Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Open Home Slate With Texas Tech Invitational
March 05, 2015 | Softball
March 5, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech opens its home slate Friday afternoon, hosting the Texas Tech Invitational at Rocky Johnson Field. The Red Raiders will face Utah Valley and UT Martin in doubleheaders on both Friday and Saturday before closing the tournament Sunday afternoon with a 12:30 p.m. first pitch against UT Arlington.
LEADING OFF...
? The Red Raiders head into Friday's meeting with Utah Valley having won four of their last five home openers at Rocky Johnson Field. Texas Tech's only loss during that span came a year ago when Sam Houston State handed the Red Raiders a 2-0 shutout. The Bearkats were assisted at the time by current Tech head coach Adrian Gregory, who was an assistant coach at Sam Houston from 2011-14.
? This will be the second time in school history where Texas Tech has opened its home schedule against Utah Valley. The Red Raiders previously began their home slate against the Wolverines in 2011, defeating Utah Valley, 8-3, in the opening game of the Texas Tech Invitational.
? Texas Tech will be facing UT Arlington for the second time this season as the Red Raiders previously rallied from a five-run deficit to top the Mavericks, 10-6, on Feb. 20 in Arlington. The victory was Tech's ninth straight in the series.
? The Red Raiders are looking to avenge a disappointing performance last weekend at the Cowgirl Classic hosted by McNeese State. Texas Tech dropped all four games in the tournament, marking its longest losing streak of the season.
? The Cowgirl Classic ended a 19-game road trip to start the year for the Red Raiders, their most to open a season since 2009 when Texas Tech played each of its first 22 games away from home.
? The Red Raiders enter this weekend with a 12-3 record in the Texas Tech Invitational since 2011. Tech finished 3-1 in the event a year ago.
INSIDE THE SERIES
UTAH VALLEY
Utah Valley returns to the Texas Tech Invitational for the second time in program history as the Wolverines previously took part in the tournament in 2011. Texas Tech won all three games against Utah Valley in 2011, defeating the Wolverines, 8-3 and 8-2, before closing the weekend series with a 14-5 run-rule victory. The 2011 meeting marked the first ever between the two schools.
UT MARTIN
Texas Tech will be facing UT Martin for the first time in school history this weekend. The Skyhawks are one of five first-time opponents for the Red Raiders this season, joining the likes of Montana, Grand Canyon, Mississippi Valley State and Seattle. The Red Raiders are 1-1 in such games this season.
UT ARLINGTON
Texas Tech will look to extend its nine-game winning streak over UT Arlington Sunday afternoon when the two schools meet for the second time this season. The Red Raiders previously rallied from a five-run deficit to top the Mavericks, 10-6, on Feb. 20 earlier this season during the UT Arlington Invitational. The victory improved Tech to 11-4 all-time against UT Arlington as the Mavericks have not defeated the Red Raiders since scoring a 5-3 victory in the first game of an April 22, 2008, doubleheader in Lubbock. The two schools have met a total of seven times since the start of the 2010 season, including twice in 2014 alone. The Red Raiders topped UTA 4-1 in Arlington last season before downing the Mavericks, 8-1, on March 6 later in the year. Tech is 5-1 all-time against UTA when playing in Lubbock.
IT'S SOFTBALL TIME IN LUBBOCK
After waiting a month to see their first glimpse of the Texas Tech softball program under Adrian Gregory, Red Raider fans will have the opportunity this weekend to attend the first softball event of 2015 at Rocky Johnson Field. The Red Raiders opened the 2015 season with 19-straight games away from home, the longest road trip to start a year since 2009 when Tech traveled for the first 22 games. Tech will play a total of 18 games at Rocky Johnson Field this season, including three Big 12 series against the likes of No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 25 Kansas and in-state rival Texas.
TEXAS TECH ALL-TIME IN HOME OPENERS
The Red Raiders head into this weekend's Texas Tech Invitational opener against Utah Valley looking to build on their 11-8 all-time record in home openers. Tech has opened its home slate with a victory in four of the last four seasons with the only exception coming in 2014 when Sam Houston State, assisted then by Tech head coach Adrian Gregory, handed the Red Raiders a 1-0 shutout. This will be the second time in school history where Tech has hosted Utah Valley in its home opener as the two schools previously met in 2011 as well. The Red Raiders routed the Wolverines, 8-3, that day in the first game of the Texas Tech Invitational.
| Texas Tech In Home Openers (Since 2010) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| Feb. 19, 2010 | Maine | W, 5-0 |
| Feb. 18, 2011 | Utah Valley | W, 8-3 |
| March 2, 2012 | Binghamton | W, 7-2 |
| March 1, 2013 | Jackson State | W, 18-0 (5) |
| Feb. 28, 2014 | Sam Houston State | L, 0-2 |
| March 6, 2015 | Utah Valley | - |
TEXAS TECH OFF TO THE RACES - AGAIN
Since taking over the Texas Tech softball program last summer, Adrian Gregory has insisted she wants the Red Raiders to be among the most aggressive teams in the country on the base paths. Through the first four weekends of the season, the first-year head coach has succeeded on that goal as the Red Raiders currently lead the Big 12 Conference with 44 stolen bases, eight of which that came Feb. 28 against Memphis, tying the Tech single-game record that was previously set on March 17, 2001, against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Tech is well on pace to snap the single-season school record for a second-straight year as well as its 44 stolen bases are 11 more than the Red Raiders had totaled through 19 games in 2014. Tech has had 11 different players swipe a bag so far this season, led by Brooke Scott who already has a career-high 11 stolen bases.
| Tracking Red Raider Stolen Bases During 2014 & 2015 Seasons | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number of Games | 2014 | 2015 |
| Through 19 Games | 33 | 44 |
| Through 20 Games | 37 | - |
| Through 21 Games | 37 | - |
| Through 22 Games | 38 | - |
| Through 23 Games | 40 | - |
| Through 24 Games | 45 | - |
THOMEY ALREADY APPROACHING SINGLE-SEASON RECORD FOR TRIPLES
Through just the first month of her Red Raider career, Devon Thomey is already on pace to place her name in the Texas Tech record book. Thomey recorded her third triple of the season last Saturday against McNeese State as she gave the Red Raiders a 4-3 lead heading into the seventh. Thomey is the 10th Red Raider in school history to record at least three triples in a season. She is just one shy of the Tech single-season record set by the likes of Leah Legler (2008), Denise Jackson (1997-98) and Kim Martinez (1997).
| Texas Tech Single-Season Leaders for Triples | |
|---|---|
| Name (Year) | Triples |
| Leah Legler (2008) | 4 |
| Denise Jackson (1997-98) | 4 |
| Kim Martinez (1997) | 4 |
| Devon Thomey (2015) | 3 |
| Five other players | 3 |
