Texas Tech Red Raiders – Official Athletic Site

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Red Raiders will play the first 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 Hall of Fame Stadium) in Oklahoma City.

Texas Tech (28-20, 8-16) is eyeing the playoffs after a tough finish to the regular season. The Red Raiders are on the bubble as far as the NCAA tournament is concerned and will look to solidify their spot with a strong outing in OKC.

Iowa State (20-30, 6-18) finished its regular season with a series loss to UCF, but won the opener 9-0.

These two teams were scheduled to face each other towards the end of March, but were unable to play the matches due to weather conditions. 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 face No. 1 Texas at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

Tickets for all sessions and single session are now on sale and can be purchased here. Gates will open one hour before the first pitch of each day. Location 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+

Quarter-finals / 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. Game 2 Winner – 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+

Semi-finals / Friday May 10
Game 7 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 5 p.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 8 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – 7:30 p.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Championship Final / Saturday May 11
Game 9 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2

Times are subject to change.





STORIES:


• NO INTRODUCTION NEEDED – Reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year Kailey Wyckoff has been even better this season. She enters the weekend down .406/.630/.481 on the season. She also recorded 31 RBIs and drew 18 walks. Wyckoff leads the team in batting average, on-base percentage and hits. On defense, she was a true utility player, spending time at catcher, first base, and both right and left field.


• CRITES FOR NEW HEIGHTS – There was no talk of a senior receiver Kennedy criticizes defense enters the 2024 season. Last year it led the Big 12 in throwing out hitters, but on offense it showed flashes in 2023 to bring consistent production. After a slow start to the season, hitting .185 in early March, she has picked up the upper hand over the past two months. Crites is batting .309 with 29 hits, two home runs, four doubles and nine RBIs – all of which tie or set career highs for her.


• LITTLE BETTER THAN NO. 5 – Senior Riley Love seemed to save the best for last as she has been absolutely in tears 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. His glove was just as strong, making several stellar plays at the hot corner to save runs and hits. For her impressive debut, she was recognized as the No. 6 third baseman in the country by Softball America for the months of March and April and was ranked 9th for the month of May. His doubles, RBIs and home runs rank in the top 10 in the Big 12.


• ORRICK MAKES NOISE – Senior shortstop Abbie Orrick had an impressive stretch of play for the Red Raiders that continues. Orrick is currently hitting .331 with 44 hits, eight home runs and 31 RBIs – which crushes all of his previous career highs. The senior was one of the highlights of 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 narrowly fell short.


• IMPACT ON THE FIELD – Voltigeurs Villa Arriana And Half Elder also had career seasons. Villa is batting .356 this season with a career-high 14 doubles – his doubles are also tied for second in the Big 12 – and has also recorded a career-high 47 hits and 84 total bases. Elder is batting .316 and set new career highs in runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBIs and walks with his first career multi-homer game against Houston. Villa and Elder have also been solid defensively, making just one error combined all season.


• IN RANKING – The Red Raiders currently sit 39th in RPI and 41st in KPI. On offense, Tech ranks 4th in the nation in doubles per game (1.77), 23rd in home runs per game (1.17), 18th in hits (.527), 32nd in runs per game (5, 90) and 34th in batting average (. 309). On defense, the Red Raiders rank 16th in double plays (25), and 15th in double plays per game (0.52).