Tech drops extra innings heartbreaker to Texas

Thursday, May 11

Oklahoma City, Okla.

12:30 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

31-22

Texas

41-12-1

Texas Tech

Texas

Tech drops extra innings heartbreaker to Texas

May 11, 2023 | Softball

Box Score

By: Hanna Cooper

OKLAHOMA CITY – Home runs plague Texas Tech as the Red Raiders dropped an extra innings heartbreaker to the No. 2 seed Texas, 7-6, Thursday afternoon at USA Hall of Fame Stadium.

The duo of Peyton Blythe and Riley Love accounted for all six of the Red Raiders (31-22) runs. Blythe finished the day a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk while Love went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

After Makinzy Herzog led off the contest with a double in the left-center gap, Tech took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first off a two-out, bases-clearing double from Blythe. However, Texas (47-12-1) would tie the contest in the bottom of the second after a Vanessa Quiroga double and an error.

After a quiet third frame from both sides, Love couldn't have picked a better time for her first homer of the season as she battled through an eight-pitch at bat and blasted a three-run shot to give Tech a 5-2 lead.

Blythe's hot day at the plate continued in the top of the fifth when she smashed yet another RBI double into the left-center gap to tack on another run for the Red Raiders.

Texas chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run shot off the bat of Bella Dayton to pull back within two, 6-4. In the bottom of the seventh, back-to-back home runs for the Longhorns would knot the game up at six and send the contest into extra innings.

The Red Raiders looked to strike in the top of the eighth, utilizing a walk and a Kennedy Crites single to put a pair of runners on, but they were left stranded.

After Herzog (2-4) entered in the bottom of the eighth and allowed two batters to reach, Erna Carlin checked into the circle. After Carlin hit the first batter she saw, a wild pitch would allow the Longhorns to plate the walk-off run.

Citlaly Gutierrez (12-4) earned the win after scattering a hit in 1.2 innings of relief work. In total, the contest saw 10 pitchers– six for Tech and four for Texas.