Kevin Bazzell missed the first nine Texas Tech baseball games in March on account of an illness and related recovery protocol. With Bazzell being a potential top-50 prospect for this year's Major League draft and Tech's 3-hole hitter before he went out, the Red Raiders felt his absence.

So what he did Saturday made them all breathe a little easier. In Texas Tech's 10-1 triumph over Brigham Young, Bazzell put the Red Raiders ahead for good with a two-run single in the second inning, and his two-run homer in the eighth delivered the game's last runs.

In a funny 1999 Nike commercial, Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux famously quipped, "Chicks dig the long ball." Tech coach Tim Tadlock dug seeing Bazzell single the other way after the batter before him had failed to get a runner home from third with less than two outs.

"Singles into right-center, really stays through a ball," Tadlock said. "When a guy's doing that, getting a ball middle away and staying through it and hitting it on line, you kind of know they're getting right. The home run is going to happen every now and then with him, obviously, when a guy misses in the middle of the plate."

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Tech (17-7, 4-5 in the Big 12) took two of three in the series after dropping the opener. Bazzell's runs batted in were his first since Feb. 25, the homer his first since last year's regular-season finale when he launched three against Kansas.

"It was exciting to see him get back out there and do his thing," outfielder Damian Bravo said. "We've been missing him, not just in the lineup, but around the team. Him being there makes us so much better."

Tech hosts Stephen F. Austin (3-21 going into Sunday) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Then it's on to Orlando for games Thursday, Friday and Saturday at new Big 12 member Central Florida (15-6, 4-5).

Damian Bravo's return, Kyle Robinson's past two starts hearten Red Raiders

Bazzell's recapturing his form wasn't the only positive in the BYU series. Bravo, who missed three games with a hand issue, causing concern, played in all three games against the Cougars and picked right back up as one of the Big 12's hottest hitters. He went 5 for 9 with two doubles, his Division I-leading 15th and 16th.

On Friday, Kyle Robinson delivered his second consecutive strong start in a 4-3 victory. Dating to Robinson's start the week before in a 2-0 triumph at Baylor, the 6-foot-6 righthander has allowed only an unearned run and eight hits over his past 13 innings while striking out 13.

That helped steady a rotation in which Mac Heuer has yielded five runs apiece in his past two starts and Jack Washburn has yet to complete five innings. The Red Raiders love Washburn's experience and competitiveness, but he's continuing to build back up after not pitching in a game for 20 months.

Washburn finished four innings Saturday, and then Jacob Rogers and Parker Hutyra slammed the door. After Washburn retired the last batter in the fourth, Rogers and Hutyra sat down the last 15. Rogers pitched three innings, striking out three and allowing two balls out of the infield, and Hutyra pitched two innings, fanning four and with one ball out of the infield.

"Probably the biggest thing both of them did, they landed," Tadlock said. "They were executing at least two pitches."

Jacob Rogers, Parker Hutyra pick up Texas Tech baseball bullpen

Hutyra, a 6-4 freshman from Birdville, is unscored upon in seven of eight outings, lowering his earned-run average to 0.82.

Rogers, a 6-3 sophomore from Friendswood, was rocked for seven runs by Tennessee and Oregon State in his first two outings of the season. Since then, he has a 2.61 ERA over his past six appearances with no more than one run allowed in any single game.

"I feel like I'm in a good spot," Rogers said. "I think it was just more of getting comfortable within myself and just trusting the process, staying with it. I never lost confidence in myself. I always thought I could trust my stuff and just throw it in there, fill it up."

Rogers' and Hutyra's performances picked up a bullpen that needed the good news. The night before, Josh Sanders took a liner off his right foot and Ryan Free was one out away from a save when he gave up a game-tying two-run homer. Both are bullpen linchpins for the Red Raiders, Sanders the team leader in appearances.

Sanders was in his follow-through, his right foot upraised, when Patrick Goff's hot smash came back at him.

Free, probably the team's most trusted lefthanded reliever, has allowed seven runs over his past three appearances, sending his ERA from 0.87 to 6.17.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Kevin Bazzell regaining his stroke as Texas Tech baseball wins series