Lady Chaps' Franco, Valdez throw pair of no-hitters in doubleheader sweep
ODESSA — Lubbock Christian University pitchers Taylor Franco and Maxine Valdez threw back-to-back no-hitters as the 23rd-ranked Lady Chaparrals won 12-0 and 4-0 Friday in a Lone Star Conference softball doubleheader at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.
Franco (15-8) walked three and struck out seven. Her no-hitter ended after five innings by run rule. Franco is the 12th pitcher in NCAA Division II history with eight career no-hitters.
Valdez (16-4) struck out 17, including 10 in a row from the third inning into the sixth, and didn't walk a batter. The no-hitter was her sixth.
Both are senior righthanders, Franco from Monahans and Valdez from Buda Hays.
Taylen Thurman, UTPB's third batter in the first inning, was hit by a pitch. She moved to second on a wild pitch by Valdez and to third on a passed ball, but Valdez struck out cleanup hitter Kelsey Valo and retired everyone thereafter.
LCU (38-14, 28-13) and UTPB (8-41, 5-36) play a regular-season finale at noon Saturday.
LCU went into Friday tied for third in the Lone Star Conference with No. 25 Oklahoma Christian and one game ahead of Cameron. Oklahoma Christian (32-14, 27-13) won a series opener against St. Mary's 3-2. Cameron (30-19, 25-14) was scheduled for a series opener Friday night at No. 12 West Texas A&M (43-5, 34-5).
In the series opener, Lady Chaps left fielder Hope Banales backed Franco by going 3 for 3 with a grand slam and six runs batted in. Ally Oyanguren added a two-run blast, and Tiarra Delrosario hit a two-run double.
In the second game, LCU leadoff batter Berkeley Quinn went 3 for 4 with an RBI single and Kasey Flores and Kamryn Gibbs each delivered a run-scoring double.
Tech track & field
Texas Tech's Devin Roberson won the men's discus with a throw of 195 feet, 4 inches on Friday's first day of the Corky/Crofoot Shootout, the Red Raiders' last home meet of the season.
Roberson was coming off throwing a personal-record 195-9 last week at West Texas A&M's Buffalo Invitational. That mark had him ranked No. 18 in NCAA Division I this season going into this weekend.
North Texas' Wardell Glaspie (192-10) and Kevin Grubbs (189-8) finished second and third, respectively.
Abilene Christian's Zoe Burleson (187-9) finished first in the women's discus, followed by Oklahoma's Paige Low (178-6) and Texas Tech's Malin Smith (175-7).
The discus throws were the only events contested Friday. The rest of the meet is scheduled for Saturday at the Fuller Track Complex and throws field. The remaining throws begin at 11 a.m., and start times for the pole vault and jumps range from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Running-event start times are scheduled from 2 p.m. to 6:50 p.m.
Tech will recognize 37 seniors on the men's and women's teams in a 1 p.m. ceremony at the track.
Tech softball
The opener of Texas Tech's three-game Big 12 home series Friday night against No. 7 Oklahoma State was postponed early in the day because of cold weather and the possibility of rain.
Tech (30-19, 4-11) and Oklahoma State (39-8, 8-4) now plan to play a doubleheader at noon Saturday at Rocky Johnson Field. The series finale remains scheduled for noon Sunday.
Also on Friday, Tech's Kailey Wyckoff was named to the TUCCI/NFCA Division I national freshman of the year top 25. Wyckoff, a catcher and outfielder from Katy, is batting a team-high .411 with nine home runs and 31 runs batted in.
"This honor is well deserved because Kailey has performed at such a high level for us all year," Tech coach Craig Snider said in a statement.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: College roundup: Lady Chaps' Franco, Valdez throw no-hitters in doubleheader sweep
