Tech Earns Split on Day One at Tulsa Invitational

Friday, March 10

Tulsa, OK

10:30 AM

Texas Tech Athletics

12-10

Montana

8-13

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Texas Tech	1	0	0	1	3	0	0	5	11	4
Montana	0	1	2	4	0	1	X	8	9	1

Tech Earns Split on Day One at Tulsa Invitational

March 10, 2017 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Red Raiders defeat Wichita State 4-3 Friday afternoon after falling to Montana in first game.

TULSA, Okla. – Texas Tech dropped its first game Friday at the Tulsa Invitational to Montana, 8-5, before rebounding for a 4-3 victory over Wichita State Friday evening at Collins Family Softball Complex.

The Red Raiders move to 13-10 on the season and are set to take on No. 23 California Saturday at 11:15 a.m., and host Tulsa at 3:45 p.m., weather pending.

Tech out-hit the Grizzlies 11 to 9 in the opener and trailed just 3-2 in the middle of the fourth. The miscues, however, would pile up and allow Montana to score four in the bottom of the fourth to stretch their lead to 7-2.

Senior Kierra Miles blasted a three-run homer in the top of the fifth, her second of the season and 34^th of her career, to pull Tech to within 7-5, but that was as close as Tech would get.

Sophomore Jessica Hartwell and freshman Raina O'Neal both went 3-4 in the game. Hartwell finished with a pair of doubles, a run, an RBI and a stolen base, while O'Neal also had a double and a run for Texas Tech.

The Red Raiders rebounded in game two, taking a 4-1 lead into the sixth and came up with enough key plays to fend off the Shockers.

Senior Devon Thomey and sophomore Kiani Ramsey led the offense, both going 2-4 with RBIs. Senior Brittany Warnecke came up with a big two-RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth that scored Miles and freshman Raina O'Neal and gave Tech a 4-1 lead.

The pitching and defense helped close out the win. Freshman Kassidy Scott (6-5) delivered a strong performance, going 5.2 innings and giving up three runs, two of which were earned, on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

Senior Mattison Maisel came on to close it out, earning her first save of the season and sixth for her career. She pitched 1.1 innings of hitless ball with two walks and a strikeout.

Wichita State closed the gap to 4-3 in the top of the sixth before Maisel was able to work out of a bases loaded jam by getting a harmless fly ball to right field. The Shockers put a runner on second in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and hit a shallow liner to right field. That's when Miles made one of several key defensive plays, moving quickly to her left and laying out to make the catch and preserve the win.

POST-GAME QUOTES
Senior Kierra Miles on her game-ending diving catch against WSU
"I was just trying to catch it. I got a good jump on it when it came off the bat and I just wanted to lay out and make sure we could get the win."

POST-GAME NOTES
Montana

The Red Raiders fall to 1-1 all-time against Montana.
Game-time weather: 49 degrees, sunny, wind NE 18 mph.
Tech recorded double-digit hits for the fifth time in six games.
Sophomore Kenzie Davis started her second straight game at second base and third game of the season overall.
Texas Tech has scored a run in the first inning in back-to-back games.
Sophomore Jessica Hartwell hit a pair of doubles to give her ten on the season, which leads the Big 12.
Hartwell finished 3-4 for her team-leading ninth multi-hit game of the season.
Hartwell has hit safely in eight of her last nine games and has recorded an RBI in six of her last eight games.
Freshman Raina O'Neal went 3-4 with a double for her sixth multi-hit game of 2017.
Senior Kierra Miles blasted her second home run of the season and 34^th for her career, a three-run shot to centerfield in the top of the fifth.
The Red Raiders committed four errors in a game for just the third time this season.

Wichita State

With today's win, Texas Tech avenged a loss last weekend to the Shockers and evened the all-time series at 7-7.
Senior Sarah Weber received her third start of the season.
With an RBI single in the bottom of the second, senior Devon Thomey has hit safely in six of the last seven games.
Senior Susan Welborn has scored a run in six of eight games she has played this season.
With a single in the bottom of the third, senior Kierra Miles moved into fifth place on the school's career hits list with 185.
Miles has hit safely in five of her last six games and eight of the last ten.
Miles recorded her ninth stolen base on the season in the third. She is 9-11 on the season and has 35 stolen bases for her career, which is eight on the school's career list.
Senior Brittany Warnecke connected on a two-RBI single in the sixth for her 16^th and 17^th RBI of the season. She has hit safely in five of the last six games and recorded an RBI in six of her last seven.
Freshman Kassidy Scott earned her team-leading sixth win of the season.
Senior Mattison Maisel earned her first save of the season and sixth of her career.