Texas has been here before, losing in the finals to Oklahoma in 2022 and 2024.
“I like when it’s a pitcher’s duel — it’s fun to compete in those atmospheres against the best,” Kavan said.
Small ball and taking advantage of mistakes played a big role in the 4-0 WCWS opener last year, too.
So the big home runs that have defined the postseason probably won’t be there for the Longhorns in the finals against Canady, forcing Texas to focus on execution.
First pitch in Thursday’s finals opener is at 7 p.m. Central on ESPN.
Devon Park, located in Oklahoma City, just over 20 miles from Norman, is no longer haunted by the Oklahoma Sooners, the four-time defending national champions.
First to go down was the No. Three Texas Longhorns had to make the short drive home as the Longhorns and Red Raiders faced off in the finals, with each program vying for its first national title. The Sooners had to overcome the demons of losing six straight to Oklahoma in the Women’s College World Series before being eliminated by the upstart Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Texas has been here before; in 2022 and 2024, they lost to Oklahoma in the finals. Driven by the transcendent superstardom of ace NiJaree Canady, whose $1 million NIL deal with the Red Raiders collective represented both a historic payout and a seismic shift in Texas Tech’s program trajectory, Texas Tech is the newcomer, making its first appearance in Oklahoma City under first-year head coach Gerry Glasco.
Even though Canady has incredible stats, including a 33-5 record, 0.90 ERA, 21 complete games, seven shutouts, and 304 strikeouts in 226 point0 innings, the Longhorns won’t be intimidated by her presence in the circle. This is due to the fact that Texas has defeated Canady three times in four games against her over the past two seasons. They defeated Tech 2-1 in nine innings in Austin in mid-February, reached her for four runs in the opening game of the Women’s College World Series last year, and ultimately defeated the Cardinals 1-0 by scoring an unearned run in the seventh inning.
In all three of those wins, Texas relied heavily on sophomore right-hander Teagan Kavan, who pitched a total of 23 innings with 32 strikeouts, giving up just one run on six hits while recording back-to-back shutouts against Stanford the previous season.
“I enjoy when there is a pitcher’s duel because it’s exciting to compete against the best in those settings,” Kavan remarked.
When asked whether those victories give the Longhorns an advantage over Canady on Wednesday, senior first baseman Joley Mitchell was not going to come up with any answers.
Mitchell stated that he would not respond with a yes or no. “Games can change, in my opinion. I’m sure NiJa is a different pitcher this year, but we just need to concentrate on the task at hand and take things one pitch at a time. Things can change, especially from last year. “.”.
The Horns will need to create runs, as evidenced by their 29-inning performance against Canady, which included just five extra-base hits.
Mia Scott’s double, one of those extra-base hits, tied the game in this year’s 2-1 victory, but the Texas Tech first baseman’s throwing error gave the team the leadoff run.
Last year’s elimination game ended in a sacrifice bunt to bring home the runner from third base after a Stanford second baseman’s error allowed the leadoff batter to reach base, meaning that a double was insufficient to score the game’s first run.
The 4-0 WCWS opener last year also relied heavily on small ball and exploiting errors. Only one of the four hits in Texas’ two-run third inning made it to the outfield, as the Horns reached Canady via two bunts, two infield singles, a wild pitch, and a stolen base. Canady gave up three of the four walks that game, which allowed Texas to load the bases and score two runs on a single misplay by the Stanford right fielder. Texas then added two more runs in the sixth inning.
The Longhorns will therefore likely be without the big home runs that have characterized the postseason in the finals against Canady, forcing Texas to concentrate on their performance.
According to Mitchell, their strategy was “just sticking within ourselves, just being disciplined, and being on time.”.
Since they have a 47-5 record this season when they score the first run and have never fallen behind in the 55 innings they have played in the NCAA Tournament thus far, Texas Tech is especially dangerous when they score first.
“I have faith in our team, so if they score first, fine, it’s just a scoring match. According to coach Mike Whit, “The game doesn’t know.”. “Therefore, we must play our best game no matter what, and if you encounter some adversity, it doesn’t mean you have to give up,” Mitchell stated.
The finals opener on Thursday is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. m. ESPN’s central.
