East Carolina Defeats Texas Tech to Open NCAA Super Regional

Friday, June 10

Lubbock, Texas

TBA

Texas Tech Athletics

44-18

East Carolina

38-21-1

East Carolina

Texas Tech

Tanner Gardner recorded his team-leading 25th multi-hit game of the season Friday night.

East Carolina Defeats Texas Tech to Open NCAA Super Regional

June 10, 2016 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes

Tanner Gardner finished 3-for-5 Friday night in Texas Tech’s 8-6 loss to East Carolina

By: Texas Tech Athletics Communications

LUBBOCK, Texas – East Carolina scored five runs in the fifth inning, four of which came off a Travis Watkins grand slam, to open the NCAA Lubbock Super Regional with an 8-6 victory over Texas Tech on Friday night in front of a sold out crowd at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

Watkins homered twice to lead the Pirates (38-21-1), who secured their first NCAA Super Regional win in school history. The loss forces Tech (44-18) to win the final two games of the series in order to advance to the College World Series. Game two is set for a 2 p.m. CT first pitch Saturday on ESPNU.

Watkins finished with six RBI in the win as he was 2-for-5 overall with a grand slam in the fifth followed by a two-run shot in the sixth that gave East Carolina a five-run lead. His grand slam erased what was a 2-1 lead for the Red Raiders.

Tech managed to make it a two-run game and pull within 8-6 in the seventh thanks to a three-run homer from Tyler Neslony. It was the 10th home run of the season for Neslony, who easily cleared the right-field fence on a 1-2 pitch. The three-run dinger for Neslony was set up by a Tanner Gardner leadoff triple followed by a Cory Raley walk.

Neslony finished 2-for-5 overall as one of three Red Raiders with a multi-hit performance, joining Gardner (3-for-5) and Michael Davis (2-for-4). The multi-hit game was Gardner's team-leading 25th of the season.

Davis connected on a home run of his own in the fourth inning as he drove a solo blast to right field. The long ball marked Davis' third home run of the season, all of which that have come in the past six games.

Davis Martin (9-1) suffered the loss for the Red Raiders – the first of his career – after he allowed six runs, five earned, on nine hits over 4.1 innings of work. Jacob Patterson closed the game with 3.1 shutout innings of the bullpen for the Red Raiders.

The Pirates rode the left arm of Evan Kruczynski for the first 5.2 frames and the right arm of Matt Bridges for the final 2.2 innings. Kruczynksi (8-1) was touched up for three runs on six hits and registered six strikeouts, while Bridges retired all eight batters he faced with six coming via the strikeout for his second save of the season.

The only other run to not come of Watkins' bat for East Carolina came on a bases-loaded walk to Turner Brown in the third inning. The Pirates placed at least one runner on base in every inning except the eighth.

Parker Lamm also finished 3-for-6 at the top of the East Carolina lineup while Dwayna Williams-Sutton was 2-for-5 overall. The Pirates totaled 13 hits in front of a Rip Griffin Park record crowd of 4,817 fans.

Gates open at 12 p.m. Saturday afternoon for game two of the series.