The Texas Longhorns won their first women’s softball national championship in school history, defeating Texas Tech 10-4 in Game 3 of the Women’s College World Series on Friday night.
However, Leighann Goode hit the first pitch she saw to left-center field for a three-run home run and a 5-0 Texas lead.
So Texas Tech faced a loss by that mercy rule going into the top of the fifth.
But Samantha Lincoln pitched a scoreless inning for Texas Tech to keep the ballgame going, albeit still trailing 10-3.
Advertisement Toney batted 3 for 4 with three RBI to lead Texas Tech and Davis added two hits.
In Game 3 of the Women’s College World Series on Friday night, the Texas Longhorns defeated Texas Tech 10–4 to win their first women’s softball national championship in school history.
Red Raiders star pitcher NiJaree Canady allowed four consecutive one-out singles in the first inning of the team’s third straight night against Texas. The Longhorns led 2-0 as a result of that.
It appeared as though she might get away with just those two runs given up when Canady struck out Joley Mitchell. Leighann Goode, however, hit the first pitch she saw to left-center field, giving Texas a 5-0 lead and a three-run home run.
Canady’s night came to an end when Texas Tech’s Chloe Riassetto took over as pitcher in the second inning, allowing five runs and five hits on 25 pitches. Riassetto was unable to hold Texas back in the third despite pitching a scoreless inning.
With two consecutive doubles to start the inning, Reese Atwood and Katie Stewart added another run to the Longhorns’ 6-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, the Longhorns put the game out of reach. Texas hit two infield singles and a double to put its first three batters on base. Mia Scott then added a grand slam and an 10-0 lead by smashing a ball deep to center field.
It was the NCAA mercy rule.
A women’s softball game is over according to NCAA regulations if one team leads by eight runs or more after five innings. Thus, going into the top of the fifth, Texas Tech was down due to the mercy rule. The Red Raiders, however, managed to hold that off by scoring three runs during the frame.
Mihyia Davis drove in Bailey Lindemuth with an infield single with two outs in the inning, reducing the deficit to 10-1. In order to keep the game going for at least another half-inning, Hailey Toney then singled two runs to score Lindemuth and Davis.
In the bottom of the fifth, Texas had a chance to win by a landslide. Even though Texas Tech was still behind 10-3, Samantha Lincoln pitched a scoreless inning to keep the game going.
The score remained at 10-3 after the Red Raiders failed to score in the top of the sixth, giving Texas another chance to win by a landslide. Following an error by Texas Tech second baseman Alexa Langeliers that allowed Kayden Henry to reach base and Mia Scott drawing a walk, the Longhorns had a chance to score and end the game.
Lincoln then threw a wild pitch that moved Henry to third base. To break out of the jam and give the Red Raiders a final opportunity to tie the score or take the lead, the right-hander struck out Atwood and Stewart. Texas Tech’s Hailey Toney drove in Makayla Garcia to add a fourth run. Mihyia Davis attempted to reach third base, but was thrown out by Texas left fielder Katie Stewart.
After the fourth inning, it seemed certain that Texas would win 10–4, but Lauren Allred of Texas Tech grounded out to shortstop for the final out.
Texas Tech was led by Toney, who batted 3 for 4 with three RBI, while Davis contributed two hits. However, the Texas pitcher Teagan Kavan was unable to produce much more offensive output from the Red Raiders (54-14), particularly after falling behind 10-0 and facing a significant uphill climb. Lincoln kept Texas Tech in the game with three scoreless innings, but Riassetto and Canady each allowed 12 hits and five runs.
After giving up four runs (two earned) and eight hits in seven innings during the pivotal game, Kavan was named the Women’s College World Series’ most outstanding player. While Stewart, Atwood, and Scott each had two hits and drove in seven runs, Henry hit three for four. The other three were driven in for Texas by Goode’s home run.
For the third time in four years, the Longhorns (56-12) advanced to the Women’s College World Series finals under head coach Mike White. Despite the Sooners winning four straight national titles, they lost their opening two games against Oklahoma. In White’s seventh season in Austin, however, Texas made its breakthrough on its third attempt.
This is the way that Game 3 unfolded on Yahoo Sports’ live blog.
