Red Raiders Softball travel to Stillwater for series with No. 6 Oklahoma State

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Red Raiders (26-13, 6-9) will travel to Stillwater to take No. 6 Oklahoma State (36-8, 13-5) following their series win over Kansas last weekend. Game one will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and a 1 p.m. start for the series finale on Sunday.

 

The Cowgirls are coming off a 6-5 win against Wichita State on Wednesday night for their 36th win of the season.

 

Historically, Tech is 25-48 against Cowgirls. Oklahoma State took the series 2-1 last year in Lubbock, but the Red Raiders were able to upset the No. 7 Cowgirls 4-3 thanks to a walk-off single by Arriana Villa in the eighth inning.

 

STORYLINES:

 

• NO INTRODUCTION NEEDED – Reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year Kailey Wyckoff has somehow been even better this season. She enters the weekend reaching base safely in 20 straight games and having recorded 15 hits over her last 10 games. Wyckoff is slashing .500/.933/.615 over those 10 games. She has also recorded 11 RBIs and drawn eight walks as she’s bumped her season average to a team-best .430 on the year and leads the team with 49 hits. On defense, she has been a true utility player, spending time at catcher, outfield and first base.

 

• CRITES NEW HEIGHTS – There was no question of senior catcher Kennedy Crites’ defense entering the 2024 season. Last year she led the Big 12 in throwing out batters, but on offense she showed flashes in 2023 of bringing consistent production. After a slow start to the season, batting .185 entering the month of March, she has turned it on the last month. Over the team’s last 10 games, she is batting .414 – good for second best on the team over that stretch – with 12 hits, and six RBIs. Over this stretch is also hitting .667 with runners in scoring position and has improved her season average to .324. She also has 33 total bases on the season, setting a new season-high for her.

 

• 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 36 hits, 11 doubles, 12 home runs, 43 RBIs and 87 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 in the top 10 in the Big 12.

 

• ORRICK MAKING NOISE- Senior shortstop Abbie Orrick has had an impressive stretch of play for the Red Raiders. She is currently slashing .394/.485/.432 over her last 10 games with 13 hits, six RBIs and 16 total bases. She also hit her seventh homer of the season against Kansas to set a new career high. Along with her homers, she has set new career highs in hits, runs, triples and RBIs with a .319 batting average so far this season.

 

• OUTFIELD IMPACT – Outfielders Arriana Villa and Demi Elder have also been having career seasons. Villa is batting .357 on the season with a career-high 12 doubles. Elder, fresh off her walk-off single against Kansas, is batting .326 and has set new career highs in runs, hits, doubles, triples and walks while tying her career highs in homers and RBIs.

 

• IN THE RANKINGS – The Red Raiders currently sit at No. 33 in RPI and No. 34 in KPI. On offense, Tech ranks 1st in the country for doubles per game (1.92), 18th in homers per game (1.28), 11th in slugging (.552), 14th in runs per game (6.59), and 27th for batting average (.319). On defense, the Red Raiders rank t-4th in double plays (24), 3rd in double plays per game (.62).

 

•TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE – The Red Raiders are among the best teams in the country when it comes to turning double plays. They rank third in the nation in double plays per game, averaging .64. This all came to a peak when Tech recorded three double plays against Baylor in a 2-1 loss which set a new program high for double plays in a game. Tech is up to 24 twin killings so far this season, with the program record being 32 which was set back in 2003.

–TECH—

Release Provided By Jay Strader Texas Tech Athletics