Texas Rallies Past Texas Tech in Dramatic Game 1 of WCWS Finals

Two batters later, Mihyia Davis singled to right field and brought Logan Halleman all the way home for the first run of the game.

From there, is was all about NiJaree Canady locking things down in the circle and it appeared that she was well on her way to doing that—until disaster struck in the bottom of the sixth.

The Red Raiders found themselves in a position to intentionally walk Reese Atwood to load the bases and have force outs everywhere in the infield. However, a lack of focus between Canady and her catcher led to a 3-0 ball getting just too close to the plate, and Atwood turned on it and drove it into left field.

Before fans could even realize what had happened, Tech was facing its first deficit of the entire postseason.

Texas ace Teagan Kavan was brilliant again for Texas, tossing a complete game and allowing just one run on four hits. She struck out three and walked one over seven innings, improving to 20-2 on the year. After surrendering a fifth-inning RBI single to Mihyia Davis, Kavan locked in, retiring six of the final seven batters she faced.

The loss is a gut-punch for a Texas Tech team that came into the finals riding high after sweeping through bracket play. Now, the pressure shifts fully to Gerry Glasco’s squad to respond in Game 2 on Thursday.

Texas now sits one win away from its first national title. For Texas Tech, Thursday’s Game 2 becomes a must-win if the Red Raiders hope to extend their dream postseason run and force a decisive Game 3 on Friday.