Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
UT Arlington
Softball Wins Two More
February 28, 2010 | Softball
Feb. 28, 2010
ARLINGTON, Texas - Texas Tech won a pair of one-run softball games, 2-1 over Wichita State, and 3-2 over UT Arlington, to win the UTA Tournament and improve to 13-1 on the season.
In the first game of the day for the Red Raiders, Ashly Jacobs pitched five innings, allowed only two hits, issued three walks and struck out four en route to her third win of the season. Hillary Phillips came in to pick up the first of two saves she would earn on the day, allowing only a run on three hits to the Shockers.
Sophomore right fielder Ashley Hamada was the offensive hero for Tech in game one as she singled and scored a run in the fifth and then singled home another in the sixth, finishing with a two-for-three line. Holley Gentsch drove in Hamada in the fifth with a double and Raven Richardson had singled in front of Hamada and was the player to come around and score in the sixth.
Wichita State made it interesting in the seventh when the Shockers got a one out single, and a double to put runners at second and third. An RBI single off the bat of the nine-hole hitter left runners at first and third. Phillips induced a ground ball to second baseman Logan Hall who flipped to Emily Bledsoe covering at second and over to Richardson for the 4-6-3 double play to end the game.
Game two of the day featured the host school appearing as the visitor (tournaments!) and the Tech bats knocked out 11 hits, however, the team left ten runners on failing to capitalize in many key situations and only one of those involved an interesting call by one of the fine gentleman in blue.
Leah Legler, Bledsoe, Richardson, Mikey Kenney and McKenzie Clemmons each had two hits in the game, with Bledsoe delivering the key two-run single in the third after Stephanie Drewry had walked and Hall had doubled to open the frame. Tech added a run in the fourth when Clemmons singled, advanced on an error and scored on a Richardson single.
The controversial call came in the second inning when Tech had bases loaded and Legler blooped a single over the head of UTA shortstop, Courtney Enocksen, which appeared to have scored Richardson from third and Hamada from second. But the umpire ruled that Hamada interfered with Enocksen's opportunity to catch the ball which had landed just a few feet from her head after a strong wind blew the ball closer to her than it appeared at first. The dead ball foul meant that neither run scored and the final out was recorded in the obstruction call.
Karli Merlich pitched five and a third and gave up four hits, two of them solo home runs in the sixth and then gave way to Phillips who shut the door on the Mavericks over the next one and two-thirds innings, allowing only a pair of hits. The duo each struck out one batter and Phillips allowed one walk on the chilly afternoon.
The 11-game win streak is two shy of the program-best 13 that the 1998 squad achieved. The Red Raiders hope to keep the streak alive with a single game in Denton at North Texas tomorrow, but weather appears to be heading into the region and that game may be postponed. Check the schedule page of the Web site for details.
