Texas Tech 3 Columbia 2
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – No. 23 Texas Tech defeated Columbia 3-2 in the first round of the NCAA Coral Gables Regional Tournament on Friday afternoon as sophomore first baseman Eric Gutierrez hit a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning at Alex Rodriguez Park – Mark Light Field.
Texas Tech (41-18) is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2004 and its walk-off win marked the program’s third in NCAA Tournament action and its first since 2002 (Rice Regional – 5-4 win over Washington).
The Red Raiders will play the winner of No. 3 Miami (Fla.) and Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, May 31 at 7 p.m. ET.
Miami (FL) 1 Bethune-Cookman 0
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Top-seeded Miami opened its run at the 2014 NCAA Coral Gables Region in thrilling fashion Friday night, toppling No. 4 Bethune-Cookman 1-0 on a walk-off wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning.
With David Thompson on third base and Brandon Lopez at first, a pitch from Wildcats reliever Scott Garner to freshman Johnny Ruiz made its way past catcher Zach Olszewski and towards the Mark Light Field backstop. Thompson raced home and slid in safe, beating Olszewski’s throw to Garner and sending his teammates and the crowd of 1,843 into a frenzied celebration.
The win advanced Miami (42-17) into the winner’s bracket of the Regional, and set up a matchup with second-seeded Texas Tech to be played Saturday night at 7 p.m.
