FORT WORTH — No. 7 TCU scored five unearned runs in the bottom of the first and Texas Tech couldn’t recover as the Horned Frogs handed the Red Raiders a three-game series sweep with an 8-5 win on Sunday afternoon at Lupton Stadium.
The loss is Tech’s fourth consecutive as the Red Raiders fall below .500 at 8-9 while TCU improves to 12-2 on the season. Texas Tech returns to Lubbock for a midweek game against Texas State Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before hitting the road next weekend for the Big 12 opener at Texas A&M.
The game was out of reach early on for the Red Raiders as the Frogs took advantage of a costly defensive mistake by catcher Jeremy Mayo. Mayo’s error allowed Jason Coats to reach first on a passed ball after striking out.
A ground ball in the next at-bat should have ended the inning, instead, the Frogs got a huge three-run home run from Jimmie Pharr to give the Frogs a 4-0 lead. Jerome Pena followed with a solo home run to push the TCU lead to 5-0.
Back-to-back doubles by Nick Popescu and Jeremy Mayo led to Tech’s first run of the game in the top of the second as the Red Raiders cut into the Horned Frog lead to make it 5-1.
TCU answered, though,  in the bottom of the second with a two-run single from Jason Coats, pushing the   Frog lead to 7-1.
The Red Raiders rallied for four runs in the top of the ninth thanks to RBI singles by Stephen Hagen and Justin Berry and a two-run home run by Jamodrick McGruder. The home run was his first of the season.
After a shaky start, Bettis settled in and retired 10-straight TCU hitters during the middle innings and struckout out a career-high 10. Despite the recovery, Bettis was charged with the loss after giving up seven runs, two earned, on seven hits and now stands at 2-2 on the year.
Kyle Winkler (3-0) earned the win for TCU after holding the Red Raiders to just one run on seven hits and struckout four without issuing a walk.