Red Raiders to play Iowa State in opening round of Big 12 Championship
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Red Raiders will play in the opening round of the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship against Iowa State on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at OGE Field – Devon Park (formerly known as the Hall of Fame Stadium) in Oklahoma City.
Texas Tech (28-20, 8-16) is looking ahead to the postseason after a tough end to the regular season. The Red Raiders are on the bubble when it comes to the NCAA Tournament and will look to solidify their place with a strong outing in OKC.
Iowa State (20-30, 6-18) ended its regular season with a series loss to UCF but took game one 9-0.
These two teams were set to face-off near the end of March but were unable to get the games in due to weather. Historically, Tech is 45-25 against the Cyclones including a 2-1 record against them in the Big 12 Tournament.
The winner of Tech/Iowa State will go one to face No. 1 Texas at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
All-session and single-session tickets are now on sale and can be purchased here. Gates will open one hour before the first pitch of each day. Venue information can be found here.
2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship Schedule
First Round / Wednesday, May 8
Game 1 – No. 7 Kansas vs. No. 10 Houston – 5 p.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 2 – No. 8 Texas Tech vs. No. 9 Iowa State – 7:30 p.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Quarterfinals / Thursday, May 9
Game 3 – No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 6 BYU – 11 a.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 4 – No. 2 Oklahoma vs. Winner of Game 1 – 1:30 p.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 5 – No. 1 Texas vs. Winner of Game 2 – 5 p.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 6 – No. 4 Baylor vs. No. 5 UCF – 7:30 p.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Semifinals / Friday, May 10
Game 7 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 – 5 p.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 8 – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 – 7:30 p.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Championship Final / Saturday, May 11
Game 9 – Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8 – 6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2
Times are subject to change.
STORYLINES:
• NO INTRODUCTION NEEDED – Reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year Kailey Wyckoff has somehow been even better this season. She enters the weekend slashing .406/.630/.481 on the season. She has also recorded 31 RBIs and drawn 18 walks. Wyckoff leads the team in batting average, on-base percentage and hits. On defense, she’s been a true utility player, spending time at catcher, first base and right and left field.
• 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 two months. Crites is batting .309 with 29 hits, two homers, four doubles and nine RBIs – all of which tie or set career highs 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 41 hits, 13 doubles, 13 home runs, 47 RBIs and 97 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 and was ranked No. 9 for the month of May. 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 that continues to go on. Orrick is currently batting .331 with 44 hits, eight homers and 31 RBIs – all of which crush her previous career highs. The senior was one of the bright spots in the series finale against Oklahoma St. as she went 2-for-3 with a big two-run homer in the fourth inning to spark a comeback that fell just short.
• OUTFIELD IMPACT – Outfielders Arriana Villa and Demi Elder have also been having career seasons. Villa is batting .356 on the season with a career-high 14 doubles – her doubles are also tied for second most in the Big 12 – and has also recorded a career 47 hits and 84 total bases. Elder is batting .316 and has set new career highs in runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBIs and walks thanks to her first career multi-home run game against Houston. Villa and Elder have been solid on defense as well, having just one error combined all season.
• IN THE RANKINGS – The Red Raiders currently sit at No. 39 in RPI and No. 41 in KPI. On offense, Tech ranks 4th in the country for doubles per game (1.77), 23rd in homers per game (1.17), 18th in slugging (.527), 32nd in runs per game (5.90), and 34th for batting average (.309). On defense, the Red Raiders rank t-16th in double plays (25), 15th in double plays per game (.52).
–TECH—
Release Provided By Jay Strader Texas Tech Athletics
