The No. 10 Texas Tech baseball team got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon, taking down No. 8 Ole Miss, 5-1, in game two of the 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park.
It was Tech’s first win of the year against a ranked opponent and evened the all-time series with the Rebels (7-3) at one each.
The Red Raiders (10-2) reached the 10-win mark after receiving another masterful performance by sophomore left-handed pitcher Steven Gingery, earning his third win in his third start of the year. The Huntington Beach, California, native tossed a career-high 8.0 innings against the Rebels, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out eight hitters.
All three of Gingery’s starts this season have yielded just one run for opposing teams, with today’s strikeout total matching his season-high set against Mississippi State on Opening Day. He has 23 strikeouts and five walks in 2017.
Junior outfielder Tanner Gardner pieced together his second multi-hit game of the season after going 2-for-4 on Saturday with a single & a double. Both of his hits produced multiple RBI, giving him four on the afternoon, which is a new career-best.
Joining Gardner with two hits on the day was freshman infielder Josh Jung, who racked up a pair of singles in the sixth & eighth innings. Jung and senior infielder Hunter Hargrove each scored two runs, both in the later frames, as Jung tied for the team-high in multi-hit performances with five this season.
In the bottom of the second, the Rebels began the inning with a single to left-center field and a walk to put two on with no out. Gingery responded by issuing a strikeout and two fly outs, one in the infield and one to right, to escape the early jam.
Tech struck first in the top of third, as junior infielder Michael Davis watched four pitches breeze by for the easy walk. An immediate failed pickoff attempt helped Davis scoot around to third base, putting him in prime position to score off a sacrifice fly to center field by Jung.
In the top of the sixth, Jung led off by placing a single in between the left fielder and shortstop. With a full count, Hargrove hit a grounder to the shortstop, who whiffed on the throw to second for the force out, allowing Jung to safely move over to put two on and no out for Gardner. On a 2-2 pitch, Gardner roped a single to right field, bringing Jung & Hargrove across home to make it 3-0.
The same trio was at it again in the eighth, as Jung began the frame with another single to right, completing his 2-for-3 day at the plate. Hargrove followed by smacking a double into the left field corner to put runners on second & third, bringing up Gardner once again with no outs. Hargrove’s eighth-inning hit improved his career-best hitting streak to 12 games, giving him at least in every contest this season.
Gardner wasted little time throwing down his second two-RBI base rip of the day, sending the second pitch he saw screaming down the left field line for a bases clearing double to go up, 5-0.
Back-to-back two-out doubles by Ole Miss’ Tate Blackman and Ryan Olenek spoiled the complete-game shutout opportunity for Gingery, putting one on the board for the Rebels. In all three games Gingery has pitched this season, the Red Raiders have scored five runs and today’s game was the second of his starts to finish with a 5-1 score.
The Red Raiders wrap up the 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic with a Sunday matinee matchup against No. 2 LSU at 10 a.m. on FOX Sports Southwest.
(Courtesy Texas Tech Sports Information Department)
