Texas Tech Athletics
53-12
Oklahoma
Texas Tech will face Texas in a best-of-three series beginning Wednesday, following a 3-2 victory over Oklahoma.
Oklahoma City, OK – This season marked a number of “firsts” for the Texas Tech softball program. On Wednesday, Texas Tech will compete for its first softball national title in history.
The Red Raiders defeated Oklahoma 3-2 on Monday evening, thanks to another dominant pitching performance from NiJaree Canady and a Lauren Allred walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh. Texas Tech will face longtime rival Texas in a best-of-three series beginning Wednesday night at Devon Park.
Texas Tech has played like a WCWS regular since its debut, defeating another new face to Oklahoma City in Ole Miss in the opening before winning 3-1 on Saturday over UCLA, one of college softball’s most historic schools. The Sooners’ quest to repeat as national champions for the fifth consecutive season came to an end with a victory over Oklahoma in a stadium barely 20 miles from their Norman campus.
That’s been the attitude of the Texas Tech program, particularly under head coach Gerry Glasco, who expected to win from the minute he took over a year ago this month. Glasco has pushed all the proper buttons in the tournament, as Texas Tech enters the championship series on a 12-game winning streak dating back to the regular season finale at BYU.
“The younger kids, the juniors, sophomores, and freshmen, get the opportunity to do it again next year. But, as seniors, this is our chance,” Glasco remarked. “It’s been our motto all year: Our opportunity, forever. We can create a legacy at Texas Tech that will be remembered forever in the minds of all who have the opportunity to watch our baseball team. I believe we’ve accomplished that. I believe our team has left a legacy that will be remembered forever by sports enthusiasts who were able to watch us this year.”
The winning streak includes a 6-0 record at Devon Park, which also hosted the Big 12 Tournament in early May. The Red Raiders have outscored their opponents 33-3 in those six games, with the Sooners (52-9) being the only club to score multiple runs against Canady and Texas Tech’s pitching staff.
Even yet, the Sooners couldn’t get to Canady until the very end, when Abigale Dayton hit a two-out, two-run homer in the top half of the seventh to tie the game. The home run interrupted Canady’s otherwise solid performance, but she replied with her eighth and final strikeout, bringing the Red Raiders to the plate in the bottom of the inning.
The Red Raiders responded with a one-out single from Mihyia Davis and an opposite-field double from Hailey Toney, who nearly walked it off on her own with a liner that bounced off the top of the wall into left field. That set up Allred, who hit the first ball she saw into shallow right field, giving the speedy Davis just enough time to slide home for the game-winning run.
“Going up to my at-bat, Coach Hunter (Veach) always says doing something really hard really well is really fun,” Allred said as she approached the final plate appearance. “It reminded me to have fun and walk up there with confidence in all of my preparation and training. And I knew Mihyia Davis, one of the country’s fastest players, would make something happen if I put the ball in play.”
Texas Tech had previously wasted little time getting to Oklahoma starter Sam Landry, who had been a standout pitcher for Glasco at Louisiana for the previous three seasons before moving to Oklahoma this winter. Demi Elder scored Alana Johnson with an RBI triple down the right field line to start a two-run second inning, which was quickly followed by a two-out Bailey Lindemuth RBI single to center.
The two-run lead appeared to be plenty for Canady (33-5), as the Sooners were unable to piece multiple hits together against the National Pitcher of the Year until a one-out single by Sydney Barker in the eighth, followed by Dayton’s two-run rocket to right center on a 0-2 pitch. Barker went a perfect 3-for-3 against Canady, accounting for three of Oklahoma’s five hits.
The pitching performance met expectations entering the WCWS quarterfinals, which pitted two of the nation’s finest in Canady and Landry against each other. Landry (25-6) suffered a rare setback in a matchup of two of softball’s best pitchers, allowing all three runs on six hits and six strikeouts in her own complete-game performance.
“I think it just speaks volumes, not only about what kind of a great pitcher NiJa Canady is, because she’s obviously a great pitcher, but also about her leadership,” Glasco said of his ace pitcher, who led the Red Raiders to within two victories of a national championship. “Her leadership here has been unbelievable.”
The first pitch of the best-of-three championship series between the Red Raiders and Texas is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday night on ESPN. Thursday’s second game and Friday’s “if necessary” game will continue to have the same times.
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