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Texas won Game 1 of the Women's College World Series championship on Wednesday in thrilling fashion. Will the Longhorns grab the trophy tonight or will Texas Tech force Game 3?
Read about the Longhorns' Game 1 win here.
The schedule:
*If necessary
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Texas rallies past Texas Tech to win WCWS Game 1 as Atwood refuses to take intentional walk
As we wait for the start of tonight's game, it’s always so cool to see players reflect on moments from their own perspective. Not to get all “Man in the Arena,” but it really is a different world on the dirt.
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It looks like Nija Canady will start tonight for Texas Tech and Mac Morgan in the circle for Texas.
The doors are open at Devon Park, and the fans are rolling in! Texas Tech has already taken the field, wearing its crisp white uniforms, as the crew works to beautify the field. We're set for a 7:50 p.m. CT/8:50 p.m. ET first pitch.
Things you love to see: a blue sky.
I think a couple of things could be factors here as to why this intentional walk was a little different, number one being a different catcher. There could be myriad reasons why Victoria Valdez didn't set up farther off the plate, whether it be concern for who was on the base paths at the time, the umpire said something or the lines of the catcher's box, which extend from the batter's box, were more clearly marked in yesterday's game than they were last year. Technically, a catcher is supposed to start within those before the pitch is released, but it's not something that's looked at a lot.
Number two, last night, Nija Canady was throwing to a righty in Reese Atwood. That Oklahoma batter last year was a lefty. As a right-handed pitcher who primarily throws rise balls and screwballs, she typically has a little more arm-side run to her pitches. When you have a lefty up at the plate, there's a little more room for that to work and really miss outside. But as we saw last night against Atwood, some ran back onto the plate, which gave the Texas catcher the chance to hit it.
One last potential reason, the situation. Canady has worked out of every jam she has been in during this WCWS so far. There's a chance she wasn't happy with the decision to not go right at Atwood, especially since she had been struggling. I questioned it myself at the time, considering a much-hotter hitter in Joley Mitchell was on deck. Also, last year's example took place in the semifinals while this one was in the championship. While I'm sure Canady would say that it doesn't matter, based on what she said in her news conference after last night's game, it is still a potential factor. The stakes were higher.
There was some discussion last night about the Nija Canady intentional walk after it was mentioned on the broadcast that she had never walked a batter intentionally.
Hmmm ….
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It’s later than expected, but we’ll be getting softball tonight!
A look back at last night's Game 1 while we wait for tonight's Game to get going.
The sun is coming out so …
AND the tarp is also being removed off the dirt!!
But at the same time, seeing how visibly frustrated NiJaree Canady was after last night's loss tells me we're going to be seeing her on a whole other level today. I think she will be coming at these batters with her hardest stuff, then leaning on the changeup when she needs it most. While these Texas batters are used to her stuff, they still only got four hits yesterday. If the Red Raiders' offense capitalized on that bases-loaded threat in the first inning, we might have had a completely different story last night. Texas Tech has only lost in consecutive games twice this season: back in February to North Texas and Idaho State – and Canady did not suffer the loss in either of those – and to then-No. 10 South Carolina in March, during which Canady only threw in that second game and allowed just one earned run.
This series is too good to be over tonight, so I'm hoping for a Game 3. Therefore, I'm all in on the Red Raiders tonight. Sorry Longhorns!
I genuinely don't think anybody could have predicted what happened yesterday, with a more-than-questionable obstruction call, umpire's interference and a winning hit on ball four of an attempted intentional walk. With that being said, I'll give it my best shot.
All of the momentum is swinging in Texas' favor; I mean, it's ONE game away from a program-first championship. Mac Morgan pitched exceptionally well against Tennessee in the semifinal, and I have a hunch we might see her again in the circle to give Texas Tech batters a different look with her drop ball. In that game against the Vols, Morgan not only matched her career high in strikeouts with four, but she also allowed just three hits and a walk in four innings. If she can do that again for the Longhorns to set up Teagan Kavan to close things out, they'll be in a good spot.
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With a win today, not only would Teagan Kavan earn a long-awaited championship for the Texas Longhorns, but she also would surpass Texas great and Olympian Cat Osterman for the most WCWS wins in program history. Osterman seems perfectly fine with that.
Nija Canady has thrown every pitch for Texas Tech in the Women's College World Series, but there was some talk on the ESPN broadcast before the championship series that the Red Raiders would use another pitcher at some time against Texas. But with her team down 1-0 in the series against Texas and the season on the line, it's hard to believe the Texas Tech coaching staff would go with anyone else tonight.
Reese Atwood didn't have a hit in the Women's College World Series, but Texas Tech still wanted to walk her and not pitch to her with two outs and two runners on base in the sixth inning. But Atwood, the big bat in the Longhorns' lineup refused to go to first base that easily.
Well, she did go to first base, just not with a walk. After three balls from Nija Canady, the fourth ball got a little too close to the strike zone, and Atwood smacked it into left field for a single.
The two Texas baserunners came around to score, and the Longhorns had the lead, and a few minutes later they had the win. And tonight they can win the championship.
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Texas rallies past Texas Tech to win WCWS Game 1 as Atwood refuses to take intentional walk
This Women's College World Series has had a little bit of everything, and that has added up to a lot of close games. Six of those games have ended up in one-run decisions, including Texas' 2-1 win over Texas Tech.
You can't overstate how exciting this tournament has been. It would only be right for that to continue tonight (and maybe tomorrow?).
College softball continues to grow. Larger crowds. More television viewers.
That continued in Game 1 and the tense, exciting Texas win.
Can we pass these numbers tonight?
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Well, if you’re around Devon Park during the weather delay, you might see some former college stars roaming around, like FSU’s Michaela Edenfield, with some of her new AUSL teammates.
That's not good news.
Mike White is coaching in the Women's College World Series for the eighth time, including the third time with Texas (he reached the WCWS five times as Oregon's coach). This year marks his third time in the championship in the past four years.
He has 750 career wins, including 315 with Texas. But he doesn't have a national title. Is tonight the night?