Texas Tech Athletics
New Mexico State
Red Raiders Survive Another Elimination, Defeat Aggies
May 22, 2011 | Softball
May 22, 2011
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TUCSON, Ariz. - Sandy James broke open a 3-3 tie with a two-run homer in the fifth inning, sending Texas Tech ahead of New Mexico State for good as the Red Raiders survived another elimination game with a 6-4 victory Saturday evening at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium.
Texas Tech moves on to face Arizona in the Tucson Regional championship Sunday afternoon as the Wildcats defeated the Aggies, 8-0, earlier in the day. The Red Raiders were coming off a 7-0 victory over Harvard in an earlier elimination game.
"This is a lot more indicative of what we can do," head coach Shanon Hays said. "Yesterday was embarrassing. We didn't' swing well and we just had to refocus. We need to get back to a more disciplined approach and be more patient. Between games, we went into the batting cages and tried to correct things we didn't do well, and it really helped us in this game."
After being no-hit by Alex Newman the day before, the Red Raiders got to the right-hander early as Emily Bledsoe led off the game with a double to the wall in left.
Raven Richardson put Tech on the board first in the second, driving a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left to score pinch runner Jordan Palmer and give the Red Raiders an early 2-0 lead.
Tech added to its lead in the fourth when Cydney Allen singled up the middle and a fielding error from Kandis Jones in centerfield allowed Ashley Hamada to come all around from first.
The Aggies came back in the bottom of the inning, though. Hoku Nohara, the nation's home run leader, nailed a two-run bomb deep over the fence in center, while Valerie Swedberg followed a few pitches later with a solo shot of her own to tie the game.
After Mikey Kenney reached on a wild pitch to start the fifth, James pushed the momentum back in Tech's favor, drilling a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left-center for her 16th home run of the year, setting the school's single-season record in the process.
Richardson kept the Tech offense going one batter later as she creamed a pitch to almost the same spot James previously did. The ball bounced off the wall in left-center, allowing Richardson to advance all the way to third and come close to the inside-the-park home run. She scored right after as Hamada singled up the middle.
The Aggies cut into the 6-3 lead with a run in the sixth, but Ashley Brokeshoulder (8-0) prohibited the big inning as the sophomore provided solid relief of starter Kelsey Dennis with 2.2 innings of one-run ball.
Brittany Talley pitched a perfect seventh inning for the Red Raiders, earning her second save of the day while also sending Tech to its second-straight regional championship game.
Tech will be the home team for the regional championship game against Arizona. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. (CT) Sunday at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium.
