As Gerry Glasco and the Texas Tech softball team get set to take on the Tennessee Lady Vols, the Red Raiders are coming off of yet another win over an SEC team along the way this season.
Texas Tech got a couple of wins over Ole Miss in the Lubbock Regional, a couple of wins over Florida in the Gainesville Super Regional, and now an 8-0 win over Mississippi State in the Women’s College World Series. Will this string of success over SEC teams continue when the Red Raiders face Tennessee? It’s hard to tell. The Lady Vols have been incredibly impressive all throughout the season.
Then again, Ole Miss was on a hot streak before the Red Raiders ended their season, Florida was really solid as a team before Texas Tech ended their season, and Mississippi State was riding a ton of momentum before getting sent to the losers’ bracket by Texas Tech.
And when that last game happened, there were some really impressive numbers that popped up in the stat sheet.
NiJaree Canady was incredibly efficient as she threw just 47 pitches against Mississippi State
Look, Canady has had a few struggles at various times throughout this season, but she was incredibly efficient in her dominant performance against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and there’s no reason to believe that Thursday’s showing doesn’t set Texas Tech up nicely. The fact that Canady was able to throw just 47 pitches vs. Mississippi State is huge.
I’m not expecting her to start against the Lady Vols, but she didn’t really go through extended at bats and wear herself out. She threw fewer than 12 pitches per inning and made quick work of her opponents. And then there’s the fact that Kaitlyn Terry stepped in for the final inning and a final few outs over Mississippi State, which helps as well.
Texas Tech was able to go 4-for-7 at the plate with runners in scoring position
Along with efficient pitching from Texas Tech, the Red Raiders were also capable of stringing together some timely, clutch hitting. Against the Bulldogs, Texas Tech put on a clinic on how to get hits when dealing with runners in scoring position. On more than half of the Red Raiders’ chances, Texas Tech got a hit.
That means that the Red Raiders were able to drive runs across their plate and not leave many runners stranded on base. And that’s part of why Texas Tech was able to go out and get a dominant win to keep the Red Raiders in the winners’ bracket of the WCWs.
The Red Raiders made Mississippi State’s bats invisible on Thursday
And while Texas Tech was getting hits it needed at any given moment, Mississippi State really struggled at the plate. You could look at this from a few different specific angles. Like how Mississippi State was 0-for-1 when a runner was in scoring position. Heck, you can also look at how the Red Raiders tallied a grand total of just two hits.
Two runners were left on base for the Bulldogs. They just weren’t able to really do anything as a team. Thus, the Red Raiders were able to secure a pretty straightforward win.
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