Tech heads to Abilene for mid-week matchup

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech softball will return to play on Wednesday as they take on Abilene Christian (12-20) at 5 p.m. at Poly Wells Field.

The Red Raiders (22-10, 3-6) are coming off a 5-4 win over UCF on Saturday and have fared better on the road so far this season, boasting an 8-3 record away from Rocky Johnson.

Historically, the Red Raiders are 16-4 against the Wildcats. Tech have won six of the last 10 matchups including a victory over them last season.

ACU is led by Kaydee Bennett, Olivia Marble and Sammie Shelander as they are the team leaders in every offensive stat.

STORYLINES:
• NO INTRODUCTION NEEDED - Sophomore Kailey Wyckoff is back to form after a "slow" start to the season. While it wasn't slow in the traditional sense, the former Big 12 Freshman of the Year did take some time to get back to that level. She enters the weekend having recorded a hit in 12 of her last 14 games including a 9-for-11 performance at the dish against BYU. Wyckoff also hit her first homer of the season and followed that up with a three-run blast in game two against New Mexico which helped her set a new career-high for RBIs in a game with four. Over these last 14 games, she is slashing .550/.950/.604 with 22 hits, four doubles, four homers and 18 RBIs.

• UNUSUAL SUSPECTS - The Red Raiders have gotten some solid production at the plate from some unexpected places. Freshman Raegan Jennings has been lighting it up over the last 11 games, batting .405 with 15 hits and 11 RBIs while seniors Abbie Orrick and Kennedy Crites have made a big impact from their spots near the bottom of the lineup. Orrick is batting .394 with 13 hits, two homers and 10 RBIs over the last 11 games as Crites is hitting .440 with 11 hits and two RBIs over her last 10 games. Their performances coupled with the steady at-bats of Wyckoff, Love and Villa have allowed Tech to average the 14th-most runs per game this season.

• FEW BETTER THAN NO. 5 - Senior Riley Love has seemed to save the best for last as she has been on an absolute tear this season. She enters the weekend having recorded 29 hits, 10 doubles, 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and 73 total bases - all of which mark career highs. Her glove has been just as solid, having several stellar plays at the hot corner to save runs and base hits. For her impressive start she was recognized as the No. 6 ranked third baseman in the country by Softball America for the month of March and for April. Her doubles, RBIs and home runs rank top 10 in the Big 12.

• IN THE RANKINGS - The Red Raiders currently sit at No. 32 in RPI and No. 34 in KPI. On offense, Tech ranks 10th in the country for doubles per game (1.9), 17th in homers per game (1.28), 13th in slugging (.549), 14th in runs per game (6.63), and 34th for batting average (.316). On defense, the Red Raiders rank 4th in double plays (20), 4th in double plays per game (.67) and 42nd in fielding percentage (.971).

Tech heads to Abilene for mid-week matchup

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Players Mentioned

Kennedy Crites

Raegan Jennings

Riley Love

Abbie Orrick

Kailey Wyckoff

Texas Tech University Athletics