Swing Season

One of tougher things for Kristi Belshe to get used to in Lubbock, Texas, is the weather.

One day it can be 30 degrees and snowing, and the next it’s 70 degrees and humid.

Those swings were something she never had to deal with at Lake Land College in Illinois.

Not once during her entire sophomore season with the Lakers did Belshe ever cool off.

The 2011 Kalani alumna had one of the best seasons in school history in 2013, earning All-America honors after hitting a staggering .590 with 111 hits, 26 doubles, 14 home runs and 63 RBIs.

Belshe did it all, stealing 21 bases in 23 attempts, and drawing 24 walks with only six strikeouts.

It caught the attention of many Division I coaches, including Shanon Hays at Texas Tech, where Belshe has ultimately ended up.

The only problem was, she didn’t know for sure she’d play in a Red Raiders’ uniform until two months ago.

"I was one class short," Belshe said.

She did so in the fall and it wasn’t until her final class day on Dec. 15 that she could turn her attention toward Texas Tech.

She spent two weeks home in Hawaii for the break before flying back to Illinois and making the 16-hour car drive down to Lubbock.

A month later, she opened the 2014 season starting in left field and is hitting .263 with a homer and eight RBIs to help the Red Raiders open 6-4.

"We have a lot of potential," Belshe said. "We have a young team, but you can tell right away that we’re mature on the field enough to go far and do really big things. We just have to get rid of that one inning we’ve had in some of our games."

TTU had a chance to finish 4-1 at the Troy Cox Classic over the weekend, but gave up six runs in the fifth inning against New Mexico State to lose 8-6.

The Red Raiders open the season with three consecutive tournaments on the road, so Belshe still hasn’t had a lot of time to settle in to her new college life.

"Hectic," was her one-word response on how the last month has gone.

"I really like it here," she said. "The girls have been so nice to me and since I have only been here a month, I really appreciate that."

The team hits the road again this week for a tournament in Arlington, Texas, before hosting two of its own after that.

The Red Raiders then will head to California to play two tournaments out West before starting conference play.

That’s the trip that stands out to Belshe.

"I’m excited to play in California because all of the Hawaii kids like to go to school there, so I have a lot of friends coming out to my game," she said.

Belshe had the opportunity to play at Cal State Fullerton, but ended up choosing Texas Tech over the Titans and Illinois.

"I just kind of wanted to play in the Big 12 because it’s one of the best conferences out there," Belshe said. "Texas was just something new that I could experience and I wanted to try somewhere different."