Texas Tech Softball: NiJaree Canady Reflects on Game 1 Loss in WCWS Championship Series
NiJaree Canady had been nearly untouchable through her first three games in the WCWS, having thrown every single pitch, and it looked like she was in for another shutout Wednesday night, but the Texas bats broke through late in the sixth inning.
Despite her seven strikeouts, it wasn't enough, and the Longhorns took the win, 2-1, in Game 1 of the WCWS Championship series.
Canady was dealing through the first five innings of the game until an intentional walk to Reese Atwood went incredibly wrong.
In the bottom of the sixth, Canady started strong with back-to-back strikeouts and a single. She looked to get out of the inning, but with Atwood at the plate, the Red Raiders didn't want to take any chances.
Canady hadn't attempted an intentional walk all season, and Atwood took advantage. She swung on a 3-0 count and smacked a two-RBI scoring Scott and Kayden Henry to give the Longhorns a 2-1 lead.
LONGHORNS TAKE THE LEAD 🤘#WCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @TexasSoftball pic.twitter.com/jDxdkzX5y0
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) June 5, 2025
When asked about the intentional walk after the game, Canady took full responsibility.
"There's no challenge, I made that mistake," Canady said. "I think that loss is on me, and I apologize to my team."
After Texas took the lead in the sixth inning, it put the Red Raiders in a spot they hadn't been in before- trailing in the NCAA tournament.
There is some pressure on Texas Tech as they will have to win the next two games if they want to take home their first WCWS title in school history, but they have fought back all season long.
"It's been our motto all year to be the best come-from-behind team in America," Canady said. " I think just knowing this is Game 1. We still have two more games to play. They won one game, they didn't win the whole battle."
Game 2 will be on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN.
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Sarah Person was born and raised in Nebraska and has lived there her whole life. She is a recent graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in sports media and broadcasting. She did everything during her time at UNL, including writing, anchoring, broadcasting, and photography. Sarah has had a lifelong passion for sports and is excited to continue that passion through her work for Softball on SI.
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