Tech Softball Heads to Big 12 Championship
May 08, 2008 | Softball
May 8, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
LUBBOCK, Texas -
On Deck
On the heels of its best conference season in seven years, Texas Tech softball (22-35, 8-10) heads to Oklahoma City, Okla. for the Big 12 Championship May 9-11 at the legendary ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
The Red Raiders will look to duplicate part of what they did in last year's tournament when they made a run all the way to the championship game before coming up just short of a postseason bid. The journey this year will begin with Missouri Saturday at 11:30 p.m. The Tigers earned the third seed in the tournament, while Tech picked up the conference's sixth seed, its highest seed since 2001.
On Air
Fans can follow all of Texas Tech's tournament games via 1420 AM in the Lubbock area. Matt Driskill will call the play-by-play, while Harley Chambliss will do the color commentary... Should Tech beat Missouri and advance to the semifinals, that game will be carried live by FSN at 4:30 p.m. CST. Bill Land and Tracy Warren will call the action. The tournament's championship game Sunday at noon will also be carried by FSN with Land and Warren doing the announcing once again.
Tech in the Big 12 Tournament
The Red Raiders will avoid a play-in game for the first time under Teresa Wilson with their No. 6 seed. They will face Missouri for the fourth time in the history of the event in the first round. The Tigers have won every meeting in tournament play... The Red Raiders will carry an 11-17 all-time Big 12 Tournament record into this weekend, including a 3-1 mark from last year's Cinderella run.
Tech vs. Missouri
The Red Raiders and Tigers will meet for the fourth time this season Saturday afternoon, marking the second time in the last three years that the two squads have met four times in a season. Missouri has won all three meetings this year, including a conference series sweep in Columbia and a 10-4 decision back in February in Albuquerque, N.M.... Saturday's game will be the 32nd all-time meeting between the two schools. The Tigers lead the series 20-11.
Scouting Missouri
The Tigers have won eight of their last 10 games and are hitting .290 as a team on the season. They are buoyed by five players hitting .300 or better. Freshman Rhea Taylor paces Mizzou with a conference-leading .408 avg. and 52 stolen bases. Amanda Renth is hitting .333 and leads the Big 12 with 19 home runs.
Wrapping Up Last Week
Tech and UNM split Monday's double header, with the Red Raiders claiming game one 4-3. Montana Patin had 3 RBI in the game, including her first career triple that scored the potential game-winning triple... Tech used a grand slam from Jennifer Bowers in the sixth inning to score five runs and rally past Oklahoma Sate 5-3 in the first game... The Cowgirls used a three-run home run in the fourth to edge Tech 4-2 in the second game. Montana Patin had an RBI double in the first... Seniors Bowers, Jennifer Corkin, Sarah Losleben, Whitney Riley, Robyn Wike and Devin Zaragoza were honored as part of senior day festivities before the second game Sunday. That group has played for two different coaches with completely different philosophies and approaches to the game.
Food for Thought
Tech started the season 0-12. Since then, however, the Red Raiders have gone 22-23. While it may not look too impressive, this has included the entire Big 12 schedule (18 games) and five games with Top 25 teams.
Numbers to Note
The Red Raiders' eight conference wins this season is the most since 2001, when they won 10 games... Tech won 13 home games this season, which marks the most home wins under Teresa Wilson and the most home wins in program history... The Red Raiders went 6-2 over their last eight games last year as part of their Cinderella run to the Big 12 Championship game.
In Perspective
Twenty-four of the Red Raiders' losses this season have come against teams that are either ranked in the Top 25 or have been receiving votes. Fourteen losses have come against Top 25 teams, while 16 losses have been by two runs or less.
Can You Say Strength of Schedule?
Eight of Tech's 2008 opponents are currently ranked in the Top 25, while one other is receiving votes... Twelve teams on the Red Raiders' schedule were ranked in the preseason polls.
Red Raiders in the Big 12
Patin ranks fifth in the conference in RBI with 43... Legler's 63 hits ranks second in the conference in that category coming into the tournament. She is also tied for first in triples, fifth in runs scored and seventh in stolen bases. She had been ranked among the top 20 in the conference in hitting until just recently... Ashly Jacobs is tied for fourth in appearances, sixth in innings pitched and third in games started.
More Nuggets to Knaw on
Tech has been very effective this year in moving runners up. The Red Raiders lead the Big 12 in sacrifice bunts with 59. The second place teams have 44 coming into the tournament... Tech has been effective in swiping bases this year, having been caught a conference-low eight times.
Sarah Sizzles when it Counts
If there is supposed to be a drop off for pitchers at the end of their senior campaigns, Sarah Losleben didn't get that memo. After struggling to start the season, the Snoqualmie, Wash., native has been pitching her best ball of the season the last month. Since April 8, she has given up just two runs, only one of which was earned, and four hits while striking out 14 in 15.1 innings pitched. She has lowered her season ERA by 1.59 in this span.
