The No. 3 Texas Tech baseball team dropped its opening game of the 2017 Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament to Oklahoma State, 3-0, on Wednesday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
The Red Raiders (42-14) produced five hits against the Cowboys (27-25), moving to 1-1 all-time against OSU at the tournament. Junior outfielder Tanner Gardner recorded a two-hit day, giving him his 16th multi-hit performance of the year.
Sophomore right-hander Davis Martin got the starting nod in the championship opener, making his first appearance on the mound since March 24 at Wichita State. The San Angelo native went 3.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits.
Freshman righty John McMillon went 2.2 frames of relief, allowing just one hit, but worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam with two strikeouts in the fourth. He would tally two more for a career-high of four K’s.
Oklahoma State struck first in the second inning, as Simpson led off the frame with a double to left field. A pair of sacrifices, one via bunt and the other on a flyout from Cabbiness plated Simpson for the 1-0 lead. In the next frame, McCain drove in OSU’s second run with a sacrifice fly of his own to score Dobbs.
With the bases loaded in the third, OSU tacked on another behind an RBI single from Littell, driving in Simpson to push the advantage to 3-0.
Tech had opportunities to put runs on the board in the first and sixth innings with runners in scoring position. A single from Gardner and a double from freshman infielder Josh Jung put Red Raiders on second & third with one away, but OSU was able to escape the jam. Gardner found his way over to third again in the sixth after a pair of singles and a lineout pushed him 90 feet away from home; however, the Cowboys avoided the threat with a flyout.
The Red Raiders will square off with Baylor in the first elimination game of the tournament at 9 a.m. on Thursday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
(Courtesy: Texas Tech Sports Communications Department)
