TCU Baseball Tops Texas Tech
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LUBBOCK, Texas – The TCU baseball team rode a strong pitching performance from the trio of Preston Morrison, Travis Evans and Riley Ferrell to a 4-1 win over Texas Tech Friday night. Derek Odell drove in a pair of runs.
The bullpen was strong for the Horned Frogs as the combination of Evans and Ferrell allowed just three base runners in the final 3 1/3 innings. Evans fanned two and walked one in one inning. Ferrell struck out four and walked one in 2 1/3 innings to earn his first career save.
Despite tying his career high with nine hits allowed, Preston Morrison (4-1) held the Red Raiders in check. The sophomore allowed just one run and struck out one in 5 2/3 innings pitched.
The Red Raiders had runners on in eight of the nine innings, but the Frog pitchers were able to pitch out of all but one jam. In five of those innings, Texas Tech put a pair of base runners on.
The speed of Brett Bell helped the Red Raiders take an early 1-0 lead. Bell led off the first with a base hit and was standing on third with one out after swiping a pair of bases. Eric Gutierrez dropped a single into center to put Texas Tech in front.
The Red Raiders looked poised to tack on some more runs in the second as the first two hitters singled. Morrison got Todd Richie to strikeout then got a pair of ground balls to end the
inning with out a run scoring.
TCU took the momentum from the previous inning and translated it into the game-tying run. Derek Odell led off the inning with a double. Keaton Jones battled to draw a walk and Kyle Bacak was hit by the pitch to load the bases. Cody Jones walked with the bases loaded to drive in the tying run. Red Raider starter Corey Taylor battled back to leave the bases loaded, keeping it a 1-1 game.
Paul Hendrix tripled with one out in the fourth inning and the Frogs turned it into a 2-1 lead. Odell hit a sacrifice fly to left and Hendrix slid in ahead of the tag to put the Frogs on top.
The biggest threat from the Red Raiders came in the sixth inning. A hit batter and a single had two on with nobody out. Jake Barrios dropped down a sacrifice bunt to put the tying run on third with only one out. Morrison got a bouncer right back to the pitcher’s mound for the second out then gave way to Evans. He needed just three pitches to dispatch the pinch hitter for the final out of the inning.
TCU tacked on an insurance run in the eighth inning to take a 3-1 lead. Bacak led off the inning with a base hit and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Cody Jones. A balk had Bacak standing on third and he scored easily on a base hit from Boomer White.
The Frogs pushed the lead to three in the top of the ninth to give themselves a cushion. Kevin Cron was plunked to open the inning. After a sacrifice moved Cron to second, the Red Raiders intentionally walked Hendrix. A passed ball moved the runners up 90 feet and Odell hit his second sacrifice fly of the night to drive in the fourth run of the game.
TCU improves to 10-15 overall and 2-5 in Big 12 play. Game two of the series is slated for Saturday night at Dan Law Field. Brandon Finnegan will take the mound at 6:30 for the Frogs.
