ARLINGTON \u2013 Texas Tech Baseball fell 13-3 to No. 23 Vanderbilt in a run-rule eight-inning contest Saturday afternoon in the second of three games at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown hosted by REV Entertainment and Globe Life Field. <\/p>\n
For the second-straight day, Texas Tech (0-2) got off to an early lead, as in the first, lead-off hitter Kyeler Thompson<\/a> singled and advanced to second on a throwing error by Vanderbilt (1-1) starting pitcher Austin Nye. <\/p>\n After a sac-bunt from Tracer Lopez<\/a> put Thompson on third, Connor Shouse<\/a> drove in his first of two runs on the afternoon when he grounded a ball deep down the first baseline. <\/p>\n With only a play at home, Shouse was safe at first, and Thompson beat the throw from VUs Brodie Johnston to give the Red Raiders a 1-0 lead. <\/p>\n Cruising through three scoreless innings, and up 1-0, Tech starter Lukas Pirko<\/a> ran into trouble in the home half of the fourth, when a two-run homer from Commodores center fielder Braden Holcomb gave Vandy the lead for good at 2-1. <\/p>\n After a strikeout put the innings first out on the board, a bunt single, an RBI double and a two-run home run by Ryker Waite gave Vanderbilt a 5-2 lead. <\/p>\n Looking to stop the bleeding, Pirko coaxed a pair of routine groundballs that resulted in back-to-back errors by SS Coleman Ryan<\/a>. Despite his struggles in the field, Ryan did reach base three times, walking twice with a single. \u00a0<\/p>\n The back-to-back errors proved to be the end of the line for Pirko who went just 3.2 innings and allowed six hits, seven runs (five earned) and a pair of walks. He struck out two. <\/p>\n Following a four-pitch walk from reliever Jorden Espinoza<\/a> that loaded the bases, Holcomb un-loaded the bases on a bases-clearing double into the left field corner that gave Vandy an 8-1 lead. <\/p>\n Chasing 2025 Second Team All-American Austin Nye for the game after just four innings and 72 pitches, Tech loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth off new reliever Tyler Baird for Shouse. <\/p>\n Even in the count, Shouse plated Tech’s second run of the afternoon, beating out a potential double play ball. The run, scored by Ryan, cut the Tech deficit to 8-2. <\/p>\n The Red Raiders batted five times in the contest with the bases loaded and went a combined 0-for-5 in those at-bats. <\/p>\n Strolling to the plate with runners on the corners and one out, Preseason All-American Logan Hughes<\/a> hit one on the screws that resulted in a tough-luck, inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. <\/p>\n The Red Raiders were able to put the first two runners on base in the seventh and ultimately plated one of the runners on a single from Hughes. The base hit was Hughes first of the weekend despite four previous at-bats where he the ball at least 103 MPH. <\/p>\n