Ryan Free pitches Texas Tech baseball past Cincinnati in Big 12 tournament
The Texas Tech baseball team has bought itself two more days at the Big 12 tournament than its seeding suggested it should. This time, the Red Raiders have Ryan Free to thank.
The senior lefthander threw a sharp 6 ⅔ innings Thursday, leading No. 10 seed Tech over No. 5 seed Cincinnati 10-5 in an elimination game in Arlington. Parker Hutyra got the last seven outs for the Red Raiders' second triumph this week at Globe Life Field.
Owen Washburn drove in three runs with two sacrifice flies and a bases-loaded walk, and Dylan Maxcey capped a five-run second inning with a two-run single.
The Red Raiders, the lowest seed in the tournament, are one of six teams left. Tech (33-25) will play another loser-out game at 4 p.m. Friday against No. 2 seed Oklahoma State (37-17), and the winner will play No. 8 seed Central Florida (35-18) in a bracket final at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Cincinnati (32-25) got a pair of Alec Jones two-run homers, off Free in the seventh inning and Hutyra in the ninth.
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Red Raiders still have a long way to go
Beating Texas and Cincinnati this week is nice, but Tech has to win the Big 12 tournament to make an NCAA regional.
That means beating each of the following: Oklahoma State and UCF on Friday and the top bracket winner at 6 p.m. Saturday. The teams left in the top bracket are No. 1 seed Oklahoma, No. 7 seed Kansas and No. 9 seed TCU.
Ryan Free delivers a timely performance
The senior lefthander stepped up with his longest outing in his two seasons at Tech. His college career high is seven innings, which he achieved three times in 2021 and 2022 while pitching for Grayson College.
Free (6-2) took a 9-1 lead to the seventh before allowing a walk and Jones's first homer. He yielded four hits, struck out four and walked two.
The Red Raiders helped Ryan Free early
Tech blew the game open with three runs in the first inning and five in the second. Cincinnati starter Michael Conte (2-1) lasted 1 ⅔ innings.
In the first, Tech got an RBI apiece on a Kevin Bazzell double, a Cade McGee single and a Washburn sacrifice fly. The first three second-inning runs scored on a Damian Bravo sacrifice fly and bases-loaded walks by McGee and Washburn.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Ryan Free pitches Texas Tech baseball past Cincinnati in Big 12 tourney
