Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Utah Valley
Texas Tech Claims 5-1 Victory Over Utah Valley
February 12, 2016 | Softball
Jordan Bettiol led the team with five putouts in the 5-1 win over Utah Valley.
Feb. 12, 2016
Las Vegas, Nevada -- Texas Tech (2-0), claimed its second victory of the 2016 season with a 5-1 win over Utah Valley (0-1) in the Red Raiders' second game of the 2016 Sportco Kick Off Classic at Eller Media Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev."I think our kids are doing what we are asking them to do," said head coach Adrian Gregory. "They feel good about themselves right now. The more that you play well, the more confident you get. We made some mistakes though and we knew that we would do that early. If you can win even when you make some mistakes, that is a good day."
Following an uneventful first inning, the Red Raiders unleashed an offensive explosion in the bottom of the second. Brittany Warnecke led things off with a single to shortstop followed by a Jessica Hartwell bunt single that she was able to leg out to set up a two on nobody out situation for freshman Karli Hamilton. Making only her second collegiate at bat, Karli fouled off the first pitch she faced. The Houston, Texas, native zeroed in on the second pitch of the at-bat and crushed it over the centerfield wall for a three RBI home run to give the Red Raiders an early 3-0 lead.
"Karli (Hamilton) went into her first at bat today super aggressive," added Gregory. "As long as she maintains that mentality, she is going to be a great player. She is a great hitter so the more confident she gets, the better we will be."
The Wolverines answered back in the top of the third inning earning one run from a Tiani Hensley double to left that scored Kendall Ohman who had entered the game as a pinch runner for catcher Dana De La Torre. De La Torre reached base on a bloop single to center field earlier in the inning.
The Red Raiders would work out of the inning with a fly out to center and a pair of strikeouts by junior pitcher Cheyene Powell who was making her first appearance in the circle for the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech added an additional run in the bottom of the fifth as Ashley Fultz slapped a sacrifice fly to left field with the bases loaded and only one out, plating Jordan Bettiol who drew a walk to lead off the inning.
With the win, the Red Raiders extended their lead to 5-1 in the all-time series record against the Wolverines. The win also marked the second consecutive year that the Red Raiders opened the season with a 2-0 record.
Texas Tech will be back in action at 5:45 to take on No. 20 Washington in the third game for Texas Tech in the 2016 Sportco Kick Off Classic. Fans can follow all of the action from Texas Tech softball by following @TTUSB on twitter.
