Texas Tech Athletics
#2 TCU
Texas Tech Advances Eliminating No. 2 TCU
May 21, 2015 | Baseball
Taylor pitched five scoreless innings while lowing his NCAA-leading ERA to 0.31 on the season.
May 21, 2015
TULSA, Okla. - Texas Tech stayed alive in Big 12 Championship play with an 8-1 victory over No. 2 TCU while eliminating the Horned Frogs on Thursday morning at ONEOK Field.
The Red Raiders will advance and play Baylor (22-31) in an elimination game on Friday at 3:15 p.m. at ONEOK Field. The winner will advance to the bracket finals against Texas (28-25) on Saturday, May 23 at 9 a.m.
The Red Raiders (31-23) used 11 base hits, two home runs and a dominating pitching performance from senior right-handed pitcher Corey Taylor, who tossed five scoreless frames allowing only four hits with two strikeouts and a walk.
TCU (43-11), the defending champion of the Big 12 Championship, has lost back-to-back games for the first time this season while posting only six hits with two errors and nearly suffering its first shutout of the season.
Taylor (4-0) allowed only five base runners during his first start of the season. He lowered his nation-leading ERA to 0.31 while having allowed only two earned runs this season with 57.1 innings pitched.
Morrison (11-2), who has suffered his three shortest starts of his career against Tech, suffered his second loss of the season - both coming against Tech - allowing seven runs (5 ER) on seven hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 3.1 innings.
The Red Raiders scored all eight runs during the opening four frames with a pair of three-run innings in the first and fourth and scoring a run in both the second and third innings.
Junior Quinn Carpenter drove in Tech's first run with an RBI ground ball to third base in the first. Freshman third baseman Tanner Gardner drove in a run with an RBI single and junior outfielder Tyler Neslony singled off the right-field wall and later scored on an error by TCU first baseman Jeremie Fagnan on a pickoff attempt by Morrison.
Neslony drove in a run in the second and junior first baseman Eric Gutierrez hit his fourth home run of the season - a solo shot - over the left-field wall in the third. Freshman second baseman Michael Davis homered over the right-field fence and Gutierrez scored a pair with an RBI single up the middle to give Tech an 8-0 lead after a three-run frame.
Junior right-handed pitcher Johnathon Tripp pitched three scoreless innings (6th-8th) allowing just one hit with three strikeouts.
Raley went 3-for-4 with two runs, Gutierrez went 2-for-4 with three RBI, Gardner went 2-for-4 and Michael Davis went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
TEXAS TECH - BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES -
- Two games played at the Big 12 Championship have been against two programs that were both at the College World Series last season (Texas, TCU) along with Tech.
- Improved to 16-29 all-time at the Big 12 Championship while making its 15th appearance.
- Improved to 3-2 against top-5 teams in the Big 12 Championship ... defeated No. 5 Nebraska (2005), No. 1 Texas (2010) and No. 2 TCU (2015).
- Snapped a three-game losing streak in the Big 12 Championship ... first win since defeating Baylor in the final game of pool-play in 2013.
- Marked its first meeting with TCU in Big 12 Championship play - the Horned Frogs joined the league in 2013.
- Pitching staff has a 0.50 ERA (1 ER, 18.0 IP) during two games at the Big 12 Championship.
- Improved to 1-3 as a No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Championship ... was also No. 4 seed last season (0-2).
- Head coach Tim Tadlock is 2-5 all-time at the Big 12 Championship.
TEXAS TECH NOTES -
- Hit two home runs - improved to 7-3 this season when hitting at least two home runs.
- Has hit 40 home runs in 54 games ... Red Raiders hit 30 home runs in 66 games last season.
- Outscoring its opponents 45-10 in the first inning this season.
- Improved to 27-0 when leading after eight innings.
- Improved to 15-1 when its opponent scores two or fewer runs.
- TCU has been held to just one run three times this season - twice it has been done by the Texas Tech pitching staff.
TEXAS TECH - ALL-TIME SERIES WITH TCU -
- Texas Tech is 70-89-1 all-time against TCU ... Red Raiders are 5-4 against TCU on a neutral field ... ... Tech is 2-2 against TCU this season ... Tech is 5-5 during its last 10 games with TCU dating back to 2013.
PLAYER NOTES -
- Corey Taylor leads the NCAA with a 0.31 ERA (2 ER, 57.1 IP) ... the Big 12 Conference all-time record for ERA is 0.80 (2010 - Texas A&M RHP John Stilson).
- Corey Taylor posted his 15th scoreless outing of the season during his first start of the year (33rd career).
- Corey Taylor - CAREER - vs. TCU: 1-2, 1.37 ERA, 5 APP, 3 GS, 26.1 IP, 19 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 11 SO, .213 average.
- In games Corey Taylor has pitched the last two seasons (2014-15) the Red Raiders are 29-11 (13-6 this season).
- Eric Gutierrez hit his 23rd career home run - leads all active Big 12 players.
- Eric Gutierrez recorded his 43rd, 44th and 45th RBI of the season - leads the team ... he now has 132 career RBI - that leads all active Big 12 players.
- Eric Gutierrez posted his 18th multi-hit game of the season (52nd career).
- Eric Gutierrez has started in 176 straight games - spanning his entire three-year Tech career ... streak ranks him ninth among active players in NCAA Division I baseball.
- Cory Raley recorded his team-leading 19th multi-hit game of the season ... marked his seventh game this year with at least three hits.
- Cory Raley has a 16-game hit streak ... second longest hit streak by a Red Raider this season (Gutierrez - 17 games).
- Cory Raley has reached base safely in 25 consecutive games.
- Stephen Smith has reached base safely in 23 consecutive games.
- Stephen Smith drew his Big 12-leading 41st walk of the season.
- Michael Davis posted his seventh multi-hit game of the season.
- Tanner Gardner went 2-for-4 posting his fifth multi-hit game of the season.
- Johnathon Tripp posted his fourth scoreless outing of the season - first since March 8 - while notching his 14th career scoreless appearance.
