Texas Tech Finishes Road Trip 4-2 After Loss to Texas State
Texas Tech finished off an arduous six games in six days across four cities and two states stretch with a 3-0 loss to Texas State in San Marcos on Wednesday night. The Bobcats scored three runs off five hits, including a double and home run, while getting a stellar outing from Maddy Azua in the circle who became only the seventh pitcher in the nation to reach 20 wins this season.
The first Texas State run was a solo shot of NiJaree Canady by Aiyana Coleman to give them a 1-0 lead after four. Texas Tech seemed ready to immediately rally and loaded the bases in the top of the fifth. With the team’s leading hitter and one of the nation’s leaders in batting average up to the plate…Kaitlyn Terry rolled one over to the second basemen and all momentum fully swung to the Bobcat dugout.
That was followed by a bottom half of the fifth that saw two passed balls and an error by Tech help Texas State score two more runs to take a 3-0 lead. Spotting extra runs to one of the nation’s best pitchers May Azua in the circle for the Bobcats was a recipe for disaster and in the end it cooked up the Red Raiders fourth loss of the season – and second of the road trip.
The Tech offense has sputtered at times as well but it’s the defense that is causing the most concern for a team with lofty postseason dreams. Mental fatigue from the road trip absolutely in play here but to be fair, the defense has been showing cracks for a few weeks now. Once leading the Big 12 in that category, Tech has fallen all the way to seventh in fielding since conference play began owning a .957 mark with 18 errors.
These same blunders are what lost them a game in Utah earlier in the trip when Tech committed four errors in their 4-0 loss in Salt Lake City. There are certainly adversities at play here. Missing Lagi Quiroga has been a two-fold issue as she is an elite defensive catcher, but also because it has forced Jasmyn Burns to catch almost every game the last three weeks. There has been no word on Quiroga’s status from the team but she has not played since hitting a home run to run-rule walk off Iowa State on March 27.
Add in the six games in six days stretch and the team has all the excuses in the world to lean on, but if they are the same team that speaks of winning a championship they won’t use those. They can’t. It’s not championship winning softball. They know this but fixing it now becomes the question.
There is no postgame media with Texas Tech players or head coach Gerry Glasco for road games but if there was, you can feel confident that is at the top of his list for what the team will focus on over their much needed week off ahead.
Tech returns to Lubbock after eight days away going 4-2 on the trip, moving to 43-4 on the season. They are off until April 22, it will however be the start of another road trip with two against UTEP on that Wednesday before a three game series with one of the top teams in the conference Arizona State begins next Friday in Tempe, Arizona.
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