Texas Tech University Athletics
No. 24 Texas Tech Looks to Rebound at Iowa State
April 08, 2011 | Softball
April 8, 2011
Game Notes | Gameday Central | 
Preview
LUBBOCK, Texas - No. 24 Texas Tech hits the road for the first time in Big 12 play this weekend, traveling to Ames, Iowa for a two-game series with Iowa State that begins at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Southwest Athletic Complex.
SERIES INFORMATION
Dates - April 9-10
First Pitch - 2 p.m./11 a.m.
Location - Ames, Iowa
Venue - Southwest Athletic Complex
Live Video - None
Audio - None
Live Stats - www.texastech.com
Live Blog - www.texastech.com
Series Record - Tech leads 17-13
Series Record In Ames - ISU leads 8-7
Last Season - Split Series 1-1 in Lubbock
• Tech def. ISU, 6-3 (March 27, 2010)
• ISU def. Tech, 4-2 (March 28, 2010)
TTU Head Coach - Shanon Hays
ISU Head Coach - Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Texas Tech fans unable to make the trip to Iowa State can keep up with the action through the Gameday Central page at texastech.com. The page will contain live scoring, an in-game blog, and stats and box scores from every game along with postgame video from coach Shanon Hays.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Texas Tech (36-6; 1-5) - No. 24/24
Iowa State (17-15; 1-3) - None
(ESPN.com/USA Softball - NFCA/USA Today)
ON DECK
The Red Raiders return to Lubbock for a midweek doubleheader against Kansas next Wednesday before hitting the road again to play a two-game series at Oklahoma State next weekend.
THE SERIES
Texas Tech leads the all-time series against the Cyclones, 17-13, following last year's series split in Lubbock. The Red Raiders have won nine of the last 12 meetings between the two schools. Tech trails Iowa State, 8-7, in games played in Ames, however.
FIRST TIME AS A TRUE VISITOR
Texas Tech has not had a game yet this season where the Red Raiders are playing at the opposing team's home venue. Tech has taken two trips this year to Tempe, Ariz. and Clearwater, Fla. for tournaments, but every game has been a neutral site contest. Among teams ranked in the top 50 of the ratings percentage index (RPI), only Tech and Stanford have not played a true road game this season.
MOVING UP IN THE RPI
Despite a slow start to Big 12 play, Texas Tech moved up two spots in the latest RPI rankings, sliding to No. 28 overall. The rankings were released prior to Tech's doubleheader on Wednesday against Baylor.
BOOSTING ITS RESUME
Tech's slow start to Big 12 play might not hurt the Red Raiders in the long run as all three opponents so far - Missouri, Oklahoma, and Baylor - are ranked in the top 10 of the RPI rankings. Tech is 2-4 this season against teams ranked among the top 15 of the RPI.
A LOOK AT IOWA STATE...
Iowa State enters this weekend's series reeling from losses in five of its last six games, including a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Minnesota on Thursday. The Cyclones are currently 1-3 in Big 12 play following a series split against Oklahoma State to open conference and a sweep from Texas A&M in College Station last weekend. Iowa State ranks last in both hitting and pitching categories among league teams as the Cyclones are hitting .293 on the year while the pitching staff has recorded a 4.11 ERA to this point.
DON'T GIVE UP ON TECH YET...
After a 3-8 start to Big 12 play last year, Tech rallied to win four-straight games, including a doubleheader sweep of 7th-ranked Oklahoma State that set the Red Raiders up for an eventual NCAA Regional berth. Tech will look for a similar occurrence to start this weekend as the Red Raiders are 1-5 in league play so far.
UNCOMMON ERRORS PLAGUE TECH
Part of Tech's struggles in its midweek series against Baylor stemmed from miscues in the field as the Red Raiders combined to post five errors. Tech entered the doubleheader without an error in each of its last five games and eight of the last nine games overall.
KENNEY MOVES TO FOURTH ON HOME RUN LIST
Mikey Kenney's seventh inning home run in the series opener against Baylor moved the sophomore into sole possession of fourth on the school's career chart. Kenney now trails Jennifer Corkin (2005-08) by three homers for third place. Kim Martinez owns the school record with 27 home runs in the 1997 and 1999 seasons, followed by Paula Workman (1997-2000) with 23 career dingers.
HAYS MAKES CHANGES TO THE LINEUP
Prior to the Oklahoma series, Mikey Kenney had led off every game for the Red Raider this season, but Texas Tech head coach Shanon Hays made his first significant change of the year, inserting Logan Hall into the leadoff spot. The second-year Tech skipper made another change in the second game against Baylor, moving Emily Bledsoe to the top of the lineup. Since the change, Mikey Kenney has moved to the No. 3 hole primarily.
BLEDSOE, KENNEY LED TECH LAST YEAR VERSUS IOWA STATE
Mikey Kenney and Emily Bledsoe will be looking to repeat last year's performance against the Cyclones as both finished 4-for-7 at the plate. Kenney also added two RBIs in the series finale, while Bledsoe added two doubles of her own in the series.
EFFICIENCY IS TECH'S NAME ON THE BASES
The Red Raiders are currently third in the Big 12 for stolen bases as Tech has swiped 57 bases to this point. The more impressive part, however, is that Tech has only been caught stealing six times, a stat that only trails Iowa State for fewest in the league. The Cyclones have been successful in 25 of 30 attempts this year, giving Tech a slight advantage in success percentage.
