Texas Tech softball's wild ride will continue in Women's College World Series

The Texas Tech softball team continued to make history on Friday afternoon. Already having won the first Big 12 regular season championship, the first Big 12 Tournament championship, and the first NCAA regional in the program's history, the Red Raiders took another step toward glory by beating No. 5 national seed Florida State 2-1 to reach the program's first Women's College World Series.

Moving to 50-12 on the season, Tech remains the only Big 12 team still alive in the field. Now, the Red Raiders head to Oklahoma City next weekend to play on the game's biggest stage.

It should come as no surprise that the star of the afternoon was NiJaree Canady, the best player in the nation. After throwing a complete-game shutout and belting a solo homer on Thursday night in game one, the junior threw another complete game on Friday.

Tossing yet another gem, she struck out three hitters and gave up only one run on three hits. That brought her season ERA to a ridiculous 0.89.

The seventh inning was the only time that FSU truly threatened Canady in either game of the Super Regional. Entering their final at-bat, Florida State trailed 2-0 but tallied a run via a walk, a double, and a fielder's choice.

That left the equalizing run at third base with only one out. However, Canady managed to get the final two FSU batters to foul out to first base to secure the win.

At the plate, Tech got on the board in their first at-bat of the day. Just as in Thursday's game, speedster Mihyia Davis got on base with a single and advanced to second base on one of the four Florida State errors in the game. Then, after reaching third on a fielder's choice, she scored on a sacrifice fly by Alana Johnson.

In the fifth inning, Tech got the game-winning run from Demi Elder, who singled up the middle to score Johnson from second base. That was all the offense Canady would need for the game.

It has been a tremendous turnaround for the program. Thanks to a massive NIL commitment from the boosters and fans, Tech has jumped from going just 29-21 overall and 8-16 in the Big 12 last year to being one of the last eight teams still standing in Oklahoma City this season.

Tech will now face the winner of the Fayetteville, Arkansas, Super Regional, where Arkansas is hosting Ole Miss. Friday, the Rebels took a 1-0 series lead thanks to a 9-7 road win.

The Red Raiders will make their Women's College World Series debut Thursday. Game time and broadcast information will be determined after the field is set at the end of this weekend.