Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Softball Set for Home Opener
March 31, 2006 | Softball
March 31, 2006
Texas Tech Softball Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
LUBBOCK, Texas - After opening the 2006 campaign with 34 games away from home on a seven week road trip, the Texas Tech softball team will open its home schedule this weekend as it hosts the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies in a two-game series at Rocky Johnson Field. Saturday's contests will begin at 2 p.m., while first pitch for Sunday's game two is slated for noon.
The Red Raiders are coming off a doubleheader slip with No. 15 Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., on Tuesday night which saw Tech take the opener by a score of 4-2. During the victory, sophomore second baseman Jennifer Bowers was a standout, slamming two home runs and driving in all four of the Red Raiders' runs to help lift the team to its first victory over the Sooners since the 1999 season. Bowers, a native of Deer Park, Texas, leads Tech with seven home runs and 18 RBI this season.
The Texas Tech outfield continues to be a strength for the team as it boosts the team's leading hitter as well as the program's single season stolen base queen. Sophomore right field Whitney Riley paces the squad with a .322 batting average this season and has chipped in with three long balls and 12 RBI. The South Lake, Texas, native has hit safely in 12 of her last 13 games, a streak which includes a team-high and personal-best 10-game hitting streak. In centerfield, junior Ashley Parker has been rewriting the record books on the base paths this season. After tying a school record with four steals in a single game against Northern Colorado earlier this season, the Lindale, Texas, native became Tech's all-time single season record holder when she swiped her Big 12-leading 27th bag of the season against Oklahoma on Tuesday.
By picking up the win against the Sooners, senior pitcher Erin Crawford moved into a tie with former Red Raider Danielle Brady for third place on the all-time Texas Tech wins list.
This weekend's opponent, Texas A&M Aggies, have been a hot team of late, starting conference play with a perfect 3-0 mark to lead the league. Last season, the Aggies swept a two-game series from Tech in College Station. Texas A&M was the first ever opponent to play Texas Tech at Rocky Johnson Field, a 1-0 Red Raider win on March 29, 2001.
