Baseball falls to No. 21 Texas Tech in series finale, 5-1

Sunday, May 3

Austin, Texas

1 p.m.

University of Texas

24-24, 9-12

Texas Tech

29-20, 12-9

Texas Tech

Texas

Baseball falls to No. 21 Texas Tech in series finale, 5-1

05.03.2015 | Baseball

Box Score

The Longhorns leave 13 runners on base in the loss

AUSTIN, Texas — The Baseball team fell in the decisive third game of its Big 12 series vs. No. 21 Texas Tech, 5-1, Sunday afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

After splitting the first two games of the series, the Red Raiders (29-20, 12-9 Big 12) pounced for a three-run fifth inning on Sunday to grab a 4-0 lead, and the Texas (24-24, 9-12 Big 12) bats could not come through with runners in scoring position all afternoon long.

Despite eight hits and seven walks in the contest, the Longhorns were held to just one run for the second consecutive game, while stranding 13 base runners. Texas Tech starting pitcher Dominic Moreno (3-3, 1.90 ERA) earned the win, spinning six innings of scoreless ball with six strikeouts, while allowing six hits and two walks.

The Red Raider bullpen picked up where Moreno left off over the final three innings, allowing seven base runners to reach, but only one to score to finish up the victory.

Ben Johnson notched his 24th multi-hit game of the season (50 percent of games) for Texas, going 2-for-5 in the contest. Brooks Marlow and Joe Baker also smacked two hits, with one of Marlow's a double, and Baker added a stolen base.

C.J Hinojosa singled and scored Texas' only run on a bases-loaded walk from Bret Boswell in the eighth inning.

Connor Mayes (1-4, 2.79 ERA) took the loss for the Longhorns in his first career Big 12 start, going five plus innings and surrendering five earned runs on eight hits while striking out five. Travis Duke allowed an inherited runner from Mayes to score when he entered in the sixth inning, but beyond that the bullpen was solid, pitching the final four innings without allowing an earned run.

Bryant Burleson led the Tech offense by going 2-for-4 with a big two-out, two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning that pushed the Raider lead to four.

Mayes was able to work out of trouble early on, stranding five runners in the first three innings with Tech tallying a run in the third on a sacrifice fly.

In the fifth, however, Tech rallied with two outs on a RBI single from Eric Gutierriez and a two-run blast over the left field wall that made it 4-0.

A leadoff double from Tyler Floyd ended Mayes' day in the sixth, and a one out single off Travis Duke from Cory Raley brought Floyd around to make to a 5-0 Raider lead.

The Longhorns managed their lone run in the bottom of the eighth when Boswell drew his bases-loaded walk off reliever Matt Custred. Custred then pitched to a 3-1 count against Johnson, but got two called strikes to end the threat.

The Longhorns play their regular season home finale Tuesday night at 6 p.m. from UFCU Disch-Falk Field against the Texas State Bobcats.

QUOTES

Head Coach Augie Garrido

Opening statement: Basically we didn't manage our strike zone well on offense. We continue not to take quality at bats, especially with runners in scoring position. When we have opportunities to score runs, we fail offensively to take our walks when they are available and to sustain the rally to the extent that we need to score runs. We do it over and over again. This is what happens when you lose focus of quality at-bats, which is an extension of an offensive approach that includes all four of the major games in baseball – bunting, base running, hitting, and bat control. When pitchers walk hitters or the rallies get sustained, they then get wild and start to feel pressure. We don't apply enough pressure long enough offensively to score the runs that creates that kind of pressure on the defense and the pitcher.

On what has been the cause in not scoring runs: By moving from total offense and quality at-bats mentally to fixing their swing and trying to regain their confidence by getting hits. We became one dimensional, we only had one goal. Anyone that's been around baseball for a long time or even a short period of time knows the biggest demon of all of the ones around is batting average. Ask any baseball expert.

On if he wonders what happened: I know what happened. I know what's happened, I'm not confused. I know how to fix it. But it has to start like it did last year in the fall. We really assumed and thought we had the leadership on this team as a result of how close they were and how many guys were coming back from last year. That's what led us to believe that we had the leadership in place and the spirit that it takes. We didn't work them as hard on attitude as we did with last year's team. It's all about attitude.

Sophomore C/1B Tres Barrera

On another tough loss today: It's hard to put into words. It's happened a lot this year, we just haven't capitalized when we needed to. We got what, eight hits on the board, and one run? That can't happen and win ball games. We haven't been able to put timely at-bats or timely hitting [together] when we have had runners in scoring position. That's just the way it's been.

On if there is an explanation for the struggles this season with getting timely hits: There are a lot of excuses right now. When you're losing, everybody is trying to magnify [something] or make an excuse why we are losing, but bottom line some of us just have to get the job done, and we haven't been doing that. We've been just trying too hard; that's what losing causes, especially at The University of Texas. You want to win so bad, when you see runners out there you just try harder and that doesn't work very well in baseball.

On if it feels like the same game over and over every weekend right now: We go in with the mindset that every game is opening day. But, I guess it has been reoccurring a lot and that's exactly what it is feeling like. It is over and over. We just have to snap out of it, and we have been trying to do that for a while now.

On how to snap out of the current funk: We gotta comeback Tuesday ready to play. Like I said, come back with an opening day mindset and just fight it. We have a bunch of fighters in this locker room. We have everybody back from last year's team and we know what it takes to be in the College World Series. We just haven't been able to put it together. There is still a chance; we're not giving up, we're going to keep fighting 'til the very end.

Freshman RHP Connor Mayes

On offensive struggles: I know they are trying their best. They've been working really hard at it and that's all I can ask as a teammate of theirs and that's what they are doing every day when they come to practice and to the field. They are staying within the process that Coach talks about. That's all we can do. We may be unlucky but we have to stay with it.

On the mindset of the team: It really hurts. We're all putting our heart as much as we can into it. It really hurts. We're trying our best and we all know that. It just hasn't gone our way. All we can do is to look to tomorrow and try our best.

On his start: Came out pretty strong I felt like. They just got some timely hits on us and ended up scoring three and getting some more. They got lucky today I felt like. Hopefully our luck will change pretty soon.

NOTES

- In Texas' seven Big 12 series, it has used six different starting pitching combinations and seven different starting pitchers (Parker French, Josh Sawyer, Chad Hollingsworth, Kacy Clemens, Kyle Johnston, Ty Culbreth, Connor Mayes).

- Tres Barrera had a single to extend his reached-base streak to 11 games. He has reached safely in 45 of 48 games this season.

- Ben Johnson went 2-for-5 for his 24th multi-hit game of the season, including his fifth in the last six games. The junior is hitting .356 this season.

- Brooks Marlow (2-for-4) had multiple hits for the 12th time this season while Joe Baker (2-for-3) did it for the fifth time.

- After not committing an error in the first two games of the series, the Longhorns were charged with two on Sunday. Texas is fielding at a .977 clip which ranked 19th nationally coming into the game.

- Jake McKenzie tossed two scoreless innings while allowing just one runner to reach base via an error. The freshman has allowed just one run all season in 14 appearances spanning 17 innings (0.53 ERA).

- Freshman Kyle Johnston also tossed a scoreless inning in relief to lower his ERA to 2.33 in 27 innings of work this year.