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Texas wins Game 1 of the Women's College World Series behind a dominant performance from Teagan Kavan, beating Texas Tech 2-1.
Kavan, who hasn't allowed an earned run in this WCWS, went the distance, pitching seven innings and allowing three hits and one run. She finished with three strikeouts.
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Texas rallies past Texas Tech to win WCWS Game 1 as Atwood refuses to take intentional walk
The beauty of the WCWS championship is that there’s more of this wildness to come tomorrow. If Game 2 is anything like today’s, Kayden Henry is right: This thing’s not done.
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Texas and Texas Tech are facing off in a three-game series for the national championship:
*If necessary
I know that game was wild, but in the postgame madness I ran into NCAA secretary rules editor Vickie Van Kleeck and former secretary rules editor Dee Abrahamson. They both wrote Florida State coach Lonni Alameda into their “Who I go to bat for” poster on Strike Out Cancer Night.
Both shared some loving words about their “dear friend,” who’s currently battling breast cancer.
It's karma that Texas got the big hit it needed from Reese Atwood in the bottom of the sixth inning to get the win. That obstruction call that led to Texas Tech's only run was just an awful call. That would have been a terrible way to decide a game of this importance.
The rules-makers in softball have to do something about that rule. Certainly, you don't want obstruction of runners, but there has to be some common sense to that call.
It was supposed to be ball 4.
As NiJaree Canady struggled to intentionally walk Reese Atwood in the bottom of the sixth, the batter capitalized.
Atwood, one of Texas’ best hitters, didn’t take the 3-0 pitch that was intended to give her a free pass to first base. Instead, she swung, singling to score two runs and send the Longhorns to a 2-1 victory in Game 1 of the Women’s College World Series on Wednesday.
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Texas rallies past Texas Tech to win WCWS Game 1 as Atwood refuses to take intentional walk
Texas' Teagan Kavan and Texas Tech's Nija Canady combined to strike out 10 and allow seven hits and three runs (two earned).
Kavan allowed three hits and one unearned run while striking out three. Canady struck out seven and allowed four hits and two runs (both earned).
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Texas Tech pitcher Nija Canady had seven strikeouts in six innings of work and allowed two runs on four hits.
Game 2 of the series will be played at 8 p.m. ET on Friday. It will be broadcast by ESPN.
Texas needs one more win to claim its first-ever national championship in softball, and coach Mike White would claim his first, as well.
Wanna know the wild part? Those earlier pitches in the intentional walk attempt to Reese Atwood were actually pretty close to being strikes for Nija Canady. Wonder how that could have changed things.
As always, the hindsight is 20/20, but I didn't think it made sense to walk Atwood at the time considering how much she had struggled at the WCWS so far, but I guess her liner to center in her first at-bat did enough to influence the decision.
Other than Tennessee beating Florida 11-3 on Friday, every game in this Women's College World Series has been decided by three or fewer runs, including tonight's one-run affair.
The other 12 games have been decided by 20 runs. That's good stuff.
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That'll do it for Game 1! While Texas fans surely are happy that they didn't lose that one on a technicality with the obstruction call, that has to be a heartbreaker for Texas Tech. To know that the winning runs were scored on a pitch that was supposed to be ball four in an intentional walk is gutting.
Game 1 winners have gone on to win the championship around 80 percent of the time, but with as thrilling, odd and crazy as this one was today, I think we're in for another wild one tomorrow.
I'd expect to see Nija Canady in the circle again for Texas Tech with its season on the line.
I just witnessed a small horns up-horns down battle between an upset Texas Tech fan and a quite happy Texas fan.
Those were all close pitches in that at-bat by pinch hitter Anya German, but I don't think she swung the bat once there. She had a .400 average as a pinch hitter.
And now, more umpire controversy: Alana Johnson stole second on that called strike three, but Reese Atwood's throw to second (which Teagan Kavan ultimately cut off) was hindered after her elbow slightly bumped the umpire's mask. Johnson has already been sent back to first due to that, but now Texas is challenging that Anya German was also potentially in Atwood's way on the throw as she was walking toward first, thinking it was ball four. That was out number two.
If this challenge works for Texas, Johnson is out at first and the game is over on a technicality double play. That would be absolutely wild.
Tennessee's coach chimes in.
Now, Texas Tech has its last licks in this game, this time for its first time trailing in the NCAA Tournament, snapping an 86-inning streak. This offense has been tested time and time again in these close games, and this is arguably its biggest moment. Teagan Kavan has not surrendered an earned run yet in OKC.
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T7 – Texas 2, Texas Tech 1
Texas has committed four errors in this game, and that fourth one puts the tying run on the board to start the seventh inning. Can the Red Raiders take advantage?
Reese Atwood FINALLY breaks through for Texas, and it couldn't come at a better time. NiJaree Canady and Texas Tech opted to walk Atwood intentionally to load the bases with two outs. In softball, however, it's not like MLB where you can just tell the umpires and send the runner to first. You have to throw the pitches, and for dominant pitchers like Canady, purposely missing the zone is harder than it sounds. Canady threw some pitches close enough for Atwood to take a chance and swung at what was supposed to be ball four, driving in two runs for the Longhorns to take the lead.
That's Atwood's first hit of the entire WCWS, and that HAS to feel good.
I find this all extremely stressful!