I think it’s safe to say that Texas Tech’s absurdly high batting average is going to come down a bit after the Red Raiders lost in Game 7 of the Women’s College World Series. When facing the Tennessee Lady Volunteers, the Texas Tech softball team went 5-for-29 at the plate, which is a .172 batting average.
The Red Raiders came in with a .383 batting average. And that gap is a huge reason why Texas Tech lost 2-1 to Tennessee.
Now the Red Raiders have to go out and beat the UCLA Bruins in an elimination game on Sunday. That’s going to be some must-watch softball. Before we get there though, I’ve got a few thoughts on the game Texas Tech just played.
The defense and pitching largely held up for this game, which is encouraging even if things weren’t perfect
It would have been easy for things to spiral in this one as Texas Tech wasn’t able to generate momentum at the plate, but Texas Tech’s pitching staff and the fielders didn’t let that happen, which feels good. Not the best, but good.
Obviously there’s the two solo shot home runs that Tennessee hit that were the biggest difference in this game. Both NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry were on the wrong side of that. But they also only gave up a total of five hits in this game. They didn’t walk a single batter. There were seven strikeouts.
And while the Red Raiders did have an error, it’s not like that became a big problem for Texas Tech. And it’s not like there were a string of errors. Texas Tech kept its cool and just kept playing.
Texas Tech just straight up missed out on opportunities and this loss is a result of that
The batting average in and of itself is alarming. The fact that the Red Raiders managed to draw a total of five walks in this game and yet they didn’t score more than one run is concerning. But the fact of the matter is, the stat that really worries me is how Texas Tech was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Texas Tech, even with all of the issues at the plate, just needed one or two more timely hits to really make this game interesting and in their favor. And the Red Raiders missed on those opportunities. Can they make sure to not do that when facing off against the Bruins on Sunday?
The margin for this game was razor thin, which is fascinating given Texas Tech’s struggles at the plate
The Red Raiders were uncharacteristically struggling while at the plate in this game. Some of that absolutely should be credited to Tennessee for not having errors and for pitcher Karlyn Pickens just working right through the Texas Tech lineup.
But on an unusual day at the plate for the Red Raiders, it’s clear that Texas Tech still had a very good chance to go out and win this game. And that’s fascinating to me. Because everything went wrong at the plate but NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry did everything possible to keep the Red Raiders moving.
If Terry and Canady can keep pitching like that and the bats can wake up a bit, then the Red Raiders should be able to stay alive in the Women’s College World Series.
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