In the nightcap of Day 1 of the Big 12 Tournament, the tenth-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders pulled off a stunning upset of the third-seeded Texas Longhorns in come-from-behind fashion with a 6-4 victory Tuesday night in Arlington.
Jared Thomas started the scoring with a leadoff solo home run in the first to put the Longhorns on the scoreboard. The Red Raiders then immediately responded in the second with a solo shot of their own by Drew Woodcox to tie the game at one apiece.
Texas would then stage a third inning rally where Jack O’Dowd homered, and the Big 12 Player of the Year Max Belyeu drove in two runs on a double to give the Longhorns a 4-1 lead. Texas Tech would then respond once more in big time fashion in the fourth after Austin Green hit a three-run homer to make it a 4-4 ballgame.
After a scoreless fifth inning that featured a highlight-reel catch by the Longhorns’ Will Gasparino that robbed TJ Pompey of an otherwise-surefire home run, both teams were carried by their bullpens for the next three innings as Brendan Lysik, Jacob Rogers, and Josh Sanders each threw a scoreless inning for the Red Raiders in relief of starter Kyle Robinson. Andre Duplantier relieved Ace Whitehead for Texas in the sixth and went nine up nine down to begin his outing for the Longhorns.
However, the ninth was a different story for Duplantier, as he gave up a leadoff single to Gavin Kash and then a home run to Cade McGee to give Texas Tech the 6-4 lead. Texas failed to respond in the bottom half to give Sanders the win in relief and the Red Raiders the upset victory.
Belyeu and O’Dowd had three hits apiece on the night for the Longhorns while McGee and Tracer Lopez each had two for the Red Raiders. Both teams will play on Wednesday with Texas facing the fifth-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats in an elimination game at 4 PM while Texas Tech plays the second-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys at 7:30 PM.
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