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Contributed by Matt Dowdy, Associate Director Communications Texas Tech Athletics
The Red Raiders will face No. 1 seed Florida or Coastal Carolina in Tuesday's elimination game.
OMAHA, Neb. - Texas Tech carried a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning, but TCU rallied behind a three-run home run from Luken Baker to claim a 5-3 decision in the College World Series opener for both teams Sunday at TD Ameritrade Park.
With the loss, the Red Raiders (46-19) will take on No. 1 seed Florida or Coastal Carolina in an elimination game Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
Texas Tech broke a 2-2 tie when Hunter Hargrove cranked a two-out, line-drive double down the left field on the first pitch of the sequence. The RBI double was set up by a Cory Raley infield single and an Eric Gutierrez intentional walk.
TCU (48-16) opened the ninth inning with an Austen Wade leadoff walk. Two batters later, Evan Skoug singled to put runners on first and second base. On a 1-0 offering, Baker connected on his 10th homer of the season and fifth of the NCAA Tournament to clear the bases.
The Horned Frogs turned to Durbin Feltman, who worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his ninth save of the season. It marked just the second loss for Tech this season after leading through eight innings.
Tech reliever Robert Dugger (6-1) earned the loss - his first on the season - after giving up all three runs in the ninth. He was the third and final reliever for the Red Raiders as Hayden Howard tossed 3.1 scoreless frames while Ryan Moseley recorded the final out in the eighth.
TCU reliever Ryan Burnett (3-1) picked up the win for the Horned Frogs after tossing just one pitch to record the final out in the eighth inning. He came on for Brian Trieglaff, who surrendered what was the go-ahead run in his three innings.
The Red Raiders got on the board first in the third inning on a Cory Raley double to the left-field corner that allowed Tanner Gardner to scamper home from first after TCU left fielder Josh Watson bobbled the ball off the wall.
Gardner, who connected on a two-out single to reach in the third, added a RBI double in the fifth to pull the Red Raiders to a 2-2 tie. His liner down the right-field line easily scored Tyler Floyd, who walked to start the inning.
Gardner was one of three Red Raiders with a multi-hit game as he finished 2-for-4 with a RBI. Orlando Garcia also went 2-for-5 while Cory Raley was 2-for-4 overall with a stolen base.
Both teams took advantage of several defensive errors as TCU tied the game with an unearned run in the fourth that came from a Ryan Merrill sacrifice fly. Gardner's run in the third also went unearned to TCU starter Jared Janczak.
The Horned Frogs took a brief 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth off a solo home run from Cam Warner. It was the first home run in the College World Series as Warner lifted an 0-1 pitch into the left field bullpen for his sixth homer of the year.
The home run ended Steven Gingery's day as the freshman earned a no-decision after giving up two runs, one of which that was earned, off five hits and a pair of strikeouts in his 4.1 innings.
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