Rebels’ 3rd-inning uprising, missed chances with the bats cost Texas Tech in 5-4 loss
ARLINGTON – Most of the day Sunday, the Ole Miss lineup was quiet as it struggled to figure out a Texas Tech bullpen that turned in a nice about-face after a rough season-opening performance.
The No. 6/5-ranked Rebels managed only 5 hits, couldn’t scratch out a run in 7 of their 8 offensive innings and struggled with missed opportunities.
The one time Ole Miss did find its offensive groove proved to be just damaging enough, though, in a 5-4 victory against Texas Tech on the second day of the State Farm College Baseball Showdown.
Five two-out runs came around in the bottom of the 3rd inning, fueled by Jacob Gonzales’ game-tying home run off Red Raider starter Micah Dallas. After that long fly, the Red Raider crumbled with errors on center fielder Dylan Neuse and third baseman Cal Conley paving the way to three unearned runs.
“Both defensive plays, we had an opportunity to make,” Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock said. “Both guys went about them the right way. Those are plays that both guys can finish, and it was just a day we didn’t finish them.
“Starting pitchers have to pitch out of jams and (Dallas) was in a jam maybe because of that and also from putting runners on. These guys will get sharper as we go.”
That 5-spot was the second that Red Raider pitching has allowed in two games but was also all the Rebels managed on Sunday. It was enough, though, because Ole Miss starting pitcher Gunnar Hoglund tied the Tech hitters in knots and the Ole Miss bullpen eluded trouble when it arose.
The No. 4/4-ranked Red Raiders (0-2) had a chance to catch or pass the Rebels (2-0) in the top of the 9th inning when Conley chased in a run with a two-out single among three walks to reduce the deficit to a run.
But with the bases loaded, Rebel reliever Braden Forsyth – the third pitcher of the inning – coaxed East Murrell into a fly ball to right field on a full-count offering to quell the threat.
“I think guys put together some good at-bats there in the last inning and put us in position,” Tadlock said. “That’s all you can ask for is to put yourself in position to drive the winning run in.”
The final swing was emblematic of the Red Raiders’ squandered chances all night. Conley’s knock in the 9th was their only hit in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position and they managed only one other hit with runners on base (2-for-11).
Two of those empty chances came in the 8th when Tech frittered away a golden opportunity to redirect the game’s arc.
Conley rammed a leadoff double but he advanced only 90 more feet. Neuse struck out, Murrell walked but was nabbed trying to steal second and soft-throwing Rebel reliever Austin Miller dodged any damage when he got Jace Jung to sky out to left field.
The Red Raiders seized an early advantage with some two-out thunder in the 2nd inning. Hoglund mowed down the first five Tech hitters before walking Jung with two outs. Nate Rombach pumped a two-run homer into the left-field seats for a 2-0 cushion and early-inning optimism.
Hoglund sapped whatever good feeling that blast created by settling in and dominating the next 3.1 innings. He fanned seven of the next 12 batters until Neuse dumped a leadoff solo home run just over the right-field fence in the shallowest part of Globe Life Park – it was so close that it required an official review to confirm that it had left the yard.
After logging his 11th K, Hoglund gave way to Miller and he quieted the Red Raider offense until the 8th with a series of tantalizing off-speed offerings.
Meanwhile, the Texas Tech relief corps kept Ole Miss from ever padding its lead. A day after an underwhelming performance from the bullpen, four Red Raider relievers combined to keep the Rebels scoreless for the final 5.1 innings with only 2 hits allowed. Brendan Girton led the charge with 3.1 dazzling innings (4 strikeouts), followed by Eli Riechmann and Connor Queen with a scoreless frame apiece.
Tadlock liked what he saw from Girton after his college debut.
“Girton threw the ball really well ,” he said. “He pitched ahead in the count, he’s got a heavy fastball and he was very competitive.”
The bullpen’s tenacity gave the Red Raider bats a chance to claw back, but they couldn’t scratch out enough. Following Neuse’s clout, Texas Tech hitters were just 3-for-14 and stranded four runners in scoring position.
There’s no reason to panic, and Tadlock was quick to point out as much.
“We happened to come up on the wrong side of these two games,” he said. “You get a lot of feedback from these kinds of games.
“We’ve got plenty of pieces and there’s going to be plenty of competition.”
Next up is the final game of the season-opening gauntlet with a showdown against 7th– ranked Mississippi State at 11 a.m. Monday. The Bulldogs handed the Red Raiders two of their three losses in the truncated 2020 season and have reeled off four wins in a row overall against Tech.
Randy Rosetta is Co-Managing Editor & Publisher of RedRaiderDugout.com
@RandyRosetta | @RedRaiderDugout
Ole Miss 5, Texas Tech 4
