For so much of the Game 1 matchup with the Florida Gators, Kaitlyn Terry had been dominant. Through five innings, Terry had managed to put the Red Raiders in a fantastic position to compete against one of the best college softball programs in the country while on their turf in front of their fans.
Terry had given up six hits and ultimately gave up five runs (though only two of those were earned runs) and Texas Tech was still chugging along with a decent lead. But with the Red Raiders playing in Gainesville and temps getting elevated and Terry having thrown 90 pitches, Gerry Glasco decided it was time for a pitching change. NiJaree Canady took the circle. And then the Gators found a way to make things stressful. A scoring burst, including a three-run home run, led to Florida tying things up and putting a ton of pressure on Texas Tech heading into the seventh inning.
The Red Raiders have a wealth of pitching talent on their roster this season and that’s such a good thing. And that leads to the question of why did Glasco turn to Canady again in the bottom of the 7th when Texas Tech had just reclaimed a lead after her struggles in the sixth inning?
Gerry Glasco explains the tough choice to change pitchers against the Florida Gators in Game 1 and why he turned to NiJaree Canady
So much of this has to do with just how good Canady has been all throughout her career.
“You’re looking at a gal that’s a two-time national player of the year,” Glasco said during a postgame press conference. “And she’s been in those situations many, many times. So, I felt good holding the lead.”
Canady has some really robust credentials. In addition to entering this game with a 24-4 win-loss record on the season, Canady has proven herself all throughout her career and has racked up well over 1000 career strikeouts. If anyone has earned the opportunity to prove themselves in this sort of situation, it’s Canady.
“I thought it was important for NiJaree for tomorrow,” Glasco continued. “Let’s let her back out there, she’ll hold the lead this time. And I thought it was good for her to work through it so that she can be at her best tomorrow.”
And then on top of that, Terry had been pretty active in the heat of the day.
“I thought KT had thrown a lot of pitches,” I don’t know how many she had thrown, but I knew she had really gotten up there, 80-something on a hot day.”
With Terry getting the chance to rest a bit and Canady getting the chance to take the circle and work through things against one of the best teams in the country, Texas Tech is setting itself up nicely to be able to keep moving right along and utilize the full depth of the pitching rotation that the Red Raiders have assembled.
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