Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Head South For CenturyLink Classic
February 12, 2015 | Softball
The Red Raiders return to the road again this weekend for the CenturyLink Classic hosted by Texas State. Texas Tech will begin play in the three-day tournament at 12:30 p.m. Friday afternoon against UTSA.
Feb. 12, 2015
? Texas Tech continues its month-long road trip to start the season this weekend as the Red Raiders will take part in the CenturyLink Classic hosted by Texas State.
? Texas Tech opens the three-day tournament with a Friday doubleheader against UTSA and Texas State. The Red Raiders will face Texas State three times over the weekend while also battling UTSA twice and Grand Canyon once.
? This will be the second-straight weekend where the Red Raiders have faced UTSA as the Roadrunners handed Texas Tech its first loss of the season with a 13-7 setback last Friday afternoon in Las Cruces.
? Texas Tech is returning to Bobcat Softball Stadium in San Marcos for the first time since 2012 when the Red Raiders took part in the Texas Shootout. Tech finished that weekend 3-2 overall with a 6-1 win over Texas State in the tournament opener.
? Adrian Gregory became the fourth head coach in program history to win their debut leading the Red Raiders in Texas Tech's season-opening 5-3 victory over New Mexico State last weekend. She joins the likes of Bobby Reeves (2001), Amy Suiter (2009) and Shanon Hays (2010) as first-year head coaches to win in their debut.
? The Red Raiders opened the season with back-to-back wins last weekend in Las Cruces, marking the first time Texas Tech has done so since 2011.
? Cara Custer picked up the win in Texas Tech's season opener against New Mexico State, marking the 52nd victory of her career. She passed Ashly Jacobs (2007-10) for sole possession of second place all-time in the Texas Tech record book with the win.
? Possibly no Red Raider had a greater opening weekend than Jordan Bettiol, who hit .563 overall, the highest clip for a Tech player through five games dating back to 2003.
INSIDE THE SERIES
UTSA
Texas Tech and UTSA will be meeting for the second-straight weekend on Friday as the Roadrunners previously snapped a six-game losing streak against the Red Raiders with a 13-7 victory in the second game of the Hotel Encanto Classic. The victory was the first for the Roadrunners over the Red Raiders since topping Tech, 4-3, in the first game of an April 26, 2006, doubleheader. The Red Raiders control a 12-9 all-time lead in the series with UTSA. The Roadrunners have won all three games at neutral sites, though, including an 11-3 victory in the only other game played in San Marcos in 2004.
TEXAS STATE
Texas Tech and Texas State will meet for the third-straight season Friday afternoon as the Red Raiders head into this weekend having won five of the last six games against the Bobcats, including a three-game series sweep last year in Lubbock. The Red Raiders previously traveled to San Marcos in 2013 for the Texas Shootout where Tech opened the tournament with a 6-1 victory over the host Bobcats. Tech is 17-12 all-time against Texas State, including an 8-5 record in San Marcos.
GRAND CANYON
Texas Tech will be facing Grand Canyon for the first time in school history Saturday afternoon. The Antelopes are one of six first-time opponents for the Red Raiders this season, joining the likes of Montana, Holy Cross, UT Martin, Mississippi Valley State and Seattle.
RED RAIDERS RECORD 600TH CAREER WIN IN PROGRAM HISTORY OVER MONTANA
Texas Tech's second win of the season - an 8-5 decision over Montana - marked the 600th in program history as the Red Raiders are now 600-652-4 overall. Tech, now in its 24th season of softball, started its program in 1981 before disbanding it following the 1985 season. Softball returned as a sponsored intercollegiate sport in 1996 with the start of the Big 12 Conference.
RED RAIDERS OPEN 2015 WITH COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN OVER NEW MEXICO STATE
In just its first game of the 2015 season, Texas Tech proved that no lead was safe, even after six innings. The Red Raiders, facing a 3-2 deficit in the top of the seventh against New Mexico State, used a three-run inning to pull off a 5-3 victory over the Aggies, the first in the career of head coach Adrian Gregory. Devon Thomey highlighted the come-from-behind victory with a two-run double to the wall in center field that scored both Susan Welborn and Kristi Belshe. Tech previously tied the game on a wild pitch that allowed Brooke Scott to scamper home from third base. It marked only the third time since the start of the 2012 season where the Red Raiders have won despite trailing at the start of the seventh inning.
BETTIOL RECORDS ONE OF THE BEST OPENING WEEKENDS IN SCHOOL HISTORY
To say Jordan Bettiol made quite the debut as a Red Raider last weekend at the Hotel Encanto Classic might be an understand. Bettiol, a junior transfer from Nebraska, hit a team-leading .563 (9-for-16) over the weekend with three multiple-hit games and at least a hit in each of the five contests. Dating back to the 2003 season, no Red Raider has started a season with a higher batting average than Bettiol through the first five games of the season. Former Red Raider greats Mikey Kenney and Cydney Allen are the only other player during that span to hit over .500 after Kenney totaled a .533 clip (8-for-15) in 2013 while Allen hit .556 overall (10-for-18) in 2011. In addition to her batting average, Bettiol drove in a pair of runs and stole a base from the top of the Tech lineup.
| Texas Tech Batting Average Leaders Through Five Gmes (Since 2003) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Average |
| Jordan Bettiol (2015) | .563 (9-for-16) |
| Cydney Allen (2011) | .556 (10-for-18) |
| Mikey Kenney (2013) | .533 (8-for-15) |
| Ashley Hamada (2011) | .500 (6-for-12) |
| Stephanie Drewry (2011) | .467 (7-for-15) |
| Devin Zaragoza (2005) | .467 (7-for-15) |
| Ashley Parker (2004) | .467 (7-for-15) |
THOMEY TURNS IN MEMORABLE OPENING DAY IN RETURN TO LAS CRUCES
Opening Day for Devon Thomey was not just an opportunity for a fresh start with Texas Tech but also a chance to return to New Mexico State where she played her 2014 freshman season. Thomey made the most of her return by going 4-for-7 with six RBI in an Opening Day doubleheader against New Mexico State and Montana. The performance included the game-winning hit against the Aggies as Thomey drilled a double to center field in the seventh inning that scored both Susan Welborn and Kristi Belshe and gave Tech a 5-3 lead it would not relinquish. Thomey followed up by going 3-for-3 with four RBI later that evening against Montana, finishing a double shy of the cycle after a RBI triple in the second and then a two-run homer, the first in her collegiate career in the fourth inning. Her six RBI on the day were one more than her entire total from 2014.
MAISEL TURNS IN SOLID PERFORMANCE DURING OPENING WEEKEND
Despite making her first collegiate appearance in the circle last season, Mattison Maisel saw her first significant time last weekend during the Hotel Encanto Classic. Maisel, who entered this season having only tossed two-thirds of an inning, saw action in three of five games while making her first career start in the tournament finale last Saturday against No. 18 Nebraska. Maisel gave the Red Raiders a chance to win against the Huskers as she went a career-high 3.1 innings, allowing four runs off six hits before leaving Tech holding onto a slim 4-3 lead. The right-hander closed the weekend with a 5.60 earned-run average in five full innings of work. Nebraska was the only team to score off Maisel as the right-hander recorded shutout appearances against both Montana and UTSA.
CUSTER MOVES TO SECOND ALL-TIME IN WINS WITH WIN OVER NEW MEXICO STATE
All it took was seven innings into the 2015 season for Cara Custer to move into sole possession of second place for wins in the Texas Tech career record book. Custer, a native of Tacoma, Washington, tossed seven strong innings in the season opener against New Mexico State where she picked up career win No. 52 to pass Ashly Jacobs (2007-10) for second all-time in program history. In addition to her rise up the career wins chart, Custer is also chasing several other records as well, including saves, appearances, games started, complete games, ERA and strikeouts.
| Texas Tech Career Leaders in Victories | |
|---|---|
| Name | Career Wins |
| Amanda Renfro (1998-01) | 93 |
| Cara Custer (2012-Present) | 52 |
| Ashly Jacobs (2007-10) | 51 |
| Brittany Talley (2011-14) | 44 |
| Erin Crawford (2003-06) | 42 |
GREGORY BECOMES FOURTH RED RAIDER HEAD COACH TO WIN DEBUT
Adrian Gregory became the fourth head coach in school history to record a victory in their debut leading the Red Raiders last weekend when Texas Tech overcame a seventh inning deficit to top New Mexico State, 5-3. Gregory joins the likes of Bobby Reeves (2001), Amy Suiter (2009) and Shanon Hays (2010) as Texas Tech head coaches to win in their debut. With Gregory's come-from-behind victory over New Mexico State, Texas Tech head coaches are now 4-3 all-time when making their debut.
| Texas Tech Head Coaches All-Time in Debut | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coach | Year | Opponent | Result |
| Renee Luers-Gillespie | 1996 | vs. UTSA | L, 1-2 |
| Carla Marchetti | 2000 | vs. No. 18 Illinois-Chicago | L, 0-2 (9 inn.) |
| Bobby Reeves | 2001 | New Mexico State | W, 3-0 |
| Teresa Wilson | 2005 | vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | L, 0-2 |
| Amy Suiter | 2009 | vs. Central Florida | W, 12-4 |
| Shanon Hays | 2010 | vs. Wisconsin | W, 5-2 |
| Adrian Gregory | 2015 | at New Mexico State | W, 5-3 |
