Junior Tyler Neslony singled in the winning run as the No. 5 ranked Texas Tech University Red Raiders scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to take game one of a four-game series against visiting Sacramento State by a final of 4-3 on Wednesday.

The Red Raiders got a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth inning, followed by a Justin Dillon strikeout of senior Tim Proudfoot. The Red Raiders singled again, followed by a second strikeout in the inning to move the Hornets one out away from victory.

With runners on first and second, junior Cory Raley doubled home both runners to tie the score at 3-3. After an intentional walk, Neslony singled up the middle to bring in Raley for the winning run.

Texas Tech senior pitcher Dominic Moreno pitched three scoreless innings, striking out five Hornets to earn the win for the Red Raiders (9-1).

Sac State senior pitcher Brennan Leitao held a potent Red Raiders lineup at bay before the decisive inning, going seven strong innings. His only blemish was a seventh-inning home run by Proudfoot. Dillon, a sophomore, pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and three earned runs in the loss for Sac State (6-3).

“Brennan really battled out there,” said Sac State coach Reggie Christiansen, “He kept us in the game with his composure. We really battled. I am proud of the guys for that.”

Despite an impressive 1.89 ERA after three starts, Leitao has yet to pick up a decision. Sac State is 1-2 in the three contests.

Senior Cameron Smith pitched six innings, allowing three earned runs for a no decision for Texas Tech. Raley, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Neslony, who went 2-for-5 with one RBI, paced a Red Raiders’ offense that had eight hits and five walks.

Sac State saw their lead rise to 3-0 with a Chris Lewis RBI groundout to score Nathan Lukes. Lukes tripled to set up the run. Lukes led the Hornets, going 3-for-4 to raise his batting average to .486.

The game was played under less than ideal circumstances for the Hornets. Sac State arrived to the game four hours before the first pitch. Game time saw temperatures dip into the low 40s.

The Hornets dropped their second straight game. This loss was similar to the two walk-off wins the Hornets earned over the weekend.

Despite the loss and the weather, Christiansen commended his squad.

“We didn’t let the travel or weather affect us,” Christiansen said. “Even in the last inning, we played sound baseball. But that’s baseball. The ball bounced in places that we were not at unfortunately.”

Game two is scheduled for 1 p.m. PST on Thursday.