Young went seven innings to pick up his sixth win of the season.
LUBBOCK, Texas -- A three-run second inning helped propel No. 3 TCU to a 4-1 victory against No. 21 Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon at Rip Griffin Park. The victory clinches the series win for the Horned Frogs.
Alex Young was dynamite for the Frogs in improving to 6-1 on the season. The junior allowed a solo home run on his second pitch of the game, but settled down to pitch seven solid frames. He allowed just four hits in the game, walked two and struck out seven.
The bullpen duo of Trey Teakell and Riley Ferrell combined to pitch a scoreless eighth and ninth to lock up the victory. Teakell struck out the first two batters he faced in the eighth before a base hit and a walk brought the tying run to the plate. Ferrell came on to get the four-out save and did so, retiring all four batters he faced to pick up his eighth save of the season.
TCU wasted no time answering Texas Tech's first inning run in the second. The Frogs took a 3-1 lead with a trio of two-out runs. Keaton Jones started the hit barrage with a one-out single. Nolan Brown followed with a base hit to put the go-ahead runs on base. With two outs and runners on the corners, Garrett Crain stole second. That loomed large as Derek Odell bounced a single up the middle to give the Frogs the lead. Cody Jones drove in the third run of the inning with a single to center.
Young kept it a 3-1 game through the seventh. The only real jam he found himself in was the third after two walks had a pair on with two out. It took just one pitch to escape as he got Eric Gutierrez to foul out to end the inning unscathed.
The Red Raiders had just two singles through the next four innings and had one runner advance to second and that came in the eighth.
Offensively, the Frogs were held in check by the Texas Tech bullpen, but they took advantage of the one opportunity they were given. A two-out fielding error at third base proved costly for Texas Tech as the Frogs turned it into a huge insurance run. Keaton Jones reached second on the miscue and scored easily on Nolan Brown's base hit to center for a 4-1 lead.
