The fourth day of a conference tournament isn't typically where pitcher's duels take place.
Sam Garcia and Trendan Parrish each hit one, with Garcia's outstanding hit bringing the Texas Tech baseball team's season to a close at the Big 12 Tournament in Arlington.
The senior left-hander allowed just three hits in eight innings to lead No. 17 Oklahoma State to a 4-0 win in a consolation game on Friday at Globe Life Field.
Garcia (7-3), the Cowboys' regular Friday night starter, struck out eight without a walk. He allowed two-out singles to Kevin Bazzell and Austin Green in the first and second innings and a two-out double by Damien Bravo in the sixth.
Parish (2-2), making his first start of the season, pitched six-plus innings and gave up five hits and two runs. The third-year right-hander walked just one batter in the seventh inning before giving up an RBI single to Lane Forsythe and a two-run homer by Nolan Shubert in the eighth.
No. 2 seed Oklahoma State (38-17) advanced to a consolation final against No. 8 seed University of Central Florida (35-18) late Friday. The winner will play in the championship game against top-seeded University of Oklahoma (37-18) on Saturday at 6 p.m.
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Trendan Parrish gave Texas Tech a chance to win
Parrish hadn't pitched since April 2-May 16, but he struck out all four batters he faced in his return last week at Arizona State and was fit to pitch Friday. He was trailing 1-0 heading into the seventh inning, throwing a season-high 84 pitches and allowing a double to the leadoff batter before being relieved.
How did Sam Garcia's performance compare to usual?
Let's just say it's not unusual for him to strike out hitters. The game against Tech was Garcia's seventh quality start of the season and his third consecutive quality start, defined as pitching six innings and allowing three runs or less. He lowered his ERA to 3.27.
How did Texas Tech's Class of 2024 compare to the norm?
Simply put, it wasn't: The Red Raiders finished the season with a 33-26 record and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since going 31-24 in 2015. Tech bounced back from that season to play in the College World Series three times in the next four years.
Losing pitchers Zane Petty, Parrish, Tabor Fast, Mack Hoyer, Jack Washburn and Brady Trombello for most of the season hurt, but the Red Raiders made up for the losses with their pitching, defense and timely hitting.
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