Texas Tech University Athletics
Saturday, May 4
Lubbock, TX
4 PM
Texas Tech Athletics
vs
Kentucky
No. 17 Softball Closes Regular Season Against No. 21 Kentucky
May 02, 2019 | Softball
The Red Raiders will host two games against the Wildcats over senior weekend.
LUBBOCK, Texas – Looking to turn the page on a midweek split, the No. 17 Texas Tech softball team is set to host No. 21 Kentucky for a pair of games on May 4-5 at Rocky Johnson Field.
Â
First pitch for game one is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, and the Red Raiders' Senior Day is set to begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 5. Tech will honor its four seniors – Kenzie Davis, Jessica Hartwell, Taylor Satchell and Kiana Workman – with a Senior Day ceremony prior to Sunday's game. Live stats, as well as a live stream, will be available for both games.
Â
Â
RED RAIDER QUICK HITS
SERIES HISTORY
Texas Tech and Kentucky have met just twice leading up to this weekend. Texas Tech claimed the first game in a 5-4 decision on Feb. 22, 2003, but Kentucky came back and evened up the series with a 10-0 (5) run-rule over the Red Raiders on Feb. 20, 2016. This is the first time meeting that both teams have been ranked and head coach Adrian Gregory looks to earn her first win over the Wildcats. Kentucky is led by head coach Rachel Lawson, who is in her 12th season at the helm for the Wildcats.
Â
FINAL DETAILS
First pitch on Saturday is slated for 4 p.m. and Tech's Senior Day game is scheduled to begin on Sunday at 1 p.m. Live stats, as well as a live stream, will be available for both games. For all the latest information on the Texas Tech softball team, visit TexasTech.com or follow @TexasTechSB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Â
Â
First pitch for game one is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, and the Red Raiders' Senior Day is set to begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 5. Tech will honor its four seniors – Kenzie Davis, Jessica Hartwell, Taylor Satchell and Kiana Workman – with a Senior Day ceremony prior to Sunday's game. Live stats, as well as a live stream, will be available for both games.
Â
| No. 17/20 Texas Tech (36-13) -vs- No. 21/17 Kentucky (32-19) | |
| Dates | Saturday-Sunday | May 4-5 |
| Site | Location | Rocky Johnson Field | Lubbock, Texas |
| Game 1 | Saturday at 4 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream |
| Game 2 | Sunday at 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream |
| Promotions | Saturday - Texas Tech cap giveaway Sunday - Senior Day | Buy three GA tickets, get one FREE |
| Texas Tech Softball | Softball Home Page | Game Notes | Twitter |
Â
RED RAIDER QUICK HITS
- The Red Raiders are set to honor their four seniors – Kenzie Davis, Jessica Hartwell, Taylor Satchell and Kiana Workman – on Senior Day, May 5. A short ceremony will take place before Sunday's game to honor the legacy set by this year's senior class.
- Writing her name atop the Texas Tech record book for the second time this season, senior All-American Jessica Hartwell unleashed a three-run home run against Oklahoma State on Saturday, April 27, to claim the title of Tech's all-time career home run leader. Hartwell tied Mikey Kenney's (2010-13) record of 45 career home runs on March 8, 2019, and now boasts 47 after two homers in Stillwater. Hartwell hit a single-season record 20 home runs as a junior in 2018 and is Tech's all-time leader with 163 career BRI.
- Powering 58 home runs this season, the Red Raiders have eclipsed their 2018 mark of 50 home runs. The Red Raiders rank third in the league behind the Big 12's two Oklahoma schools and Trenity Edwards paces the Red Raiders with 12 home runs this season. Taylor Satchell follows closely behind with 10 homers, Kelcy Leach and Jessica Hartwell have both collected eight and Karli Hamilton rounds out the top five with seven long balls this season.
- The Red Raiders finished the Big 12 Conference season with an 8-10 record. They posted conference series wins over Iowa State, Baylor and Kansas and took one game away from the Texas Longhorns. Currently fourth, the team has tied head coach Adrian Gregory's highest finish since occupying the No. 4 spot in 2015.
- Last week, the Texas Tech softball team snapped a 21-year-old record of nine straight weeks in the Top 25 after it stood among the nation's leaders for the 10th consecutive week on Tuesday, April 23. Tech's 1998 squad set the initial record after being ranked for nine consecutive weeks from March 18 – May 13. The Red Raiders went 45-19 under former head coach Renee Luers-Gillespie and finished fourth in the Big 12 Conference with a 10-7 record. The Red Raiders tied the record in 2011 after being ranked from Feb. 15 – May 24. Under the direction of then-head coach Shanon Hays, Tech finished the year with a 42-16 overall record and made its fourth-ever NCAA Regional appearance in Tucson, Ariz., despite finishing eighth in the Big 12. This week, Tech came in at No. 17 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, No. 20 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll and No. 22 in the Softball America Poll, which is in its first year of existence.
- Continuing a phenomenal junior season, Karli Hamilton ranks eighth in the nation with 70 hits, 26th with a .427 batting average, ties for fourth with seven triples, ranks 20th in runs per game and sits 30th overall with 115 total bases. The Houston native, who set Tech's career triples record earlier in the season, added onto her record with another triple against New Mexico State. Hamilton now leads all Tech hitters with 12 career triples along with the single-season record of seven.
- As a team, Tech ranks in the top 20 in four different categories. The Red Raiders sit at No. 10 with a collective .332 batting average and .417 on base percentage and rank 12th in the country with a .545 slugging percentage. Out-scoring its opponents 313-150, Tech ranks 17th in the nation with 6.39 runs per game.
- After tying for the No. 1 spot in the Tech record book, sophomore Breanna Russell became the Red Raiders' single-season leader with six sacrifice flies. Russell, who has seen a drastic improvement at the plate since hitting .189 last season, has posted a total of eight sacrifice flies in her career – six of which have come this season. The Crosby, Texas, native holds a .331 batting average and has started all 108 games of her young career at third base.
- Five Red Raiders have started every single game at their respective positions this season. Freshman Zoe Jones has produced both offensively and defensively and has started all 49 games at second base. Sophomore Breanna Russell has started every game of her career (108 games) at third base and senior Taylor Satchell has taken over as Tech's everyday shortstop. Two-thirds of Tech's outfield has remained consistent throughout the season as Heaven Burton and Karli Hamilton have started every game at left and center field, respectively.
- Poised to close out the regular season with her best record as head coach of the program, Adrian Gregory has led the Red Raiders to a 36-13 overall record – Tech's best mark since going 41-17 in 2012. Coincidentally, Tech's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament was in 2012.
SERIES HISTORY
Texas Tech and Kentucky have met just twice leading up to this weekend. Texas Tech claimed the first game in a 5-4 decision on Feb. 22, 2003, but Kentucky came back and evened up the series with a 10-0 (5) run-rule over the Red Raiders on Feb. 20, 2016. This is the first time meeting that both teams have been ranked and head coach Adrian Gregory looks to earn her first win over the Wildcats. Kentucky is led by head coach Rachel Lawson, who is in her 12th season at the helm for the Wildcats.
Â
FINAL DETAILS
First pitch on Saturday is slated for 4 p.m. and Tech's Senior Day game is scheduled to begin on Sunday at 1 p.m. Live stats, as well as a live stream, will be available for both games. For all the latest information on the Texas Tech softball team, visit TexasTech.com or follow @TexasTechSB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Â
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballKaitlyn Terry & Gerry Glasco Media Session
Tuesday, April 21
Highlights vs. UTSA
Tuesday, April 14
Highlights vs. Utah State
Monday, April 13
Highlights vs. Utah
Sunday, April 12