Texas doomed by late homer, wasted opportunities in opener at Big 12 baseball tournament

ARLINGTON − On Tuesday night, Cade McGee's two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning was the difference in Texas Tech's 6-4 win over Texas in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.

The loss at Globe Life Field against the Big 12 tournament's No. 10 seed left third-seeded Texas without any margin for error the rest of this week. Texas (35-21) must now play Cincinnati (31-24) in an elimination game at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

"All season, we've had our backs against the wall a lot," UT infielder Jack O'Dowd said. "This is a situation that we've been in before. We just need to kind of lean on that experience and lean on how comfortable we are with our backs against the wall and just trust what we've done all year."

Both teams showcased some major league power at the home of the Texas Rangers as O'Dowd and Texas teammate Jared Thomas and Texas Tech's Drew Woodcox and Austin Green all homered over the first four innings. Max Belyeu also contributed a two-run double during that span as the Longhorns and Red Raiders battled to a 4-4 tie.

Thanks to a home run-robbing catch by Texas centerfielder Will Gasparino in the fifth frame, that tie was preserved until the ninth inning. With one out and a runner aboard, McGee blasted a baseball to left field that bounced off the foul pole.

That swing spoiled an effective outing for UT reliever Andre Duplantier II. Over four innings and 44 pitches, Duplantier allowed three hits and registered six strikeouts. Duplantier last pitched three innings in 2022.

Texas coach David Pierce said that he would have turned to closer Gage Boehm had the Longhorns led in the ninth inning. But Texas wanting to save its arms and Duplantier throwing well, Pierce didn't feel like there was a need for a pitching change.

"He literally made one bad pitch (tonight)," Pierce said. "His cutter just backed up on him and the kid put a good swing on it."

Texas outhit Texas Tech (32-24) by one, but six of UT's nine hits were split between O'Dowd and Belyeu. Ten runners were left on base by UT, and Longhorns were stranded in scoring position in three of the last five innings.

"It's pretty obvious that it's frustrating," Pierce said. "You can credit them for making pitches and we just didn't get it done."

Dating back to the 2022 Big 12 championship game, Texas has now lost seven straight games at Globe Life Field. The Longhorns also went 0-3 at Houston's Minute Maid Park earlier this season.

Texas will need to find a way to win at a MLB ballpark by Wednesday afternoon. Texas and Cincinnati, which was beaten by Central Florida in extra innings on Tuesday, have never played before.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Longhorns beaten by rival Texas Tech at Big 12 baseball tournament