March 12, 2010

Final Stats

LUBBOCK, Texas - North Carolina Central University (4-11) suffered a disappointing 24-1 loss to Texas Tech University (21-2) Saturday evening after the Red Raiders plated 20 runs in the second inning to give the Lady Eagles their second loss of the day to finish opening day action of the Texas Tech Tournament.

With her parents in the stands, senior Michelle Ishida hammered a shot over the left-center field fence to give the Lady Eagles their only run of the game. It was Ishida's first homerun of the season and the seventh of her career. The San Gabriel, Calif., native went 1-for-2 and was one of three Lady Eagles to earn a hit in the ballgame.

Nadia Jefferies and Andrea Searls were the other two NCCU student-athletes to earn hits. Jefferies went 1-for-2 in the game, while Searls was 1-for-1. Defensively, Searls and Jefferies accounted for more than half of the Lady Eagles' putouts with five and two, respectively. Ishida had three putouts on the night.

Earning the start in the circle for the Lady Eagles was senior Kristen Schooler (1-3). The Mitchellville, Md., native made her 10th appearance of the season and her third start on the mound. She suffered the loss after allowing 14 runs on eight hits with four walks in 1.1 innings of work. Twelve of those runs were earned.

Ishida (0-3) took the mound in relief for Schooler, where she allowed 10 runs on 12 hits with five walks and two strikeouts in 2.2 innings pitched. Of those 10 runs, only four were earned. They had a tough night, trying to keep up with Texas Tech's Ashley Brokeshoulder (3-1), who celebrated her birthday in style. Brokeshoulder earned the win after allowing just one run on three hits with eight strikeouts in three innings of action.

The Red Raiders were led by five powerful hitters. Mikey Kenney, who the Lady Eagles had just witnessed hit two long shots over the fence in Texas Tech's game against Jackson State just before, hit her third homerun of the day as she went 2-for-2 in the game with two runs and three RBIs.

Joining Kenney was Holley Gentsch, who was 2-for-2 with two runs, a triple and four RBIs. Three Texas Tech student-athletes went 2-for-3. McKenzie Clemmons, Jordan Palmer and Meredith Heath all went 2-for-3, while combining for three runs and three RBIs.

NCCU finished with three hits on 17 at-bats with one run and one RBI, while Texas Tech notched 20 hits on 32 at-bats with 24 runs and 22 RBIs. Unable to get base runners, the Lady Eagles left just one runner stranded, while the Red Raiders left seven on base.

The first inning showed promise for NCCU as both teams saw just three batters come to the plate with three up and three down on both sides that would retire the inning. It was a repeat for the Lady Eagles in the second inning as they managed to get just three batters in the box as Texas Tech took them down one-by-one.

Unfortunately for NCCU, the second inning was all the Red Raiders needed as they plated 20 runs off of 14 hits with two errors. The Lady Eagles struggled to stop Texas Tech's aggressiveness at the plate and managed to get out of the inning, but the damage was already done as the Red Raiders held a 20-0 lead going into the third inning.

Ishida hit her homerun in the third to prevent a shut-out, but aside from their one run, the Lady Eagles were kept off the bases. They tallied two other base runners in the third, but that was all the base action they would see as the next two innings saw the Lady Eagles with just six batters.

The NCCU defense kept Texas Tech off the scoreboard in the third as they left two runners stranded and was held without a hit. But the Red Raiders weren't done as they plated four more off of six hits in the fourth to take a dominating 24-1 advantage with just three outs needed to send the game to an early end.

Texas Tech improved to 21-2 on the season and stands undefeated in this weekend's Texas Tech Tournament. NCCU dropped to 4-11 on the season as they are still in search for their first win in the tournament.

NCCU will return to action on Saturday, March 13 when they take on Jackson State and Texas Tech in a rematch from today. The Lady Eagles and the Lady Tigers will square off at 11 a.m. CST, followed by a matchup with the Red Raiders at 1 p.m. CST. Live statistics will be available for all games at www.NCCUEaglePride.com.

For more information on Lady Eagle softball, visit the official website of NCCU Athletics at www.NCCUEaglePride.com.