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Gerry Glasco admits he checks the Texas Tech softball team's RPI every day, often multiple times a day, even knowing the number won't change between lunch and dinner.
The Red Raider head coach knows the importance of that magic number as it pertains to the team's potential to host a regional for the NCAA softball tournament. It's why he's quick to make pitching changes even before the other team has scored a run, and why he's willing to challenge the first play of the game before anything else has happened.
Glasco also knows, though, that the Big 12 Conference champion should be in line to host a regional, and 14th-ranked Texas Tech moved one step closer to that goal by finishing off the series sweep of Houston on Sunday at Rocky Johnson Field.
Texas Tech (34-9, 14-1) took the finale 3-0 after earning a 6-2 win on Saturday and a 3-2 triumph in Friday's opener. The Red Raiders have swept each of their last four conference series and won 11 games in a row overall.
"I think it's always important to win," Glasco said, "and when you can get your team in a good position going down the stretch of a conference. Louisiana, we won the conference the last five years in a row, and I want to win the conference here the next five years in a row, and that should be our goal. And to do that, you got to win series. You got to learn how to win. You got to learn how to be a winning program.
"It's part of the process, and I think it's important to win."
Here's what stood out in the series sweep of Houston.
While most of Texas Tech's marks this season have the qualifier "best since" attached to it, the Red Raiders have set the new standard that's all their own.
The Red Raiders moved to 14-1 in Big 12 Conference play to set the new program record for conference wins in a season.
"It's good for the program," Glasco said. "But it doesn't matter to our team. It's about us and it doesn't matter what they did in the past. We want to be a team that's going to win 20 games in a row, win 20 games a year in the Big 12, so we're not going to limit ourselves as a team that's going to compete every year for the Big 12 championship and go out there and take care of business."
NiJaree Canady's soft tissue injury kept her out of the hitting lineup for about a month before her return to the plate last week. After going 1-for-6 in a pair of games, Canady showed Friday she's still got it.
In the series opener against Utah, Canady hit home runs in each of her first two plate appearances and accounted for all three runs in the 3-2 win. While Canady got a much-needed break in Sunday's finale, she earned wins in each of the first two games, improving to 17-4 in the circle. In addition to her home runs on Friday, she also returned to the field on Saturday, playing first base for a spell in the 6-2 triumph.
Canady had pitched in seven consecutive Big 12 games before getting Sunday off. Glasco said he wasn't planning on pitching her Saturday against Utah but was quick to pull starter Chloe Riassetto in the top of the first inning. Canady wound up pitching 3 1/3 innings after pitching all seven on Friday.
Glasco is adamant that the Red Raiders need to win every game to continue momentum toward the Big 12 title and potentially hosting a regional, hence the decision to use Canady so frequently. However, Texas Tech secured the shutout win in the finale without her pitching or hitting.
"It's important to the (selection) committee," Glasco said. "You want them to know you're more than just NiJa Canady. ... I think this is another step to go out there and have a shutout win in Game 3. It's definitely a feather in the cap of our whole ball club when they know that Canady didn't play at all today."
Each of the Red Raiders last five games were all decided by four runs or less. In two of those contests, it took home runs in the bottom of the sixth inning — on Saturday, it was Alana Johnson's two-run homer to secure the 6-2 win — to create a bit of separation in those games.
After averaging 8.6 runs in the previous five games dating back to the sweep of Kansas, the Red Raiders have averaged just 4.4 runs per game in the last five contests. Glasco said Saturday he's comfortable with the team's offensive production, in part because of the pitching staff being able to handle business in the circle.
"If we can get six runs on a consistent basis, we'll be alright with our pitching staff," Glasco said Saturday. "I'm not too shook up about that."
The Red Raiders maintained the lead in the Big 12 standings and are now set for a showdown in Tucson with second-place Arizona. Due to the uneven number of teams in the conference, the Wildcats (13-5) have played one more series than Texas Tech to this point and sit one game back in the win column and four back in the loss column.
Texas Tech has nine conference games remaining while Arizona has six. Arizona State (11-7) sits in third place and will visit Texas Tech April 25-27.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Takeaways from Texas Tech softball's history-making sweep of Houston
Continue reading...
The Red Raider head coach knows the importance of that magic number as it pertains to the team's potential to host a regional for the NCAA softball tournament. It's why he's quick to make pitching changes even before the other team has scored a run, and why he's willing to challenge the first play of the game before anything else has happened.
Glasco also knows, though, that the Big 12 Conference champion should be in line to host a regional, and 14th-ranked Texas Tech moved one step closer to that goal by finishing off the series sweep of Houston on Sunday at Rocky Johnson Field.
Texas Tech (34-9, 14-1) took the finale 3-0 after earning a 6-2 win on Saturday and a 3-2 triumph in Friday's opener. The Red Raiders have swept each of their last four conference series and won 11 games in a row overall.
"I think it's always important to win," Glasco said, "and when you can get your team in a good position going down the stretch of a conference. Louisiana, we won the conference the last five years in a row, and I want to win the conference here the next five years in a row, and that should be our goal. And to do that, you got to win series. You got to learn how to win. You got to learn how to be a winning program.
"It's part of the process, and I think it's important to win."
Here's what stood out in the series sweep of Houston.
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More history for this year's Texas Tech softball team
While most of Texas Tech's marks this season have the qualifier "best since" attached to it, the Red Raiders have set the new standard that's all their own.
The Red Raiders moved to 14-1 in Big 12 Conference play to set the new program record for conference wins in a season.
"It's good for the program," Glasco said. "But it doesn't matter to our team. It's about us and it doesn't matter what they did in the past. We want to be a team that's going to win 20 games in a row, win 20 games a year in the Big 12, so we're not going to limit ourselves as a team that's going to compete every year for the Big 12 championship and go out there and take care of business."
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NiJaree Canady getting back into the swing of things at the plate
NiJaree Canady's soft tissue injury kept her out of the hitting lineup for about a month before her return to the plate last week. After going 1-for-6 in a pair of games, Canady showed Friday she's still got it.
In the series opener against Utah, Canady hit home runs in each of her first two plate appearances and accounted for all three runs in the 3-2 win. While Canady got a much-needed break in Sunday's finale, she earned wins in each of the first two games, improving to 17-4 in the circle. In addition to her home runs on Friday, she also returned to the field on Saturday, playing first base for a spell in the 6-2 triumph.
Canady had pitched in seven consecutive Big 12 games before getting Sunday off. Glasco said he wasn't planning on pitching her Saturday against Utah but was quick to pull starter Chloe Riassetto in the top of the first inning. Canady wound up pitching 3 1/3 innings after pitching all seven on Friday.
Glasco is adamant that the Red Raiders need to win every game to continue momentum toward the Big 12 title and potentially hosting a regional, hence the decision to use Canady so frequently. However, Texas Tech secured the shutout win in the finale without her pitching or hitting.
"It's important to the (selection) committee," Glasco said. "You want them to know you're more than just NiJa Canady. ... I think this is another step to go out there and have a shutout win in Game 3. It's definitely a feather in the cap of our whole ball club when they know that Canady didn't play at all today."
You must be registered for see images attach
Glasco comfortable with close wins as offense hits rut
Each of the Red Raiders last five games were all decided by four runs or less. In two of those contests, it took home runs in the bottom of the sixth inning — on Saturday, it was Alana Johnson's two-run homer to secure the 6-2 win — to create a bit of separation in those games.
After averaging 8.6 runs in the previous five games dating back to the sweep of Kansas, the Red Raiders have averaged just 4.4 runs per game in the last five contests. Glasco said Saturday he's comfortable with the team's offensive production, in part because of the pitching staff being able to handle business in the circle.
"If we can get six runs on a consistent basis, we'll be alright with our pitching staff," Glasco said Saturday. "I'm not too shook up about that."
Series standouts for Texas Tech softball
- Samantha Lincoln threw the final two innings of Saturday's win, retiring all six batters she faced and striking out four of them. She started Sunday's finale but was pulled after three-plus innings, giving way to Chloe Riassetto, who allowed one hit over the final four innings to preserve the win.
- Demi Elder went 3-for-4 at the plate in the final two games of the series. She narrowly had a two-run home run in Friday's opener but Houston centerfielder Jordee Wilkins timed her jump perfectly to rob homer.
- Lauren Allred collected four hits in the series that included a two-run infield single on Saturday. Canady, Elder and Allred were the lone Red Raiders to record multi-hit games in the series.
What's next for Texas Tech softball?
The Red Raiders maintained the lead in the Big 12 standings and are now set for a showdown in Tucson with second-place Arizona. Due to the uneven number of teams in the conference, the Wildcats (13-5) have played one more series than Texas Tech to this point and sit one game back in the win column and four back in the loss column.
Texas Tech has nine conference games remaining while Arizona has six. Arizona State (11-7) sits in third place and will visit Texas Tech April 25-27.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Takeaways from Texas Tech softball's history-making sweep of Houston
Continue reading...
