Can NiJaree Canady and Texas Tech take home a national title? - ESPN

In Game 1 of Texas Tech's super regional slugfest against Florida, Red Raiders coach Gerry Glasco replaced pitcher Kaitlyn Terry, who had just given up a home run, with NiJaree Canady, hoping to preserve an 8-5 lead.

Canady, Division I's active leader in career ERA (1.04), promptly gave it up. She hit the first batter, then allowed a single, before the Gators' Ava Brown launched a three-run homer to tie things up.

But after the Red Raiders regained a two-run lead in the seventh, Glasco came back with Canady in the bottom of the inning, and she closed the door on a 10-8 win. After the game, reporters asked the coach why he had the confidence to stick with his ace.

«You're looking at a gal that's a two-time national player of the year,» Glasco said. «She's been in those situations many, many times.»

Few players have made as much history as Canady. She has won 100 games, has more than 1,000 strikeouts and is one of five players in NCAA history to be named to the Women's College World Series All-Tournament team at two different schools.

Now, after grinding through a tough series against the Gators, Canady has returned to the World Series one final time, her fourth appearance in Oklahoma City, in one of the most storied softball careers ever. After leading her team to an 8-0 blowout over Mississippi State on Thursday, the next step in Canady's final quest for a national title will come Saturday in the Red Raiders' matchup against Tennessee (3 p.m. ET, ABC).

She had immediate success as a freshman at Stanford, though she began her career by asking her catcher if she really thought she was good enough to pitch in college. She ended that season as the National Freshman of the Year; at the 2023 WCWS, little girls pressed against