Photo by Jacob Farrar
LUBBOCK, Texas — BYU baseball fell to Texas Tech, 4-3, on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth on Friday in game two of its Big 12 series at Rip Griffin Park in Lubbock.
The Red Raiders scored four runs on 11 hits, stranding eight; while the Cougars had three runs on eight, stranding five.
“It was a great college baseball game, but unfortunately we came out on the short end of the score,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “I thought we pitched well tonight. Bryce (Robinson) and Hayden (Coon) battled out of a couple of jams and gave us a chance to win. At this point we’ll put this one behind us, get some rest tonight and come ready to play tomorrow to see if we can win the series.”
Player Highlights
– Luke Anderson: 2-4, RBI, 2B
– Bryker Hurdsman: 1-1, 2 RBI, HR
– Hayden Coon: 3.2 innings, 1 hit, 4Ks 0 runs
Game Summary
Texas Tech (16-7, 3-5) scored first in the bottom of the first inning on a single and double to take an early 1-0 lead.
After a scoreless second inning, BYU (11-9, 4-4) tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning on a Luke Anderson single through the right side that scored Keoni Painter from second.
The Red Raiders retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a walk and a two-out single for a 2-1 advantage. Texas Tech picked up another run in the fifth on back-to-back doubles for a 3-1 lead.
After scoreless innings in the sixth, seventh and eighth, BYU was down to its final out in the ninth inning when pinch hitter, Bryker Hurdsman, hit a two-run home run with Parker Goff aboard to tie the game at 3-3.
A leadoff double, followed by a single up the middle, gave Texas Tech a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth and evened the three-game series at one game apiece.
BYU and Texas Tech will play the rubber match of the conference series on Saturday at 2 p.m. MDT. The game will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and can also be heard on the BYU Radio App and BYUradio.org.