Red Raiders Travel to Austin for Series at No. 7/9 Texas

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech (16-13, 0-3 Big 12) is looking for its first conference win of the season as the Red Raiders travel to Austin to take on No. 7/9 Texas (24-3, 0-0 Big 12) for the first Big 12 road series of the season April 1-3.

The series is set to begin Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in Austin. Game two will be played Friday at 6:00 p.m. followed by the series finale Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

All games will be streamed live on the Longhorn Network with Megan Willis and Alex Loeb on the call.

RED RAIDER QUICK HITS

The Red Raider defense continues to climb up the rankings this week into the top five, ranking fourth in fielding percentage (.985) in the NCAA and first in the Big 12. Tech has gone six consecutive games without a defensive miscue the second streak of five or more games this season. Karli Hamilton had the web gem of the week with a diving grab in center field and a throw out to third to get the runner tagging after colliding with teammate Yvonne Whaley. The play saved multiple runs from scoring and secured Hamilton a spot-on NCAA Softball Top Plays of the Week.
Heaven Burton got off to a great start to conference play, batting .600 with six hits against Baylor last weekend. Burton is currently riding a five-game hitting streak and has 10 multi-hit games this season, tied for the most on the team. She went 2-for-3 in Friday's series opener and 3-for-4 Sunday with a pair of singles and a double. Burton has only failed to reach base in two games this season and has reached in 19 of the last 20 games she has had a plate appearance. The senior leads the team in batting average, hitting a career-best .382 so far this season.
Tech has seen power from the top of the line up to the bottom this season as 11 different Red Raiders have recorded home runs. Leadoff hitter Yvonne Whaley recorded her first career home run Friday against Baylor in her first at bat of the series. Whaley along with Alanna Barraza, Kennedy Crites, Ellie Bailey and Arriana Villa have each recorded their first career home runs in 2021, while Heaven Burton tallied her first inside-the-park home run as well. Four of Tech's 21 home runs have been grand slams.
Erin Edmoundson is just three strikeouts away from moving into second place in program history in career strikeouts. She sits in third with 468, two away from tying Ashly Jacobs 470 K's. Edmoundson ranks second in the conference with 79 strikeouts.
The Red Raiders travel to Austin for the first time since 2018 to face the seventh-ranked Longhorns. Texas owns the overall series winning 46 of 57 meetings. The last time the two teams met in Lubbock in 2019 the Longhorns won the series, but the Red Raiders stole game two in walk-off fashion when an RBI single from Breanna Russell scored Yvonne Whaley for the 3-2 win. The last time Tech won in Austin was April 6, 2016.

Red Raiders Travel to Austin for Series at No. 7/9 Texas

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Players Mentioned

Ellie Bailey

Alanna Barraza

Heaven Burton

Kennedy Crites

Erin Edmoundson

Karli Hamilton

Breanna Russell

Arriana Villa

Yvonne Whaley