With just two innings left in Saturday’s game, Kansas University’s baseball team led 1-0 and was on the verge of its first-ever series win against Texas Tech.

But the season-long curse of poor relief pitching doomed the Jayhawks in a 5-2, 10-inning loss to the Red Raiders at Hoglund Ballpark. It was the seventh time KU had lost a lead in the eighth inning or later.

“We played the first seven innings real well,” KU coach Bobby Randall said, “but the last three innings we didn’t play well, either with the bat, the glove or on the mound. I think that sometimes you get beat and sometimes you lose, and today we lost that game.”

Dan Olson started for Kansas (16-16 overall, 3-11 Big 12) and pitched seven shutout innings, striking out four and allowing just three hits. He left with a one-run lead after seven innings thanks to a solo home run by Kevin Wheeler in the second inning.

Chris Jones, who won Tuesday’s game against Wichita State, relieved Olson to begin the eighth inning and retired the first batter on a grounder to short.

The wheels started to fall off after that, though, as Jones sandwiched three walks, two balks and a hit-by-pitch around a flyout before being pulled with Kansas down, 2-1.

“I thought Danny pitched great,” Randall said. “He was just out of gas  and he knew he was out of gas. I felt like we started somebody with a fresh arm, and tonight Chris just couldn’t get it done.”

Chris Smart entered in relief and retired Travis McElroy on a fly ball, ending the inning.

Kansas left a runner stranded at third in the bottom of the eighth, but Smart shut down the Red Raiders (26-16, 9-11) in the top of the ninth, giving Kansas one last chance to tie or win.

Wheeler took full advantage of that opportunity, leading off the inning with blast over the right-field wall that tied the score at 2.

“When I went up there, coach told me to just worry about getting a single and getting on base, so pretty much what I was thinking was to just stay in the middle of the field and get a single,” Wheeler said. “He came inside with a couple of sliders and the last one he came inside on I was just quick enough to get there.”

Tech reliever Steve Rowe shut down the next three Jayhawks and sent the game to extra innings, where the Kansas bullpen imploded once again.

Smart (1-3) retired Jon Slack for the first out, but then gave up a triple to Kevin Jordan, who scored on a single by Gera Alvarez.

Texas Tech added two more runs on a single by Willie Durazo and an error by Matt Tribble, and Rowe shut down the Jayhawks in the bottom of the inning.

“Relief-wise, we didn’t solve Rowe at all,” Randall said. “He was off-speed, and that’s tough sometimes, but you’ve got to adjust to that. He pitched well. He made good pitches and he was fearless out there as far as pitching.”

Wheeler’s two home runs gave him seven for the season, moving him past Tribble for the team lead.

“I wish we would have won that one,” Wheeler said. “It would have been nice to do good for the team and get the win, but it was nice to do well. I was just trying to hit the ball hard all day.”

Today’s series finale begins at noon at Hoglund Ballpark.

Texas Tech 5, Kansas 2, 10 innings

Texas Tech 000 000 020 3 – 5 7 2

Kansas 010 000 001 0 – 2 7 1

Steve Gooch, Steve Rowe (8) and Willie Durazo. Dan Olson, Chris Jones (8), Chris Smart (8), Tom Gorzelanny (10) and Cole Armstrong. W – Rowe (6-2). L – Smart (1-3).

2B – Texas Tech: Travis McElroy. 3B – Texas Tech: Kevin Jordan. HR – Kansas: Kevin Wheeler 2.

Kansas highlights – Kevin Wheeler, 2-3, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 runs; Travis Metcalf, 2-4.