Texas Tech University Athletics
Friday, February 10
Arlington, Texas
12 p.m.
Texas Tech Athletics
vs
Tulsa
PREVIEW: Red Raiders open 2023 campaign at Maverick Invitational
February 09, 2023 | Softball
Texas Tech plays its first 17 games on the road
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Red Raiders will open the 2023 campaign at UT Arlington in the Maverick Invitational. Texas Tech's first match up of the invitational will be Friday at 12 p.m. against Tulsa.
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First-year head coach Craig Snider will make his head coaching debut on Friday, led by a squad of four fifth-year seniors and 15 total upperclassmen.
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The Red Raiders will square off against Tulsa three times during the Maverick Invitation – Friday at 12 p.m., Saturday at 12 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. Tech will also meet in-state foe UT Arlington Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. Both matchups against the Mavs will be aired on WAC International.
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Snider returns all six pitchers from the 2022 Red Raider squad and added two new faces during the offseason. 2022 Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year Sage Hoover and two-time All-SEC selection Makinzy Herzog joined an already loaded Texas Tech pitching staff.
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To lead the bullpen, Craig Snider tabbed the 2018 NFCA National Assistant Coach of the Year Paige Cassady as the team's pitching coach. Cassady was the first member of Snider's charter staff. In her nine seasons at Liberty, she helped lead the Lady Flames to five regular season conference championships and three tournament championships. Four of Cassady's pitchers have been named the ASUN Pitcher of the Year.
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SERIES HISTORY
This weekend will mark the 13th time that the Red Raiders have met the Golden Hurricanes. Tulsa leads the series 3-9; however, Tech has won two of the three. Tech is 0-2 all-time against Tulsa when squaring off at neutral site locations.
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Texas Tech leads the series with UT Arlington 15-6 and has one two of the last three. This weekend will mark the first time the duo has gone toe-to-toe since 2019, where Tech downed the Mavs 8-4 in Lubbock.
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QUICK HITTERS
• The Texas Tech Red Raiders begin a new era under head coach Craig Snider this season. Snider made previous stops at Texas A&M and Florida State as an assistant before becoming the ninth head coach in school history. The Franklin, Kentucky native brings a slew of post season experience, including a national championship.
• After initially planning to forego her fifth year of eligibility, Makinzy Herzog caught wind of Snider being named the head coach at Texas Tech and hit the transfer portal. The two-time All-SEC selection rejoins Snider, who recruited her at Florida State and coached her at A&M, to finish her playing career.Â
• Snider added Makinzy Herzog and Sage Hoover from the transfer portal to aide the Texas Tech bullpen. Herzog brings more than 320 innings worth of experience and strikeouts to Lubbock. On the other hand, Hoover was named the 2022 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year after a stellar first season in the circle, where she logged 175 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA.Â
• The final addition to Snider's charter staff came from the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year in Roya St. Clair. St. Clair helped lead WashU to a 2022 NCAA DII Regional appearance, where her squad recorded a pair of wins in the St. Paul Regional. She previously coached at Miami (OH), where the RedHawks won the 2019 MAC Regular Season. St. Clair spent her playing days at Michigan, where she made a 2009 WCWS appearance before going on to play professionally with the Aron Racers.
• To go along with the wealth of pitching experience, Texas Tech returns 70-percent of its RBIs from a season ago, including the top-two RBI outputters in Ellie Bailey (31) and Arriana Villa (25). The Red Raiders also return three other sluggers with 10 or more RBIs in Abbie Orrick (21), Carson Armijo (18) and Peyton Blythe (13).
• The Red Raiders also return five of its six highest slugging percentages from a year ago. Despite the loss of team-leader Payton Jackson, the returning five hard hitters from last season all tallied slugging percentages over .400.
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First-year head coach Craig Snider will make his head coaching debut on Friday, led by a squad of four fifth-year seniors and 15 total upperclassmen.
Â
The Red Raiders will square off against Tulsa three times during the Maverick Invitation – Friday at 12 p.m., Saturday at 12 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. Tech will also meet in-state foe UT Arlington Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. Both matchups against the Mavs will be aired on WAC International.
Â
Snider returns all six pitchers from the 2022 Red Raider squad and added two new faces during the offseason. 2022 Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year Sage Hoover and two-time All-SEC selection Makinzy Herzog joined an already loaded Texas Tech pitching staff.
Â
To lead the bullpen, Craig Snider tabbed the 2018 NFCA National Assistant Coach of the Year Paige Cassady as the team's pitching coach. Cassady was the first member of Snider's charter staff. In her nine seasons at Liberty, she helped lead the Lady Flames to five regular season conference championships and three tournament championships. Four of Cassady's pitchers have been named the ASUN Pitcher of the Year.
Â
SERIES HISTORY
This weekend will mark the 13th time that the Red Raiders have met the Golden Hurricanes. Tulsa leads the series 3-9; however, Tech has won two of the three. Tech is 0-2 all-time against Tulsa when squaring off at neutral site locations.
Â
Texas Tech leads the series with UT Arlington 15-6 and has one two of the last three. This weekend will mark the first time the duo has gone toe-to-toe since 2019, where Tech downed the Mavs 8-4 in Lubbock.
Â
QUICK HITTERS
• The Texas Tech Red Raiders begin a new era under head coach Craig Snider this season. Snider made previous stops at Texas A&M and Florida State as an assistant before becoming the ninth head coach in school history. The Franklin, Kentucky native brings a slew of post season experience, including a national championship.
• After initially planning to forego her fifth year of eligibility, Makinzy Herzog caught wind of Snider being named the head coach at Texas Tech and hit the transfer portal. The two-time All-SEC selection rejoins Snider, who recruited her at Florida State and coached her at A&M, to finish her playing career.Â
• Snider added Makinzy Herzog and Sage Hoover from the transfer portal to aide the Texas Tech bullpen. Herzog brings more than 320 innings worth of experience and strikeouts to Lubbock. On the other hand, Hoover was named the 2022 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year after a stellar first season in the circle, where she logged 175 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA.Â
• The final addition to Snider's charter staff came from the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year in Roya St. Clair. St. Clair helped lead WashU to a 2022 NCAA DII Regional appearance, where her squad recorded a pair of wins in the St. Paul Regional. She previously coached at Miami (OH), where the RedHawks won the 2019 MAC Regular Season. St. Clair spent her playing days at Michigan, where she made a 2009 WCWS appearance before going on to play professionally with the Aron Racers.
• To go along with the wealth of pitching experience, Texas Tech returns 70-percent of its RBIs from a season ago, including the top-two RBI outputters in Ellie Bailey (31) and Arriana Villa (25). The Red Raiders also return three other sluggers with 10 or more RBIs in Abbie Orrick (21), Carson Armijo (18) and Peyton Blythe (13).
• The Red Raiders also return five of its six highest slugging percentages from a year ago. Despite the loss of team-leader Payton Jackson, the returning five hard hitters from last season all tallied slugging percentages over .400.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
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INF
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