At Devon Park in Oklahoma City on Friday night, Texas scored five times in the first inning and would roll to a 10-4 win over Texas Tech in the third and deciding game of the Championship Round of the Women’s College World Series. It is the first softball national title for the Longhorns, who has been in the championship round three of the last four seasons.
The Longhorns (56-12) jumped on the Red Raiders in their first at bat off pitcher NiJaree Canady, who was starting her third game in a row in the championship series. A three-run homerun by Leighann Goode capped off the big opening frame that would knock Canady out of the game after just one inning. Canady allowed five earned runs in the same inning for the first time in her career. The five given up also ties a career-high in any game for the junior. Mia Scott later hit a grandslam for a 10-0 lead, and Texas would finish it off from there in their eighth appearance overall in the Women’s College World Series. Hailey Toney had three hits and three RBI for Texas Tech (54-14) in their first appearance in the WCWS, but all their runs came unearned. Teagan Kavan pitched a complete game in the circle for the Longhorns allowing four runs (none earned) on eight hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Cavan earned the Most Valuable Player of the entire World Series, as the sophomore ended her season by not allowing an earned run in the final 31.2 innings that she pitched which was all in the postseason.
