Texas Tech Opens NCAA Tournament Run Focused on Playing Its Best Softball
Ahead of NCAA Tournament play in Lubbock starting on Friday, Gerry Glasco made it clear that Texas Tech’s focus is all about playing its best softball of the season. After months of work dating back to August, Glasco said Thursday’s final practice before regional play carried the usual postseason energy, but also a sense of expectation from a veteran group that has been through this before.
“We just want to play our best ball of the year,” Glasco said. “We’ve had some moments where we’ve played really well, and we’ve had moments where we can play a lot better. So we want to be more consistent and we want to play the best ball of the year.”
Texas Tech opens the Lubbock Regional against Marist Red Foxes at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Glasco remained coy on his pitching plans outside of saying either Kaitlyn Terry or NiJaree Canady would get the ball in the opener. He emphasized that despite Texas Tech entering the weekend as a national contender, the Red Raiders understand every team arriving in Lubbock views the regional as its opportunity to make a statement.
“It’s about us playing to our potential,” Glasco said. “Everybody here is an opponent we will have to play our best to beat or we won’t be moving on.”
Unlike last season’s postseason run, Glasco believes this year’s roster enters the NCAA Tournament with a calmer, more experienced approach.
“This group’s not in awe of anything,” Glasco said. “So many of them have already played in the World Series. They just go about it with an approach kind of mindset.”
Or as junior star Mia Williams perhaps more eloquently put it:
“We have a team full of dawgs. We are really competitive and just want to win.”
Knowing Texas Tech’s Opponents
Marist Red Foxes
Marist comes to Lubbock on a 17 game winning streak, with a 37-19 overall record earning a big with a 4-0 win over Iona in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship. The Red Foxes mashed 61 home runs on the year with five players with five or more home runs on the season.
RPI – 144, DSR – 105, KPI – 168
Stat Leaders:
Peyton Pusey – .404, 9 2B, 6 3B, 8 HR, 31 RBI
Haley Ahr – .370, 16 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 45 RBI
Annabelle Geiser – .353, 4 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 11 RBI
Ava Metzger – 2.51 ERA, 103.1 IP, 74 K, 36 BB, .239 OPP BA
Stella Blanchard – 3.52 ERA, 111.1 IP, 43 BB, .271 OPP BA
Ole Miss Rebels
A Women’s College World Series first game rematch as Tech beat the Rebels 1-0 in each of their first ever WCWS games last season. Led by former West Texas A&M star Emilee Boyer, the 34-24 Rebels enter the postseason on a hot streak making a mini run in the SEC Tournament that included beating #23 South Carolina and #5 Tennessee before falling to #6 Texas 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
RPI – 22, DSR – 21, KPI – 24
Stat Leaders:
George Madi – .385, 9 2B, 1 3B, 21 HR, 58 RBI
Llamas Persy – .374, 7 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 39 RBI
Reasner Cassie – .346, 9 2B, 0 3B, 11 HR, 41 RBI
Emilee Boyer – 3.68 ERA, 163.2 IP, 145 K, 88 BB, 2.35 OPP BA
Kyra Aycock – 3.97 ERA, 114.2 IP, 56 K, 74 BB, .241 OPP BA
Lilly Whitten – 3.04 ERA, 73.2 IP, 46 K, 46 BB, .227 OPP BA
Boston University
The Boston Terriers bring the active career wins leader to town in Kasey Richard who holds 106 career wins across five seasons with a 2.06 ERA across 836.2 innings. The Terriers hold a 46-13 record earning their way into the tournament with a 12-1 win over Colgate in the Patriot League final.
RPI – 56, DSR – 47, KPI – 64
Stat Leaders:
Kylie Doherty – .396, 12 2B, 2 3B, 26 HR, 88 RBI
Brooke Deppiesse – .375, 11 2B, 6 3B, 6 HR, 46 RBI
Camryn Lyons – .359, 5 2B, 4 3B, 0 HR, 27 RBI
Kasey Ricard – 2.81 ERA, 234.1 IP, 230 K, 61 BB, .217 OPP BA
Haley Ganino – 3.55 ERA, 71 IP, 28 K, 27 BB, .258 OPP BA
Lubbock Regional Schedule
Day 1 – Friday, May 15th
Game 1 – 1:00pm – Ole Miss vs Boston U (ESPNU)
Game 2 – 3:30pm – Texas Tech vs Marist (ESPN+)
Day 2 – Saturday, May 16th
Game 3 – 2:00pm (Game 1 Winner v. Game 2 Winner)
Game 4 – 4:30pm (Game 1 Loser v. Game 2 Loser)
Game 5 – 7:00pm Game 3 Loser v. Game 4 Winner)
Day 3 – Sunday, May 17th
Game 6 – 3:00pm (Game 3 Winner v. Game 5 Winner)
Game 7 – 5:30pm (if necessary)
Lubbock regional will begin on Friday with Ole Miss and Marist opening at 1 PM CT and Texas Tech playing Marist following at approximately 3:30 PM CT. Games will be streamed on ESPN Networks, games are sold out but there are some tickets available for resale on SeatGeek.
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