Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Softball Heads to Louisiana For Six Games
February 24, 2016 | Softball
Feb. 24, 2016
LUBBOCK, Texas- Texas Tech softball will travel to the state of Louisiana for a six game stand featuring a pair of games against two top-10 opponents. The Red Raiders will begin the road trip with a Thursday doubleheader against No. 6 Louisiana Lafayette before traveling to Baton Rouge to compete in the LSU Invitational.Leading Off
? For the first time since the 2013 preseason poll, the Texas Tech Red Raiders are receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. The Red Raiders join fellow Big 12 members Oklahoma, Texas and Baylor in the poll. The highest ranking ever received by the Red Raiders in the ESPN poll was No. 17 during the week of Feb. 22, 2012.
? The Red Raiders will travel to the state of Louisiana for what could be the most difficult weekend stand of the 2016 season. Coming off a 1-4 showing at the Campbell/Cartier Classic, the Red Raiders will face No. 6 ULL for a Thursday doubleheader, followed by a four game stand in Baton Rouge including a pair of games against No. 5 LSU.
? In Adrian Gregory's mind, "to be the best, you have to play the best." The second-year head coach is putting that motto to the test this season as Texas Tech boasts one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. This weekend, the Lady Raiders will take on a pair of top-10 opponents including a pair of games against No. 6 ULL and No. 5 LSU. Having already faced a league leading four ranked opponents, Texas Tech is the only school in the Big 12 with a win against a ranked team.
? Texas Tech will enter the ULL double header and LSU Invitational following a grueling opening two weekends of play. The Red Raiders have already made two trips to the West Coast for a pair of five game weekends before heading to the South East for this weekend's slate of games. The Red Raiders opened the 2016 season with a trip to Las Vegas to compete in the 2016 Sportco Kick Off Classic hosted by UNLV. Tech followed that trip with another road test in San Diego for the 2016 Campbell/Cartier Classic hosted by San Diego State University.
? Junior hurler Mattison Maisel made her first career start in Saturday's game against No. 22 California where the Spring, Texas, native recorded her first complete game shutout. Maisel faced 24 batters and allowed only three hits to one of the nation's top offensive teams. Maisel, who has played predominantly in a relief pitching role, improved to 1-0 on the season with the win and ranks second in the Big 12 in pitching with a 0.71 ERA.
Series Notes
No. 6 Louisiana Lafayette
The Cajuns and Red Raiders will be meeting for the second time in program history in Thursday's double header. Texas Tech and ULL last met during the 2004 season when the Cajuns defeated Texas Tech 1-7. This season, the sixth-ranked Cajuns enter the contests with an 8-1 overall record on the season including a pair of wins against No. 5 Oregon. The Cajuns sit atop the NCAA in home runs per game and rank eighth nationally with over eight runs scored per contest in 2016. The Red Raiders will enter Thursday's contests looking to quite the Cajun bats who have scored a combined 76 runs already.
Illinois State
Illinois State and Texas Tech will be meeting for the second time in program history in Saturday's game. The two teams last met during the 2000 season that saw the Red birds claim a 4-0 shutout victory. The Red Birds began the 2016 season with a double header against No. 2 Michigan and No. 1 Florida. After dropping the first two games, the Red Birds responded with a 9-5 win over Virginia Tech. Last weekend, Illinois State traveled to Arizona State to compete in the 2016 Arizona state Littlewood Classic. The Red Birds tallied a 2-3 record at that event, securing wins against Memphis (12-3) and Montana (5-4).
No. 5 LSU
The Red Raiders and Tigers will be meeting for the fifth and sixth times this weekend at the LSU invitation. The Tigers enter the weekend riding a four game win streak that includes victories over No. 15 UCF and No. 8 UCLA. The Tigers look to be a well-rounded team, checking in at No. 16 in scoring offense with 7.90 runs per game and a very solid .956 fielding percentage. The Tigers have combined for the 18th-best ERA as a team this season with a 1.54 mark.
