May 30, 2014

Texas Tech Slips Past Columbia

By David Furones

@DavidFurones90

Special to CollegeBaseballInsider.com

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — For a program that hadn’t played in the NCAA Tournament since 2004, Texas Tech appeared to have the poise under pressure of an experienced Omaha mainstay.

Eric Gutierrez (right) delivered a walk-off double to left-center to score the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth as the Red Raiders earned a 3-2 win over Columbia in the first game of the Coral Gables Regional on Friday afternoon at Alex Rodriguez Park.

Texas Tech (41-18), the No. 2 seed in the regional, will face the winner of Friday night’s matchup between Bethune-Cookman and regional host Miami.

Gutierrez’s walk-off came after the cleanup-hitting first baseman was hitless in his previous four at-bats. The entire Red Raiders offense, tops in the Big 12 in several categories, struggled to drive in runs all game, stranding 10 runners, including leaving the bases loaded twice.

“There’s a guy standing on second, and it’s the bottom of the ninth, so it’s a lot different,” said second-year Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock. “I was running on fumes as far as I go.”

Said Gutierrez: “I had bad at-bats the last four at-bats. I was just trying to put the ball in play, trying to get a good pitch to hit.”

Jonny Drozd improved his spotless record in relief to 7-0 with 3.2 scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits, struck out one and retired the last seven Lions he faced.

With a 2-for-5 game, left fielder Tyler Neslony extended his hitting streak to 19 games. He also notched his 19^th multi-hit game of the season.

The Lions (29-19) tied the game at 2 in the sixth when John Kinne drove in Robb Paller from third with a two-out infield single that was drilled sharply back to the pitcher’s mound, deflected by Drozd, and then settled softly in between second base and the mound.

Red Raiders designated hitter Adam Kirsch put his team up 2-1 with a two-run home run in the fifth. His high fly ball was carried by winds going from right to left and went off the Miami Hurricanes scoreboard beyond the left-field wall.

“He started me off with a fastball. After that pitch, I thought to myself that he wasn’t going to beat me with that pitch again,” said Kirsch, a Florida International transfer who was making his return to Miami. “I got to it, and I got barrel.”

Second baseman Bryant Burleson doubled earlier in the frame to get on for Kirsch.

Columbia starter George Thanopoulos, starting in place of usual ace David Speer, who was out after emergency appendectomy surgery on Monday, left the game with a 1-0 lead but only lasted four innings.

Thanopoulos walked four and allowed three hits and was taken out after 77 pitches. He got the Lions out of bases-loaded jams in the third and fourth innings.

“I was mixing up my fastball and my slider pretty well, didn’t have the same command that I’ve had,” Thanopoulos said. “We were able to get out of some jams, make some big pitches when we had to, get out of those situations without letting across some runs.”

He was replaced by Adam Cline, who gave up the two-run blast to Kirsch and pitched two innings. Thomas Crispi went the final 2.1, but was hit with the loss after giving up the game-winning double to Gutierrez.

“Texas Tech has a heck of a lineup, and for us to limit them at the end of the day to seven hits and three runs, I thought our guys battled very well,” Columbia coach Brett Boretti said. “I have nothing bad to say about our play.”

Texas Tech starter Chris Sadberry had the lead momentarily after Kirsch’s blast, but he was responsible for the runner that scored from third on Kinne’s infield hit. Sadberry went 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks and striking out five.

The Lions scored first in the top of the fourth on a fielder’s choice. With one out and the bases loaded, Nick Maguire grounded one up the middle, but shortstop Tim Proudfoot made a running snag going to his left and flipped to second for the out. The turn to first was not in time to double up the hustling Maguire.

Texas Tech had a chance to counter in the bottom of the frame but failed to get a run across with the bases loaded and one out after a popup behind the plate and a lineout to left. The Red Raiders also left the bases loaded in the third when cleanup hitter Eric Gutierrez flied out to left with two outs.

Game Notes

•      Tim Tadlock would not announce a starter for the second game of the Regional, indicating he “had a guy get tweaked.” He would not say who. It’s something to watch heading into Saturday night’s game.

•      Columbia reached the NCAA Tournament with an automatic bid after a sweep of Dartmouth in the Ivy League Championship Series for the second straight season. It’s the fourth time the Lions have reached the tournament and third trip under coach Brett Boretti, who is in his ninth season with Columbia.

•      The postseason game was too important to think players were getting drilled intentionally, but there were six hit-by-pitches in Friday’s action.

(photo courtesy of TTU Media Relations)