Texas Tech women tee off in NCAA final

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Texas Tech women’s golf team begins play in the NCAA Championship Tournament at Grayhawk Golf Club on Friday.

The 30 teams that advanced from six regional teams will play three rounds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The field will be Sunday to the top 15 teams and nine individuals who are not on those teams for the fourth round of stroke play on Monday. The individual NCAA champion will be determined after 72 holes.

The field will then be cut for an eight-team playoff bracket that begins Tuesday.

Tech is in the NCAA championship event for the fourth time. The Red Raiders made it by finishing fifth at the NCAA Pullman Regional in Washington. Tech freshman Shannon Tan tied for fourth in regional, and sophomore Chiara Horder tied for 13th. Also playing for the Red Raiders in the region were junior Gala Dumez, sophomore Libby Fleming and freshman Lauren Zaretsky.

The regional champions were Georgia, Stanford, Michigan State, Arizona, Mississippi State, Pepperdine and SMU, the latter two being co-champions of the San Antonio Regional.

LCU baseball

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – St. Edward’s ace Luke Short scattered 11 hits over seven innings, leading the No. 3 seed Hilltoppers over No. 6 seed Lubbock Christian University 6-2 in Thursday’s first round of the NCAA South Central Region tournament.

LCU (35-22) was set to face host and No. 2 seed Colorado Mesa (45-9) on Thursday night, the Chaparrals needing to win to keep their season alive. Chaps catcher Jarred Gibson went 3 for 5 with a run-scoring single in the seventh inning and his 13th home run of the season in the ninth.

Short (12-1) allowed one run while striking out six. The Chaps stranded 12 against him, seven in scoring position.

LCU left the bases loaded in the sixth inning against Short. Against new pitcher Nicolas Davis in the eighth, the Chaps left the bases loaded again. Davis made three walks around a fielder’s choice, and Austin Essex came up to get a strikeout and an inning-ending forceout.

Essex got his third save. SEU scored all of its runs off LCU starter Aydan Alger (8-2), who was lifted in the sixth.

Tech football

Richard Ritchie, a College Football Hall of Fame quarterback at Texas A&I who served as the Texas Tech quarterbacks coach from 1981-83 under Jerry Moore, died May 11.

The cause of death was terminal brain metastases from leiomyosarcoma, according to Ritchie’s obituary from the Baum-Carlock-Bumgardner Funeral Home in Mineral Wells, his hometown. He was 68.

Ritchie began his coaching career at Texas from 1977-79, then coached under Moore in 1980 at North Texas and for the next three seasons at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were 8-23-2 during Ritchie’s three seasons on staff, during which time he coached quarterbacks Ron Reeves and Jim Hart.

Playing for the school now known as Texas A&M-Kingsville, Ritchie helped the Javelinas win three consecutive NAIA Division I national championships in 1974, 1975 and 1976 and was a small college All-America honoree in 1976. The Javs were 39-0 during his career.

He was selected for the Hall of Fame at Mineral Wells High School, Texas A&I and the Lone Star Conference in addition to his College Football Hall of Fame induction in 1998. He left Texas A&I as the Lone Star Conference career leader in passing percentage and total yardage.

Golf

ROCHESTER, NY – Lubbock resident JJ Killeen and former Texas Tech golfer Mito Pereira were 2 over par after 15 holes when Thursday’s first round of the PGA Championship was suspended due to darkness. They were on opposite sides of the course at Oak Hill Country Club.

Killeen, making his major championship debut at age 41, had three birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey. He was waiting to tee off on the par-4 7th when play was stopped.