The No. 8 Texas Tech baseball team dropped its first home series of the year after falling 7-5 on Sunday afternoon to No. 18 Texas at Rip Griffin Park.
The Red Raiders (35-14, 12-9) scored five runs on 10 hits and left nine on base in the finale against the Longhorns (33-18, 14-7), including two in the ninth inning. Three Tech hitters had multi-hit bids at the plate, with senior Michael Davis putting together a three-hit afternoon.
Junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Shetter started Sunday’s game for the Red Raiders, going 3.0 innings against the Longhorns. He allowed three runs on four hits, walking one & striking out two in his first start since March 25 vs. Northeastern. He gave way to junior RHP Ty Harpenau, who pitched three scoreless frames before running into some trouble in the seventh inning, finishing the day with three runs given up on five hits over 4.0 innings pitched.
The Red Raiders struck first in the opening frame with two runs for a 2-0 lead. Freshman Gabe Holt opened the frame with a single, stole second & moved to third on a grounder. Then, a walk & stolen base by sophomore Grant Little set up senior Zach Rheams’ 14th multi-RBI performance this season with a single through a shifted right side of the infield.
Texas tied the game in their next trip to the plate. A hit-by-pitch & a double put Reynolds & Hibbeler in scoring position, as a wild pitch scored the first run and a sacrifice fly from Shaw knotted up the score at two. In the third inning, UT took a 3-2 lead on a single from Zubia, scoring Ellis after his lead-off single.
Junior Cameron Warren knotted the game back up at three thanks to his eighth homer of the year, sending a solo bomb over the left field wall to make it 3-3. In the sixth inning, Tech took the lead thanks to a sacrifice fly from junior Cody Farhat with the bases loaded.
However, Texas tied the game and grabbed the lead behind a pair of homers in the seventh inning. Clemens knotted it up with a solo home run, then Zubia sent a two-run homer over the right field wall to give the Longhorns a 6-4 lead. In the eighth inning, a single from McKenzie plated another run to make it 7-4.
Tech got one back in their half of the eighth inning, cutting the deficit to 7-5. After a one-out double by Davis, Farhat reached base on a throwing error by the shortstop, and Davis beat the throw to home on the play to bring the score to its final at 7-5.
The Red Raiders host their final home game of the regular season on Tuesday, May 8, against Dallas Baptist at 6:30 p.m. at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
COURTESY OF TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS
