IRVING, Texas – Earning the league’s first weekly award of 2019, Texas Tech softball’s Karli Hamilton was named the Big 12 Player of the Week after her dominant, three-day performance at the Lone Star Collegiate Classic, announced by the conference office on Tuesday. This marks the second weekly award of Hamilton’s career
Helping Tech to a perfect 5-0 weekend, the junior from Houston kicked the season off with a bang. Hamilton started all five games in center field and leads the Big 12 with nine hits, nine runs, four steals, a .650 on-base percentage and ties for first with one triple. She also leads the Red Raiders, and ranks third in the league, with a .563 batting average.
Bringing in four RBI over the course of the weekend, Hamilton opened up the 2019 season with Tech’s first hit in a 2-for-3 effort in the Red Raiders’ 13-2 run rule over Omaha. Scoring three times against the Huskers, Hamilton helped Tech to its first win over Nebraska since 2011 in a 15-10 decision, Friday night. Trailing 6-2 in the top of the fourth, she unleashed a two-RBI triple down the left field line to help cut Tech’s deficit down to two and brought the game within one run after scoring on the next play. With bases loaded in the top of the fifth, she remained patient at the plate and picked up another RBI as she earned a free trip to first. Giving Tech a 12-7 advantage, she motored around from second on a single two batters later. She would score one more time in Tech’s win over the Huskers.
Hamilton collected one hit in Tech’s rematch against Nebraska before going 2-for-3 at the plate against the Wisconsin Badgers. She helped Tech to an 8-3 win over the Big Ten opponent as she came around to score three separate times. She led off the bottom of the third with a single to center and came around to score on a throw down to second two batters later. Similarly, she collected a leadoff single to start the bottom of the fifth and scored two batters later to put Tech up, 6-3. She scored one more time in the next inning after she led the frame off with a walk.
Completing Tech’s five-game sweep of the weekend, she led the Red Raiders with three hits against Lamar. She ignited Tech’s offensive efforts with a scorched single to short and immediately stole second. Two batters later, she came around to score Tech’s first run of the game. She picked up another single and steal in the bottom of the second and continued her hit-streak in the bottom of the fourth with a single to center field.
The Red Raiders are set to travel to Auburn, Ala., where they will play five games in the Plainsman Invitational on Feb. 15-17. For all the latest information on the Texas Tech softball team, visit TexasTech.com or follow @TexasTechSB on Twitter and Instagram.
Courtesy of Texas Tech Atheltics Communications Department
