Texas Tech Athletics
Baylor
Red Raiders Split at Baylor
April 11, 2001 | Softball
April 11, 2001
WACO, Texas - The Texas Tech Red Raiders scored a pair of unearned runs in the eighth inning to take a 3-1 victory and gain a split of a doubleheader over the 23rd-ranked Baylor Lady Bears in Big 12 softball action Wednesday afternoon.
Baylor won the opening game, 2-0, before Tech came with the second game victory, its first over the Lady Bears since April 18, 1998.
In the second contest the Red Raiders got on the board first when Andrea Joachims singled with one out in the second, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jana Baker, and scored on a double to left center from Britney Stolle.
The Lady Bears got an unearned run in the third to tie the contest at one. Holly Fields walked to leadoff, and pinch-runner Amber Cano went to second on a one-out sacrifice bunt from Ginger Owen.
Sarah Caudle then walked, and a grounder to second by Stacey Hundley seemed to end the inning, but the throw to second for the force play was bobbled and then lost by Rebecca Eimen, allowing Cano to come around from second to score on the play.
Both teams had scoring chances in the latter innings of the game, but none were serious and neither team was able to push across a run, sending the game to extra innings.
In the eighth, Sandy Butler reached on a throwing error to start the frame. Butler was forced at second on a fielder's choice by Eva Harshman, then Shauna Briggs bounced to short for another fielder's choice. But the throw to second was hard and low from Koral King and went right by BU second baseman Hundley, rolling deep into right field.
Harshman came around to score on the play and Briggs ended up at third. After a walk to Carmen Grindell, who had four hits in the doubleheader, Andrea Joachims singled to right, scoring Briggs for a 3-1 Tech lead.
Amanda Renfro (25-13) got the final three outs for the win in the second contest, allowing just two hits and striking out seven. She allowed just an unearned run in the game.
Baylor's Joni Miller (22-9) took the loss, giving up three runs, one earned, on eight hits with two strikeouts.
In the opening game, the Red Raiders got a leadoff single from Grindell in the second, and Joachims followed with a walk. After a flyout, Stolle advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt, but Harshman popped out to end the inning.
Fields doubled off the left field wall to start the bottom of the third, and Cano came in to pinch run. Cano went to third on a sacrifice bunt from Owens, but Caudle popped out for the second out of the inning.
Hundley followed with a walk, as did Naomi Fitzgerald, loading the bases for Ryan Stukel. But Stukel could not deliver the two-out hit, instead fouling out to the catcher to end the threat.
Tech came back in the fourth with Briggs leading off with a single to center. Grindell then put down a sacrifice bunt, and reached when the throw from third baseman Fields sailed wide of first. Both runners moved up when the throw rolled into right field, putting runners on second and third with no one out.
After a popout, Baker walked to load the bases. Stolle then lined out to center, and Grindell was doubled off second base for the final out of the inning.
Tracy Cartier reached on another throwing error by Fields with two outs in the fifth, moving to second on the errant toss. Butler then singled, but the ball was kept in the infield by a diving King at shortstop, saving a run. Briggs then flied to left to end in the inning.
The Lady Bears pushed across a run in the bottom of the frame when Owen reached on a single to leadoff. Owen advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Caudle, and Hundley followed with her own bunt. Renfro's throw to first was wild, rolling into foul territory and allowing Owen to come around and score.
Hundley later scored on a single to center from Stukel for a 2-0 Baylor advantage.
Again the Red Raiders threatened in the seventh, as Cartier reached on a fielder's choice and Butler singled to right center with two outs, putting runners on the corners for Briggs. But a deep fly ball to center off the bat of Briggs was caught by BU's Fitzgerald, ending the contest with a 2-0 Baylor victory.
Butler and Grindell both had a pair of hits in the contest, as the Red Raiders stranded nine runners in the loss.
Renfro suffered the loss, allowing four hits and two runs, one earned, with six strikeouts. Joni Miller picked up the win for Baylor, striking out two and giving up six hits.
The Red Raiders host defending national champion and seventh-ranked Oklahoma this weekend, playing Friday at 2 p.m. and Saturday at noon at Rocky Johnson Field on the Tech campus.
