Provided by Texas Tech Athletics

Texas Tech returns to the friendly confines of Rocky Johnson Field on Wednesday evening when the Red Raiders host North Texas in a 6 p.m. doubleheader. Tech enters this week coming off a seven-game road trip to the West Coast where the Red Raiders finished 4-3 overall to improve to 22-9 on the season. This will be the third-straight season where the Red Raiders and Mean Green (19-8) have met on the softball diamond as the two teams have split neutral site contests the past two years. This will be North Texas' first trip to Lubbock since the 2009 season.

ON THE HORIZON

The Red Raiders will have little time off before returning to Rocky Johnson Field Friday evening to start a three-game series against Texas State. Texas Tech will host the Bobcats at 7 p.m. Friday before 4 p.m. and 12 p.m. first pitches on Saturday and Sunday to close the series. The three-game series is the final non-conference action for the Red Raiders until opening Big 12 Conference play against No. 12 Baylor on March 28-30 at Rocky Johnson Field.

INSIDE THE NORTH TEXAS SERIES

Wednesday night's opener against the Mean Green will mark the eighth all-time meeting between Texas Tech and North Texas as the two teams will be meeting for the third consecutive season. North Texas owns a 4-3 advantage in the series with wins in four of the last five meetings, including a 5-3 victory on Feb. 22 last year in San Marcos. The Mean Green will be making their first visit to Lubbock since the 2009 season when North Texas handed the Red Raiders a 6-1 loss at Rocky Johnson Field. The last two meetings between the two schools have come at neutral sites as Tech claimed a 10-0 victory on Feb. 24, 2012, in an eight-inning contest at the Texas Shootout in Waco.

RED RAIDERS LOOK TO CONTINUE SUCCESS AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE FOES

Texas Tech has traditionally found success in home non-conference games under head coach Shanon Hays as the Red Raiders are 68-6 in such contests over his four-plus seasons. Hays boasts an impressive .919 winning percentage when facing non-conference opponents at Rocky Johnson Field. Tech heads into this week riding an eight-game home winning streak that is its longest since winning 19-straight early in the 2011 season.

EMANUEL NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Sydni Emanuel was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon after hitting .565 last weekend (13-for-23) at the Titans Classic and San Diego State Classic. She is just the second Red Raider freshman to ever garner a conference weekly award, joining Amanda Renfro, who was honored as the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week twice in 1998. Emanuel finished with two or more hits in four of six games last weekend, including a 4-for-4 performance in the Titans Classic finale against host Cal State Fullerton last Friday. The Missouri City, Texas native totaled a .583 on-base percentage and frustrated opponents on the base paths from there, stealing nine bases to bump her season total to a conference-leading 28 already this season. Emanuel stole at least one base in all six games, including two in three-consecutive games against UNLV, Fullerton and Long Beach State. She ended the weekend ranked as the Big 12 leader for hits, runs scored, stolen bases and triples. She is also second in the league with a .447 batting average and third with 62 total bases.

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Red Raiders open homestand against North Texas