When Gerry Glasco and the Texas Tech softball team get the delightful opportunity to take on the UCLA Bruins, the Red Raiders will face off against one of the most impressive power hitting teams in the country. The Bruins have been on an absolute tear and have hammered just about everyone that they’ve faced.
But Texas Tech has built a roster that has the potential to have a rather impressive answer to that. It’s not guaranteed, but the Red Raiders have shown the potential to score plenty and hit plenty of home runs on their own.
And then there’s the fact that the Red Raiders also have NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry, who have become one of the best pitching staffs in the country.
And that might help the Red Raiders in their attempt to stay alive in the Women’s College World Series. Of course, it’s going to be tricky to beat the Bruins. They are a rather impressive team. From top to bottom, their stats are a little frightening.
By the numbers: Can Texas Tech softball get past the UCLA Bruins in the 2026 Women’s College World Series?
Here’s UCLA’s offense and how it matches up with Texas Tech’s offense:
- Batting average - UCLA: .381 vs Texas Tech: .379
- Home runs - UCLA: 206 vs Texas Tech: 137
- Slugging percentage - UCLA: .831 vs Texas Tech: .710
- Runs scored per game - UCLA: 10.7 vs Texas Tech: 9.4
And here’s how the Red Raiders pitching staff compares against the Bruins:
- ERA - UCLA: 4.31 vs Texas Tech: 2.09
- Opposing batting average - UCLA: .274 vs Texas Tech: .186
- Strikeouts - UCLA: 278 vs Texas Tech: 467
It’s interesting.
Both UCLA and Texas Tech have impressive offenses (though the Bruins are in a league all their own when it comes to hitting home runs). Texas Tech is among the best in the country when it comes to hitting home runs and the Bruins are still considerably better, which is just a little ridiculous.
But when you look on paper, Texas Tech’s pitching staff is equipped to completely and totally shut down opposing teams and that should give the Red Raiders a considerable advantage here. But that’s on paper. It’s all theoretical. We’ll see how Texas Tech’s pitching staff can match up with the Bruins and their power hitting.
It’ll also be interesting to see if Texas Tech can take advantage of UCLA’s relative lack of pitching depth outside of Taylor Tinsley. Tinsley has been incredible, but UCLA doesn’t have the pitching depth that Texas Tech does. Can the Red Raiders maximize that opportunity.
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