Texas Tech snapped a seven-game slide Saturday afternoon with a 5-3 win over Iowa State in game two of the three-game series at Rocky Johnson Field.
“The message yesterday was positive,” Texas Tech head coach Adrian Gregory said. “You can see it hurts our kids when we aren’t playing well and now the elephant is out of the room and we can settle in and trust our ability and go back to attack mode.”
With the win, the Red Raiders moved to 20-26 on the season, including a 5-6 mark in conference play. The 20 wins by Texas Tech marks the seventh-consecutive season that the Red Raiders have reached the 20 win plateau.
The Cyclones (18-25, 1-7) opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the first inning from Aly Cappaert that scored Brittany Gomez from second.
The Red Raiders matched the two runs in the bottom of the first as Kierra Miles blasted a two-run shot to left that scored Jessica Hartwell from second. The home run was Miles’ 15th of the season, tying her with Mikey Kenny (2009), Kim Martinez (1997) and Adriana Perez (2013) for second all-time in Texas Tech single-season history.
Texas Tech added three runs in the bottom of the third on three hits and an error to send the game to the third with Tech holding a 5-2 advantage.
The Cyclones cut into the lead in the sixth with an RBI single from Hope Scheffert, but it would not be enough as Texas Tech shut out the Cyclones in the seventh to cap the 5-3 win.
“Even the at-bats that led to outs were attacking swings today,” added Gregory. “We have been too passive in the last few weeks, so it was good to see us go out with a gritty and attacking mode. When you are like that, you tend to have some balls fly out of the ballpark.”
Junior Dominique Alcocer (7-11) tossed five innings in the Red Raider victory, earning her seventh win of the season. The Mexico City native held the Cyclones to four hits before Mattison Maisel came in to earn her third save of the season.
With Saturday’s win, the Red Raiders improved to 29-17 all-time against ISU, including a 15-7 advantage when playing in Lubbock.
The Red Raiders will be back in action on Sunday for the final game of the three-game series against the Cyclones. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.
