, who walked in the third, was the only batter to reach off Molina until he walked Cash Rugely to start the seventh.
Two batters later, cleanup hitter Nick Goodwin broke up the no-hitter with a one-out double to left field.
Cole Johnson followed with an RBI single, and then with two outs, Kaelen Culpepper finished Molina's day with a two-run double that made it 5-3.
Andrew Devine got the Red Raiders out of the jam, and Austin Becker pitched a three-up, three-down ninth for his second save.
He saved a gem by Molina (2-5), who threw 65 of 94 pitches for strikes.
"He pitched ahead in the count," Tech coach Tim Tadlock said. "I mean, really it was strike one most of the day. He was ahead of most hitters and commanded the fastball and both off-speed pitches. He's always had mound presence, but when he pitches ahead in the count, it makes it tough on guys."
While the Red Raiders were beating Kansas State (27-28) for the fourth consecutive time this season, their thoughts were elsewhere. Ray Hayward, in his 10th year as a charter member of Tadlock's staff, went into heart-transplant surgery in Dallas shortly after the game started.
Hayward has been hospitalized since March 21, when he underwent heart surgery. Red Raider Dugout, citing information from Hayward's family, reported that Hayward is to undergo a kidney transplant on Thursday.
Asked how much the Red Raiders were thinking of Hayward during and immediately after the game, Tadlock took a breath and exhaled heavily.
"Every minute of the day," he said. "I kind of have the luxury of doing that, but it's been that way since he's been in there. There's not a whole lot of moments where he's not in the back of your mind. I told him yesterday, every day when we get up, we pray for him."
Hayward was the Red Raiders' pitching coach his first five years and, in his role as special assistant the past five seasons, still works with the pitchers. He's a former Major League lefthander who turned 61 on April 27.
"He was a huge part of me doing what I did throughout the whole season," said Molina, a freshman from Rancho Santa Margarita, California. "During the fall, he was back there every bullpen (throwing session). He was having 30-minute conversations with me.
"It really is a bummer that he's not able to be here with us, but we're all rooting for him and praying for him every day."
Tech scored three runs in the second with the help of three errors. Wilson doubled with one out and moved to third on Hudson White's infield hit with two outs. Wilson dashed home when Connor McCullough made an off-target pickoff throw to first, and White took second.
Parker Kelly singled home White. Then Kelly stole second and came all the way around when the catcher's throw glanced into shallow left-center.
It stayed 3-0 until the sixth when Carter came to the plate with two outs, White and Kelly aboard, and drove a shot to the 410-foot sign in center field.
That turned out to be the difference for Molina, who gave the Red Raiders his longest outing of the season. Molina made seven starts in the first seven weeks, but he was moved to the bullpen after failing to get through five innings in his first two Big 12 starts. His earned-run average at that point was 4.71.
His only start since came May 3 against Abilene Christian. He's made nine relief appearance since April 6.
"We had to go with some other guys in the last couple of weeks, and Chase Hampton has thrown fantastic," Molina said. "And so we needed some arms in the bullpen, and I was glad to go fill that role wherever I'm needed. But it felt pretty good to get out there again, back to being on the mound to start the game."
TEXAS TECH 5, KANSAS STATE 3
Kansas State 000 000 300 — 3 3 3
Texas Tech 030 002 00x — 5 8 0
McCullough, Corsentino (7) and Mitchell; Molina, Devine (7), Bridges (8), Becker (9) and White. W—Molina (2-5). L—McCullough (3-4). Sv—Becker (2). 2B—Kansas State, Goodwin (17), Culpepper (8); Texas Tech, Wilson (15). 3B—Texas Tech, Carter (2). Records: Kansas State 27-28, Texas Tech 37-18.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech baseball tops KSU as pitcher Mason Molina nonos into 7th
