By Wendell Barnhouse
Big12Sports.com Correspondent
TULSA, Okla. - Lose two and barbecue.
That's a college baseball phrase that gets used this time of year. Conference and NCAA tournaments use double-elimination formats so when a team loses twice, all that's left is to load up in the buffet line.
Top-seeded TCU can start eating. The Horned Frogs will head back to Fort Worth after being cudgeled by Texas Tech, 8-1, Thursday in an elimination game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
"If I sat I watched this game, I'd say it was a team and a coaching staff go through the motions," TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "That's not the case, that wasn't our attitude. We're pretty disappointed, pretty embarrassed."
Both teams were playing to stick around. Texas Tech avoided elimination by putting up eight runs in the first four innings against TCU ace Preston Morrison. In two starts against the Red Raiders this season, Morrison – who has won 20 games the last two seasons – has an 11.25 ERA in 7.2 innings of work.
"We've seen him enough to know what he's gonna throw," said Texas Tech's Eric Gutirrez, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI. "It was very important to get a lead in the beginning. It builds confidence for your pitcher and your defense."
Texas Tech required just three pitches to put TCU in a pickle. Cory Raley, who has reached base in 25 consecutive games, was hit by Morrison's second pitch and Tyler Nelsony followed with a single to right to put runners on the corners.
After a one-out walk to load the bases, the Frogs got only one out on a potential double-play grounder that scored Raley. The Red Raiders got a second run thanks to an infield error and Tanner Gardner capped the scoring with a single through the right side for a 3-0 lead before some of the folks at ONEOK Field were fully awake.
Texas Tech added single runs in the second and third and put up another three-spot in the fourth. Gutierrez led off the third and Michael Davis started the fourth with homers. Gutierrez went deep to left and Davis went yard to right. TCU pitchers gave up five home runs in the two losses.
Texas Tech's Corey Taylor, making his first start of the season, allowed four hits during five scoreless innings. In 19 appearances, Taylor has thrown 57.1 innings and allowed two earned runs.
"When we played Texas Tech earlier, I was talking with (Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock) and I asked him why they weren't using Taylor as a starter; he's their best pitcher, I think," Schlossnagle said. "I wish I had kept my mouth shut. When you spot him three runs, that's a tall order."
The Red Raiders will face Baylor, a 4-3 loser to Texas, in a loser-goes-home contest scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Friday.
"We're still a long way from home and said we need to win each game in front us," Tadlock said.
The loss eliminated the regular-season champions. TCU's competition time here lasted less than 24 hours between Wednesday's and Thursday's losses. The Horned Frogs (43-11) failed to become the fifth team to pair a regular-season title with a post-season title and now await Monday's announcement of NCAA tournament pairings.
The bad news is that TCU went 0-2, becoming just the second No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Championship to go winless. The good news is that Texas went 0-2 in 2010 but was still selected as the overall No. 2 seed in the NCAA bracket.
"We need to get our confidence back and realize we're a better team than how we played here," TCU senior shortstop Keaton Jones said. "The week off will be nice to get some rest for our bodies and our arms."