The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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Texas Tech
No. 8 Baseball drops series opener to Texas Tech, 12-5
03.26.2010 | Baseball
March 26, 2010
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The No. 8 Texas Longhorns suffered a 12-5 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders in gale force wind conditions at Dan Law Field.
Texas Tech (12-12, 2-2 Big 12) drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs in the frame, Michael Reed drew a walk and Barrett Barnes put a fly ball into the jet stream for a home run to leftfield.
Tech tacked on three more runs in the second. Jeremy Mayo worked a walk to leadoff the inning and scored when Kevin Whitehead laced a double to the wall in right centerfield. With two outs, Jamodrick McGruder launched a home run to leftfield to stake the Red Raiders to a 5-0 lead.
Kevin Keyes broke the scoring seal for the Horns in the top of the fourth, hitting a moon shot to left centerfield for a solo home run.
The Red Raiders ballooned to 7-1 in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Michael Reed walked and Barnes was hit by a pitch. Scott LeJeune looped a single into centerfield to plate Reed and Barnes scored when Mayo bounced into a fielder's choice grounder to third base.
Texas Tech tacked on an insurance run in the sixth. With one out, McGruder walked, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a single to centerfield by Reed.
Texas (16-6, 2-2 Big 12) manufactured a run in the seventh. With one out, Cohl Walla was hit by a pitch, stole second base and scored on a two-out single by Cameron Rupp to cut the lead to 8-2.
Any thoughts of a Texas comeback were put to rest when Tech added four unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth McGruder reached on a throwing error to lead off the frame and with one out moved to third on an errant pickoff attempt. Reed drove him in with a single to leftfield. With two outs, Barnes and pinch-hitter Bonham Hough walked. Mayo singled to leftfield to plate Barnes and Stephen Hagen roped a pinch-hit double to rightfield to drive in two and push the lead to 12-2.
The Longhorns mounted a late rally in the ninth. With one out Rupp walked and Keyes singled through the left side to put a pair on. With two outs, Jonathan Walsh doubled to the gap in right centerfield to plate both runners and Walsh came around to score on a Tant Shepherd single to cut the lead to 12-5 before the rally was snuffed out with an inning ending groundout.
Keyes paced the Horns, going 3-for-5 with two runs, one home run and one RBI. Shepherd went 2-for-4 with one RBI. The Horns tallied 11 hits in the game, including five hits to lead off innings, but stranded 12 runners.
Reed went 2-for-3 with two runs and RBI and May was 2-for-3 with one double, two runs and two RBI to lead Tech's offense. McGruder, Barnes and Hagen added two RBI apiece.
Taylor Jungmann suffered his first loss of the season. He yielded a career-high eight runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out five over 5.2 innings.
John Neely (2-0) earned the win for Texas Tech. He scattered seven hits and one walk while striking out one to allow just one hit in 5.0 innings.
The Longhorns and Red Raiders return to Dan Law Field on Saturday for a 6:30 p.m. contest.
