The Texas Tech Red Raiders reached the end of the line on Thursday night in Oklahoma City.
The Red Raiders lost Game 2 of their best-of-three championship series with the Texas Longhorns in the Women’s College World Series on Thursday, 4-1. With the loss, the Longhorns won the national title for the second straight year at Texas Tech’s expense.
It was the first time this season that the Red Raiders failed to win an elimination game this postseason. They dodged three of them in Oklahoma City just to get to the championship series. There was no rally this time. The season ended with Texas Tech so close to a national championship but unable to claim it.
Here are three thoughts on the game.
The Turning Point
One player turned the tide of the game against Texas Tech. It came in the fifth inning.
The Longhorns loaded the bases for Viviana Martinez against Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady. Martinez hit a grounder to Texas Tech shortstop Hailey Toney. She had no play at home plate, so the tying run was going to score. But she tried to make a quick throw to third base to force out Jaycie Nichols. That out would have ended the inning. But her throw was wide and that error led to Nichols scoring the go-ahead run.
It was a bang-bang play. It’s possible that Toney wouldn’t have gotten the throw there in time to force Nichols out. But the error allowed that second run to score. And the game that Texas Tech had controlled for five innings got away from them.
The Final Blow
For six innings, Canady threw a rock-solid game. She made the one run Texas Tech put up on the board in the third inning — an RBI single by Lauren Allred — stand up. One can’t put what happened in the fifth inning on her, either. She nearly got out of the frame after allowing back-to-back singles to lead off the inning before the error.
But, in the seventh inning, Texas made sure any Red Raider rally would be more difficult. Henry homered off a 2-0 pitch from Canady to give the Longhorns a 3-1 lead. Then, Goode singled home Sneed from second base to make it 4-1. It was too much for Tech’s offense — and late game heroics — to overcome.
She went the distance in her final collegiate game, as she gave up four hits and four runs, two of which were earned. She struck out three and walked three.
What’s Next?
What’s happened the past two seasons has been program-altering for Texas Tech. Pulling Canady out of the transfer portal two offseason ago transformed the program. She helped the Red Raiders reached the WCWS for the first time and the championship series for the first time. The Red Raiders went into the portal again and pulled more talent, including Kaitlyn Terry and Mia Williams, and got back again.
Now, Texas Tech has something to prove next season — that their incredible success in softball wasn’t just fueled by landing Canady. Given how good Tech has been at working the portal the past two seasons, one shouldn’t bet against the Red Raiders.
