Tech drops extra inning marathon, 8-7, to Cincinnati

Friday, April 4

Lubbock, Texas

2 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

8-18, 4-6

Cincinnati

18-11, 5-5

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Cincinnati	1	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	1	8	15	3
Texas Tech	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	7	11	3

Tech drops extra inning marathon, 8-7, to Cincinnati

April 04, 2025 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF) Presser (Tadlock) Highlights

Despite enjoying leads of 6-4 and 7-5, Tech fell in 12 innings

By: Andrew Stern

LUBBOCK, Texas – Despite a career-high eight punchouts in six strong innings from Jack Cebert, and home runs from Damian Bravo and Antonelli Savattere, Texas Tech Baseball fell in 12 innings to Cincinnati, Friday afternoon at a cold and windy Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

With the strong six innings where he allowed just one earned run, Cebert has now allowed just four total runs (three earned) in four Big 12 appearances. He has struck out 22 in the 19.1 innings against conference foes.

Down 4-0 early, Texas Tech (8-18, 4-6 Big 12) mounted a comeback in the fifth using an RBI single from Coleman Ryan and a two-run double from Kyeler Thompson to pull to within 4-3. The RBI hits were made possible by the first of three errors by Cincinnati (18-11, 5-5 Big 12) shortstop Charlie Niehaus.

To within 4-3, Cebert used a pick-off a second to escape the top of the sixth, allowing the Red Raiders to tie and ultimately take the lead in the bottom half of the inning.

The Red Raiders tied the game just one pitch later in the aforementioned sixth inning when Bravo lifted his seventh home run of the season to right.

With the game tied, the Red Raiders took the lead two batters later when Savattere also homered to right. The blast gave the Red Raiders a 6-4 lead.

In the top of the seventh, Cincinnati cut the Red Raider lead in half, when with two outs Christian Mitchelle plated Lauden Brooks on an RBI double. Brooks reached to start the inning on a two-base throwing error at third.

Cincy's unearned run was the only that Cebert allowed over his six strong innings. The righty tied his Red Raider career in punchouts with eight and allowed just four hits.

Up by just a run, Cebert again returned for the eighth, striking out UCs Lauden Brooks on the 103rd pitch he threw.

In the bottom of the eighth Tech scored an insurance run on a pair of errors by Niehaus, the second of which plated Savattere.

Armed with a 2-run lead and with Cebert at over 100 pitches, the Red Raiders turned to fellow USF transfer Logan Bevis who allowed a lead-off walk before placing a pair of outs on the board.

After a two-out RBI single cut the Tech lead to 7-6, Bevis allowed another single that placed the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on first.

With both the tying and go-ahead runs on base, Tech turned to reliever Trendan Parish who immediately loaded the bases on a five-pitch walk.

With nowhere to put UCs Donovan Ford, Parish ultimately lost a nine-pitch battle with Ford, who took a tight 3-2 pitch for a game-tying bases loaded walk.

Looking to keep the game tied, Tech turned to Lukas Pirko, who immediately retired Cincy's leading hitter Kerrington Cross on a sky-high pop-up to second. The second-leading hitter in the Big 12 entering the day, Cross went 2-for-4 with three walks and a pair of runs scored.

After a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth, the Red Raiders again turned to Pirko, who himself tossed a 1-2-3 top of the 10th using a ground out and a pair of punchouts to send the game to the home half of the 10th.

In the bottom of the 10th, Tech used a lead-off double from catcher Dylan Maxcey and a flyout to place the winning run on third with one out, but UCs Adam Buczkowski and Brandon Scheurer combined to whiff Garet Boehm and Ryan in succession.

Scheurer ended up pitching the final 2.1 innings and allowed just one hit and three walks. He punched out three.

Following another scoreless frame from Pirko, the Red Raiders used a pair of walks by Thompson and Hughes to place the winning run on second with nobody out for the second-straight inning.

The Red Raiders next batter, Bravo, ran the count full against Scheurer, before ultimately swinging and missing on the 10th-pitch he saw from the righty.

With runners on first and second and one out, Villeneuve almost won it for Tech, but his 100 MPH grounder on a 1-1 count was fielded by Niehaus on the backhand for what turned out to be an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

In the top of the 12th, Cincinnati took the lead for good, when a well-placed one-out, two-strike, bases loaded, Texas leaguer from catcher Jack Natili nicked the chalk before landing between Bravo, Tracer Lopez and Villeneuve. The ball came off the bat at just 68 MPH.

Down by a run for the first time since the sixth, Tech used a two-out walk from Lopez and single by Boehm to place runners on the corners with two out for Ryan.

With the count even at 2-2, Ryan took a pitch from Scheurer that looked to be both low and outside, but home plate umpire Blake Felix rang up Ryan for the final out of the game.

The game, which went 12 innings, was the longest game for the Red Raiders (by innings) since 2019 when Tech and TCU played a 14-inning contest on May, 16.

By time, the four hour and 33 minute contest was the fifth-longest home game since 2012, trailing just the Red Raiders Super Regional contest against ECU in 2016 (4:56), the aforementioned 2019 contest against TCU (4:43), a 2015 midweek contest (Mar. 3, 2015) against ACU, and the 10-inning, 16-12 thriller against the University of Texas (Mar. 26) back in 2022.

UP NEXT:
Due to cold winter like weather projected to work its way into the area on Saturday, the Red Raiders Saturday contest against the Bearcats has been postponed.

Tech and UC will instead play a doubleheader on Sunday morning. First pitch for Game Two of the series and Game One of the double-dip is set for 11 a.m.

Sunday's second game is set for 45 minutes following the conclusion Game One.