Red Raiders Sweep Series in Ames

Sunday, March 26

Ames, IA

10:00 AM

Texas Tech Athletics

15-14, 0

Iowa State

15-18, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Texas Tech	0	1	0	0	0	5	0	6	3	2
Iowa State	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	5	2

March 26, 2017 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Tech earns pair of wins Sunday to jump out to 3-0 start in Big 12 play.

AMES, Iowa – Texas Tech softball swept a Sunday doubleheader at Iowa State by scores of 6-2 and 4-2, earning a series sweep of the Cyclones on the opening weekend of Big 12 play amidst rainy conditions at Cyclone Sports Complex.

The Red Raiders, who run-ruled Iowa State 18-4 in five innings Friday before Saturday's game was postponed, improve to 16-14 overall and 3-0 in Big 12 play, while Iowa State falls to 15-19, 0-3 in the Big 12.

"It's huge to get off to this start in the Big 12," head coach Adrian Gregory said. "The weather was difficult this weekend, and we just continued to be competitive and control what we can control. We played the game hard all the way through the seventh. That's what we have been harping on our kids about. They trusted their game and finished."

The series sweep marks the second-straight year Tech has swept its Big 12 opening series under head coach Adrian Gregory after taking three from Oklahoma State last season in Lubbock. It also marks the first road sweep of a Big 12 team since 2015 in Ames.

Freshman Kassidy Scott (8-7) threw a complete game in game one on Sunday, powering the Red Raiders to the win. The Piedmont, Okla., native carried a shutout into the seventh and gave up just two runs, both unearned, on five hits with two strikeouts and two walks in the contest.

Patience at the plate helped Tech to a 1-0 lead in the second, taking advantage of three walks and a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded to earn the advantage.

Tech carried that lead into the sixth, when Tech again loaded the bases for senior Brittany Warnecke, who ripped an RBI single into right field to make it 2-0. A Cyclone error in left field allowed Tech's next three runs to score. Then it was sophomore Kiani Ramsey, who capped off the inning with an RBI single up the middle to plate senior Kierra Miles from second, extending the lead to 6-0.

The bats got off to a slow start in game two, but senior pitcher Mattison Maisel (5-2) picked the team up in the circle, limiting the Cyclones to just two runs, one earned, on five hits in her 4.0 innings of work.

Tech's offense came alive in the fifth thanks to freshman Raina O'Neal. The Big 12's leader in home runs got the Red Raiders on the board with a solo shot to right field, her eighth homer of the season.

With Tech trailing 2-1 in the top of the seventh and two outs, O'Neal came up big once again. Back-to-back singles by senior Devon Thomey and sophomore Jessica Hartwell set the stage for O'Neal, who blasted a three-run shot over the fence in left center field to pull Tech in front for good.

"I didn't feel like Raina had great at bats the game before, so we moved her down in the lineup in the last game," Gregory said. "She got opportunities and good pitches to hit, and she delivered. It's fun to watch her continue to trust her abilities and good things will happen when she takes her hacks."

Scott, who came on in the fifth inning, closed out the Cyclones in the seventh to earn her eighth win of the season. After throwing seven innings in game one of the doubleheader, she tossed three hitless frames in game two, striking out three and walking two.

"All weekend, Kassidy threw incredible," Gregory said. "She kept her hitters off balance. Mattison's change of speed helped us get them a little off balance again, and be able to close again with Kassidy was clutch."

The Red Raiders continue Big 12 play on the road next weekend as they travel to Waco for a three-game set at Baylor, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 31 at Getterman Stadium. First pitch Saturday is at 1:05 p.m., while Sunday's series finale will begin at 1 p.m.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
Freshman Raina O'Neal on her home runs…
"Sometimes I take the first pitch and it's the pitch I want, so this time I decided if I see it and I like it, I'm going to swing. The go-ahead home run I thought was just going to be a deep fly ball. I didn't know that one was out. It was great. I've actually never hit a go-ahead home run like that so it was a lot of fun."

POST-GAME NOTES
Game 1

Texas Tech has now won nine of the last 12 series against the Cyclones.
The Red Raiders improve to 32-17 against Iowa State and 15-10 in Ames.
Tech is now 2-1 in Big 12 series openers under head coach Adrian Gregory.
Tech won its first Big 12 road series since May 2 -3, 2015 at Iowa State.
Tech is now 13-3 on the year when it scores first.
With a run in the bottom of the second, the Red Raiders are outscoring its opponents 54-18 in the first two innings combined.
Tech drew nine walks in the game, which is a new season-high and the most since March 18, 2016 against Georgia Southern.

Game 2

The Red Raiders swept a Big 12 series on the road for the first time since doing so at Oklahoma State April 18-20, 2015.
Tech has now started 3-0 in conference play for the second straight year.
The Red Raiders improve to 33-17 against Iowa State and 16-10 in Ames.
The win marked Tech's first when trailing leading into the seventh since April 3, 2016 at Oklahoma State.
The wins Sunday marks the first time Tech has swept a same-day doubleheader on the road against the same team since at North Texas on April 27, 2016.
ISU claimed its first lead of the series in the bottom of the first thanks to a solo homerun.
Tech improved to 3-11 when it fails to score first.