While the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Mississippi State Bulldogs may have met up on the field on Thursday, it sure looks like the head coach of the Texas Tech softball team has an abundance of respect for his first foe of the 2026 Women’s College World Series.
In a postgame press conference, after the Red Raiders seemingly had no issue crushing the Bulldogs, Gerry Glasco made sure to credit the Mississippi State softball team for earning their spot in Oklahoma City.
“I want to congratulate Mississippi State,” Glasco said following Texas Tech’s 8-0 win in five innings over the Bulldogs. “Coach Ricketts has done an amazing job to get her team here.”
And that’s accurate. Mississippi State wasn’t a host in either the Regional or the Super Regional and the Bulldogs still found a way to get to the Women’s College World Series. They worked their way through the Eugene Regional and then took care of the Norman Super Regional, upsetting the Oregon Ducks and the Oklahoma Sooners along the way.
Texas Tech head coach Gerry Glasco credits the Mississippi State Bulldogs for earning their trip to Oklahoma City
“Everybody knows what Oklahoma is,” Glasco continued. “To come out of a series on the road against Oklahoma, to be commended.”
As for how Texas Tech was able to get the run-rule win over Mississippi State to start the Women’s College World Series? Well, it helped that there were a few days between the Norman Super Regional and the WCWS. It also probably helped that MSU may have been a little worn out.
The head coach of the Red Raiders noted that Mississippi State was probably dealing with a bit of an emotional hang up after beating the Sooners and being on the road so much.
“We had a couple days to get ready for them and I think it worked out a little bit to our advantage,” Glasco explained. “I would imagine they stayed on the road and that’s not easy to go on the road and stay on the road and to have that kind of series behind you, it’s almost a trap series.”
Which is fair. The Bulldogs didn’t go back to Starkville, they stayed in Oklahoma. And with the emotions that come with beating a team like the Sooners, it’s hard to turn around to take on what’s next. Mississippi State should be proud of what they’ve accomplished this season, but it’s clear that the Red Raiders were better equipped for this stage of the season.
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