Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
New Mexico St
Tech Softball Sweeps Pair of Contests
February 03, 2001 | Softball
Feb. 3, 2001
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech Red Raider softball team swept a season-opening doubleheader from New Mexico State Saturday, winning 3-0 and 5-4 behind the pitching of senior All-America candidate Amanda Renfro.
Renfro went the distance in the opening game, striking out 11 and allowing just four hits in shutting out the visiting Aggies. The Houston, Texas, native then pitched the final three frames in the second contest, striking out five and picking up the victory in relief of starter Maggie Ayres.
Renfro dominated the opening game of the day, sitting down 10 straight Aggies at one point in the middle innings, while her teammates gave her all the support she would need in a three-run third inning.
Notre Dame transfer Rebecca Eimen doubled with two outs, and Shauna Briggs was hit by a pitch. Transfer Carmen Grindell the delivered a double off the right-centerfield wall to score a pair of runs, and Eva Harshman followed with a single up the middle to plate Grindell for the 3-0 advantage.
Eimen had two hits in both contests, while Harshman had three hits in the second game and four hits on the day, as well.
The Red Raiders jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second game, courtesy of good base running and a couple of Aggie miscues. Harshman singled to start the second, went to second on a groundout and third on an error, and scored on a double steal with teammate Ashley Ready taking second on the play, as well.
Amanda Douglas, who came off the bench in the first game to get a hit and had two more in the second contest, then beat out an infield single. Ready went to third on the play and scored when a pickoff throw to third sailed into foul territory. Freshman Britney Stolle put Tech ahead 3-0 with a double in the gap, plating Douglas.
The Red Raiders added another run in the third after Eimen doubled and later scored on a Andrea Joachims sacrifice fly to left.
Ayres started the second game for Tech and seemed to be cruising until the fourth when NMSU exploded for four runs on four hits. Consecutive hits by Amanda Thurmond, Heather Nobbe and Mel Briggs cut the deficit to 4-1. Catcher Adrian Nobles then hit a towering fly ball to right center that blew out of the park courtesy of the steady 15-20 mph winds, knotting the contest at four apiece.
But the day belonged to Tech and head coach Bobby Reeves. Harshman doubled with one out in the bottom of the seventh, and Joachims was intentionally walked. After Ready reached to load the bases, Douglas flied deep to right, allowing Harshman to score easily with the winning run in a 5-4 victory.
The Red Raiders travel next weekend to play in the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Phoenix, Ariz., where they will take on three ranked teams in five games of the tournament, including fourth-ranked Washington.
