Texas Tech sports roundup: Softball sets record, tennis wins Big 12 title, more

Here is the latest look at some headlines from around the Texas Tech athletic department

Texas Tech softball sets new program record for Big 12 wins

Sweeping a three-game series at home against Houston, the Texas Tech softball program continued its march toward a Big 12 championship. Moving to 34-9 overall, the Red Raiders are now 14-1 in the Big 12, a new program record for Big 12 wins in a season.

Friday, in a 3-2 win, NiJaree Canady was once again the difference for the Red Raiders. Not only did she throw all seven innings, allowing two runs on just five hits while striking out seven, but she also drove in all three of her team's runs via two homers.

Saturday, Tech picked up a 6-2 win to secure the series. Canady again picked up the win but this time it was in relief as she tossed 3.1 innings giving up two hits and one run while striking out four after Chloe Riassetto started the game in the circle. At the plate, Lauren Allred and Alana Johnson each drove in two runs to help the Red Raiders overcome a 2-0 first-inning deficit.

In game three, the Red Raiders secured the sweep with a 3-0 win on Sunday. Samantha Lincoln and Riasetto combined for the shutout, with Riasetto earning the win by pitching the final four innings. Meanwhile, Victoria Valdez, Raegan Jennings, and Alexa Langeliers each had an RBI to provide the offense.

Winners of 11 games in a row, the Red Raiders have swept four Big 12 series in a row. They now head into a massive three-game weekend series at Arizona, which sits at No. 2 in the Big 12 with a record of 13-5. If the Red Raiders can win that series, they will all but wrap up the conference's regular-season crown.

Texas Tech women's tennis captures Big 12 title

Speaking of Big 12 championships, that's what the Texas Tech women's tennis team captured this weekend. Friday, the No. 15 Red Raiders took down No. 33 Arizona State in Lubbock, 4-2. Then, on Sunday, Tech beat No. 30 Arizona 4-1 to secure the conference's regular-season title.

It is the fourth Big 12 championship in program history with all of them coming since 2012. What's more, the program set a Texas Tech record with 12 conference wins.

Now, the Red Raiders head into the Big 12 Tournament in Waco as the No. 1 seed. The conference tournament will begin on April 18.

Texas Tech baseball finally wins another Big 12 series

Since opening Big 12 play by sweeping Houston on March 14-16, the Texas Tech baseball team had not won another conference series until this weekend. Fortunately, that streak ended with a two-games-to-one series win over Baylor in Lubbock.

Friday, the Red Raiders got off on the right foot with a 9-2 win. Pitchers Mac Heuer and Jack Cebert limited Baylor to just two runs over the first eight innings of play to finally give their pitching-starved team some positivity on the mound.

Still, Tech trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh. The bats would finally come alive, though, as Tech plated four runs in the seventh and four more in the eighth to storm to the win.

Saturday was a day that the Red Raiders would like to forget. The Bears jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the top of the first and rolled to an 18-4 win.

On Sunday, the two teams played a back-and-forth contest to decide the series. Tech fell behind 5-0 early and trailed 7-5 after the top of the fifth.

However, the Red Raiders put up three runs in the bottom of the fifth and one in the sixth to take the lead. Though Baylor plated a run in the seventh, the Tech bullpen held on to the lead by keeping Baylor off the scoreboard for the final two innings for a 9-8 win.

The Red Raiders will now look to make the momentum from this series win last a little longer when they take on Arizona State in Tempe this weekend for three games. It will be the first of two consecutive weekend series against teams from the state of Arizona, and a chance for Tech to start to string together some success in a season in which good times have been few and far between.

Texas Tech cheer captures two national championships

Finally, we don't usually cover the Texas Tech cheer squads here, but whenever a Red Raider team captures a National Championship, it deserves a mention. This weekend, in Florida, Tech cheer won a pair of National Championships, continuing the school's recent run of cheer and pom squad dominance.

First, Tech brought home the crown in the Advanced Small Coed Division IA category. Then, the Large Coed squad won its own National Championship. Congratulations to both squads for being the best in the country and bringing more National Championships to the South Plains.