Texas Tech softball, powered by a four-run third inning, picked up its ninth win in the month of March with a 6-1 victory at Abilene Christian Wednesday night.
“I thought Cheyene Powell threw a really impressive game,” said head coach Adrian Gregory. “Abilene Christian is a good hitting team. They don’t get cheated at the plate and I thought Cheyene did a really good job mixing speeds and keeping them off balance.”
The Red Raiders struck first as Jordan Bettiol came across after drawing a walk, and stealing two bases, to give the Red Raiders a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
ACU answered back with a lead off shot to right in the bottom of the second, sending the game to third inning tied 1-1.
The Red Raider offense exploded for four runs in the top of the third to regain the lead. Following a lead off fly-out, Bettiol picked up her first hit of the game with a single through the middle. She was later brought in by Kierra Miles’ 11th home run of the season that gave Texas Tech a 3-1 lead. Brittany Warnecke followed the home run with a walk, before being brought in by a Jessica Hartwell home run to left, extending Tech’s lead to 5-1.
“I thought our first two innings at the plate were not good,” said Gregory. “We made the adjustment to go for a tighter swing and we got production out of it.”
The Red Raiders added another run in the seventh as Brittany Warnecke iced the Texas Tech victory with her fourth home run of the season, rounding out the 6-1 victory.
Warnecke’s home run in the seventh gave the Red Raiders their third long ball of the game, tying the second most home runs in a game this season for the Red Raiders.
With the win, Texas Tech improved to 15-19 on the season, including a 9-9 mark in the month of March. The win also improved Texas Tech to 10-0 all-time against the Wildcats including a 5-0 record when playing in Abilene.
The Red Raiders will be back in action on Friday night as Texas Tech will begin Big 12 play with a three-game series against Oklahoma State.
