Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
USF
Red Raiders Lose Two at Florida Cox Invitational
February 27, 2009 | Softball
Feb. 27, 2009
Gainesville, Fla. - After a difficult travel day to Gainesville, Texas Tech suffered a pair of equally painful losses to Illinois, 8-2, and USF, 15-9, the second in a more than three hour marathon to begin the Florida Cox Invitational.
Stephanie Drewry set a Texas Tech record for hits in a game going 5-for-6 and the team belted an all-time high of 19 hits (and scored nine runs against USF), but it wasn't enough as the pitching again was suspect and couldn't keep the Bulls from running in game two on Friday. Earlier in the day, the team struggled to score and fell to the Illini despite a two-run home run by Megan Shupp which was the primary offensive highlight.
The team was originally booked on an early flight on Thursday to Jacksonville, with an afternoon bus trip to Gainseville planned. But mechanical failures on the tarmac in Lubbock left the travel party to scramble to re-book flights and sent three groups on three different journeys. As luck would have it, the team had already drawn the early game on Friday morning and the fatigue was obvious.
Alex Watkins pitched a complete-game and suffered the loss to the Fighting Illini, falling behind in the first inning by four runs (two earned), but settled in to hurl a respectable five innings. A Meredith Hackett 3-run bomb in the seventh exaggerated the final score, but the Red Raiders managed only a pair of runs on Shupp's dinger. Elizabeth Eimen added a pair of hits, including a two-bagger, and Drewry had a single in game one to round out the Tech offense.
Game two, on the other hand, saw the Red Raiders blast out of the gate scoring two in the first, three in the second and one in the third en-route to the all-time program high for team hits in a game against a Division I opponent. Drewry was virtually unstoppable as the freshman slapped her way on five of six times (and scored four) regardless of what shift USF employed. Leah Legler followed Drewry (nicknamed Rocket) with four hits of her own. Eimen added three hits, two RBI and a run and Emily Bledsoe was two for three with two runs scored and a run batted in and hit a blast to the wall in center for a double. Ashley Hamada had a pair of hits, Watkins singled (and knocked in a run), Holley Gentsch knocked in a pair and chipped in with a hit, as did Danielle Matthews. Shupp didn't collect a hit, but did manage to knock in three with cleverness and vim.
But the pitchers struggled (for both squads) with Watkins (0-3) getting the tough-luck loss. Ashly Jacobs started and re-entered the game and finished with an uncommon line score in four innings allowing 10 hits, nine runs (eight earned) and walking six.
The team will regroup with full rest to take on Pacific (an 11-2 winner over Illinois in game two of the round robin) and then will face the nation's No. 2 team, the host Florida in the evening contest tomorrow as action continues.
