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Oklahoma Sweeps Three at Texas Tech

Texas Tech has arguably been the surprise team of 2019. After several years out of the national rankings and spotlight, the Red Raiders darted off to a 27-2 start this season against nonconference opponents, including wins over Auburn, Arizona State, and Oregon. This start lifted Texas Tech to a No. 12/14 national ranking (depending on which poll).

This past weekend, Big 12 conference play began and Tech happened to draw the No. 2/2 Oklahoma Sooners to town to open league play. OU features a senior class of players such as Aviu Falepolima, Caleigh Clifton, Shay Knighten, and Sydney Romero, who were major contributors to the Sooners' 2016 and 2017 Women's College World Series champions. Clearly, Oklahoma would provide a major yardstick to measure just how far Texas Tech had come.

The results of the series -- a Sooner sweep by scores of 5-1, 8-3, and 13-1 -- tell us that the Red Raiders aren't quite ready to be, say, a Top 5 team nationally. On a positive note, Saturday's game drew a stadium-record attendance for Texas Tech softball, with 1,258 on hand. And that was facing major competition on campus, with the nationally ranked Red Raider baseball team hosting Michigan before a sell-out crowd of 4,432. There's no question the Raider fan base is taking notice of softball.

The only two Big 12 teams besides OU and Texas Tech to be ranked nationally are Texas (No. 10/11) and Oklahoma State (No. 17/21). A high conference finish thus seems within the Raiders' grasp, and with it would likely come an opportunity to host in the NCAA regionals.

The Raiders host the Longhorns April 5-7.

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