Red Raiders Set to Open Big 12 Play at No. 3 Oklahoma

LUBBOCK, Texas – Big 12 play begins this weekend for Texas Tech softball as the Red Raiders travel to Norman, Okla., to take on No. 3 Oklahoma in a three-game series March 23-25 from Marita Hynes Field.

The Red Raiders (20-10) and Sooners (25-2) open the series on Friday at 6:30 p.m., on the subscription-based SoonerSports.TV. The series continues on Saturday with a 1 p.m., first pitch and then concludes on Sunday at 2 p.m. Both Saturday and Sunday's games will be televised on FOX Sports Oklahoma and FOX College Sports Central, as well as streamed on the FOX Sports Go app.

This marks the second straight year Tech has opened Big 12 play on the road. Texas Tech is 9-13 all-time in Big 12 openers, beginning league play victorious in four of the last six years. Head coach Adrian Gregory is 2-1 in Big 12 openers and 2-1 in Big 12-opening series, leading her team to a three-game sweep at Iowa State to start conference play last season.

With the three-game set, Tech will close out a stretch of 14 straight games away from home. The Red Raiders last played at Rocky Johnson Field on March 4 and will return to the Rock next Thursday, March 29, in the first of three games against No. 24 Oklahoma State.

The Red Raiders will be tested early on in its Big 12 slate as their first three opponents are all ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Top 25. Following the expedition to Norman, Tech will host the No. 24-ranked Cowgirls followed by No. 13 Baylor.

A win this weekend would mark Tech's first against the Sooners since 2012 and its first road win against a ranked opponent since 2013. Tech, which boasts two RPI top-50 wins this season, went 1-9 against Top 25 in 2017 and last defeated a top-10 foe in 2012.

With 20 wins in 30 games, Tech is off to its best start in the Adrian Gregory era, already surpassing its 2017 win total. Leading the charge has been a resurgence of the pitching staff led by a pair of underclassmen in freshman Erin Edmoundson (13-4, 1.37 ERA) and sophomore Kassidy Scott (5-3, 2.77 ERA). Senior Cheyene Powell is also having the best year of her career with a 2.93 ERA in 40.2 innings.

Edmoundson leads all Big 12 freshmen and ranks fourth overall with a 1.37 ERA in 97.1 innings. The Deer Park, Texas, native is also second in the league with 13 wins and third with 82 strikeouts. The trio of Edmoundson, Scott and Powell have fueled a staff that has improved its team ERA from 4.16 from the same point in 2017 to 2.41 in 2018.

Four Red Raiders are hitting .350 or better heading into Big 12 play, including outfielders Michaela Cochran (.376) and Heaven Burton (.374) and infielders Jessica Hartwell (.370) and Kiana Workman (.357). Hartwell ranks in the Top 25 nationally in home runs (14^th, RBI (17^th), total bases (24^th) and slugging percentage (25^th). As a unit, Tech leads the Big 12 in doubles, triples and stolen bases.

THE SOONERS
The two-time defending national champions lost just one player to graduation and returned Second-Team All-Americans Caleigh Clifton, Shay Knighten (reigning Big 12 Player of the Year and WCWS Most Outstanding Player) and Paige Parker (three-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Year) in 2018. Additionally, WCWS All-Tournament Team member Paige Lowary and four more all-region selections return.

Oklahoma enters Friday winners of 16 games in a row, including wins over ranked teams in Ohio State, South Carolina, Arizona and Arizona State. Senior Paige Parker and junior Sydney Romero swept the Big 12 weekly awards this week. Parker (14-1) boasts a Big 12-best 0.37 ERA in 76.0 innings pitched with 99 strikeouts and 12 walks. Romero, meanwhile, sits third in the Big 12 with a .500 batting average, including seven home runs, seven doubles and only two strikeouts on the year.

OU leads the nation in staff ERA, fielding percentage and strikeout-to-walk ratio into Big 12 play. Offensively, they rank sixth in the nation in on base percentage, ninth in slugging and 11^th in home runs per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Texas Tech and Oklahoma are hooking up for the 57^th time on Friday in a series that began with the formation of the Big 12 in 1996. Texas Tech is 4-23 all-time against Oklahoma in Norman and 7-49 against the Sooners overall. The Sooners have won the last 17 meetings with Tech's last win coming in 2012 in Norman. The Red Raiders earned series splits in 2006 and 2011, and their only series victory came in 1999.

UP NEXT
Following the three-game set at No. 3 Oklahoma, Tech returns home for the first time since March 4 as it opens its Big 12 home slate with a three-game series against No. 24 Oklahoma State. The series begins Thursday, March 29, with first pitch at 6 p.m.

Red Raiders Set to Open Big 12 Play at No. 3 Oklahoma

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Players Mentioned

Heaven Burton

Michaela Cochran

Erin Edmoundson

Jessica Hartwell

Cheyene Powell

Kassidy Scott

Kiana Workman