No. 5 Texas Tech defeated No. 1 Florida, 3-2, in an elimination game at the College World Series to stave off a return to Lubbock.
Texas Tech will face the loser of TCU and Coastal Carolina in another elimination game on Thursday, June 23 at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN 2.
Recap:
In the bottom of the first inning, with a runner on, Florida’s J.J. Schwarz shot one deep to the wall in left center field and Tanner Gardner robbed Schwarz at the wall.
Then in the third, Orlando Garcia made a snag in no man’s land, down the left field line, in between third and left field to close out the frame.
In the top of the fourth, with a runner on third and two outs, Eric Gutierrez hit a two-run homerun into the bullpen, over the left field wall to give the Red Raiders the 2-0 lead.
In the sixth inning, Davis Martin got into a bases loaded jam with only one out, however a 1-2-3 double play, one that included runner interference, allowed Tech to get out of the jam.
Then in the ninth, an Eric Gutierrez chopper to third, along with two Florida errors allowed Texas Tech to scratch across one more run for insurance.
However, the left field wall would plague the Red Raiders again. Florida’s Pete Alonso ripped one into the left field bullpen to cut the deficit to one, 3-2 Texas Tech.
Setting up this defense for success, was Texas Tech’s freshman right-handed ace Davis Martin who tossed seven scoreless innings of work, while only allowing three hits, three walks and three strikeouts.