ARLINGTON — Globe Life Field, for all its grandeur, hasn't treated the Texas Tech baseball team well, at least when it comes to early season tournaments. Before Saturday, in February events at the Texas Rangers' stadium, the Red Raiders had lost six of their previous seven games.

No harsh condemnation, really. Five of the losses had come against teams with national top-15 rankings.

No. 22 Tech broke the spell Saturday, scoring three runs in the top of the ninth to beat Nebraska 6-3. They got timely contributions from, among others, Ryan Free, Tracer Lopez and Austin Green on day two of the Shriners Children's College Showdown.

"I want to keep saying a baseball game's a baseball game, no matter where you are," Tech coach Tim Tadlock said. "The first or second weekend, I think you're running into good teams. I think your margin for error in these games is a little smaller."

This time, that razor's edge cut the Cornhuskers. With two outs in the ninth, Lopez beat out a bouncer up the middle, the RBI infield hit breaking a 3-3 tie. Green lined a run-scoring single, and Gavin Kash drew a bases-loaded walk for the final margin.

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One of Tech's top returning hitters, Green faced an off-season of adjustment. He moved from second base to right field to alleviate a crowded infield. And he considered no longer switch hitting — batting left side only — before scrapping the idea recently.

All's well so far. He went 2 for 2 in Saturday's game, and he made two sparkling plays in right field in a season-opening loss Friday to No. 8 Tennessee. The last time Green played outfield was his freshman year in high school.

"Obviously, it's a transition from second base," he said. "They moved me out there one of the first weeks of the fall, (because we) had some competition up the middle. I got comfortable, and I feel good."

For Free, the off-season charge was to keep doing what he did last year: Get high-leverage outs. The senior lefthander made a team-high 27 appearances, all in relief, in 2023. On Saturday, he kept the game tied 3-3 with 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

Free stranded two runners in scoring position he inherited in the sixth, then stranded a runner at second in both the seventh and the eighth.

"I try to think of it as just like any other batter," he said, "not let the situation get too big. I try to keep my nerves down and try not to think about it, just trust my stuff."

He struck out three in the sixth and the seventh when a base hit could have given the Huskers the lead.

Asked if Free looked in midseason form, Tadlock said, "He executed some pitches. We're probably a little further along with some stuff than we have been in the past.

"We've got the school to thank and (Tech President) Dr. (Lawrence) Schovanec. With Jan. 10 being first day of school, guys have had some repetitions and been on the mound, so we'll tip our hat to our administration. They gave us an extra 10 days."

The Red Raiders are used to bashing their way to high-scoring victories at Dan Law Field. Winning in a stadium that plays fair is more demanding. Tech's had trouble with that in recent years when facing good teams in February at Globe Life Field. The Red Raiders beat the Huskers without homering.

"First of all, the ball doesn't go out of the ballpark like it does at home," Tadlock said, "and so it's really about playing good sound baseball. We've talked about getting 'em on, getting 'em over, getting 'em in and trying to find a way without hitting the ball out of the ballpark.

"We by no means were great at that today, but we did finally come up with a big two-out hit, right? It was good to see it. It would be better to see us just execute in those other situations."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech baseball tops Nebraska for rare February win at Globe Life Field