The Texas Tech Red Raiders, the No. 3 seed, opened their run at the Women’s College World Series by bouncing No. 5 Mississippi State 8-0 from the winner’s portion of the double-elimination bracket on Thursday at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Mihaya Davis singled into shallow right field for a run in the fifth, and Kaitlyn Terry advanced home on a throwing error by Bulldogs right fielder Kinley Keller to secure the run-rule victory, which decides a contest when a team scores eight or more runs after five complete innings.
Texas Tech leaned on starting pitcher Nijaree Canady for four complete innings of two-hit, one-walk softball.
The Red Raiders will contest the winner of No. 1 Texas/No. 2 Tennessee on Saturday in OKC. The losing party of the Texas-Tennessee contest will contest the Bulldogs in Friday’s elimination game.
STRIKE FIRST, STRIKE OFTEN
Jackie Lis put the Red Raiders on the board 2-0 with her 21st home run of the season in the bottom of the first. Hot in the order, Lauren Allred and Mia Williams scored two doubles for another pair of runs in the second.
Up four runs to begin the fifth, Lis broke Texas Tech’s two frames of silence with her third RBI of the morning. That run kicked off the run-ruling sequence ushered in by Terry and Davis in just five pitches.
CANADY, TECH DEFENSE IS BUILT FOR THIS STAGE
Together, Canady (1.79 ERA) and the Red Raiders are one of the toughest defenses in the tournament, and Thursday served as another reminder they’re here to set the bar and then some. Canady, a Topeka, Kansas, native, allowed two hits or fewer for the 23rd time this season, and her arm is a crucial part of the team’s 6-1 postseason record entering the big weekend.
Between a steady infield and Canady in the circle, Tech’s staunch defense was on full display:
EASING THE WORKLOAD
With a win, Texas Tech avoids the elimination bracket and now sits two potential victories away from the WCWS finals.
On Saturday, it’ll be Katie Stewart and the Longhorns, or Karlyn Pickens and the Volunteers, challenging the Big 12 regular-season champion for a chance at college softball’s biggest throne.
Game 2 of the winner’s bracket is slated for 3 p.m. on Saturday at Devon Park in OKC.
