Women's College World Series: Texas Tech's pitching moves under microscope after Texas tees off in Game 1

OKLAHOMA CITY — Gerry Glasco’s leash is short and his vision long.

A mere two innings into Game 1 of the Women’s College World Series, Glasco unofficially ended it himself by digging deeper into his bullpen than he had all week at Devon Park. It was an early stunner by the Texas Tech head coach in a WCWS rematch between his boom-or-bust roster and reigning champion Texas.

Advertisement

The plan was to eat innings, keep the game close enough that Texas couldn’t do the same, and put an uncompetitive 7-3 loss to bed. They’ll wake up for Game 2 with NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry preserved and fresh, hoping Texas can’t say the same.

What he’s prepared to do is put all his faith in continued resilience and a favorable pitching matchup with their backs against the wall … again.

The first game of the championship series should have been Canady’s to throw. The 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year is in her fourth WCWS holding a record 19 game appearances. After a masterful complete game in a semifinals win that sealed their return, all the talk of “Peak NiJa” pointed toward a Game 1 rematch of her and Texas ace Teagan Kavan.

It wasn’t that Glasco and his staff didn’t consider it.

Advertisement

“We were back and forth with it all the way up, all day, because there's two ways to approach the series,” Glasco said.

Play 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world's biggest soccer tournament

The pre-game lineup listed Canady as the starter, but Terry took the circle. It was how Texas Tech won Game 3 against Florida in the super regionals and its second-game semifinal over No. 1 Alabama.

Start Terry. Insert Canady. Perform a mind-boggling game of swaps distilled into a super-cut complete with circus music until elimination is held off. It’s a tactic that has both bemused and befuddled.

Advertisement

“I'm really comfortable putting NiJa in a game; I'm not comfortable taking her out of a game,” Glasco said. “So I tend to wait — I usually wait too long with NiJa, and I feel like it's an easier choice for me to go [with Terry].”

He also wanted to see how Terry, a junior transfer from UCLA, would compete in the series. Canady carried the outsized load for the Red Raiders all of last year, and by the final winner-take-all game, she tapped out. The righty allowed five runs off five hits in the first inning of Game 3, a scenario eerily similar to Texas’ start here in Game 1.

Glasco said they’d pushed her “to her limit,” and they searched for help that’s been worth the price so far. The team’s commitment to peaking collectively appeared on track as recently as 48 hours prior.

It’s tough to say Terry was lit up by Texas’ offense when the defense behind her missed its cue. No errors were given to either team, but the Red Raiders misplayed balls, were out of position and didn’t give batters the proper respect.

It was a complete mess from a start that won’t cut it against a team with Texas’ power and familiarity. They pitched to Katie Stewart, who hit her fourth home run in as many games for an early 2-1 lead.

Advertisement

“When you play Texas, you know Katie Stewart's going to get her licks in, to be expected,” Glasco said. “Other than that, I don't really remember a hard-hit ball. I thought we were just in the wrong place, wrong time.”

Texas pushed across two more runs on Terry, and an additional one on Canady when Glasco put her in with two outs and runners on the corners. Given the theatrics of the week, a new game began to brew when she threw a quick second.

Glasco didn’t see it that way. The offense couldn’t do anything more against Kavan than Mia Wiliams’ home run in the first.

“If we didn't get anything, I didn't feel like I could leave NiJa out there and let them look at her,” Glasco said. “I want the matchup tomorrow.”

Advertisement

Sophomore Samantha Lincoln entered to kill innings, a move she pulled off rather successfully. After throwing 17% of Texas Tech’s innings this season, she gave up two runs off four hits in 3.1 innings.

Yet, she never let the Longhorns run too far away that they felt safe enough to rest Kavan. The 2025 Most Outstanding Player threw a complete game, allowing 3 runs off 3 hits with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks.

“Tip my hat to Teagan on her effort tonight,” Glasco said. “She was outstanding.”

Kavan builds better in the postseason, and won Texas its second-game semifinal victory on Monday to come back from the loser’s bracket.

Advertisement

To Glasco’s delight, she threw 115 pitches in Game 1 and faced every batter three times.

“I was able to change speeds enough tonight and then kind of live in different areas at different times,” Kavan said. “Yeah, I think I'll go back and look and adjust for tomorrow and probably not do the same things again.”

Texas head coach Mike White isn’t so sure she’ll get the chance. Unlike Glasco, he could keep his plans closer to the chest one victory away from repeating as champions. All he acquiesced was that considering throwing her a day later was “a good question.”

It’s not unusual for a softball pitcher to take the circle two nights in a row, though it does open up the opportunity for opponents to begin figuring her out. Mia Williams admitted she didn’t see her first at-bats well before blasting a two-RBI home run in the fifth that cut the deficit to three.

Advertisement

That vision is sped up on the second of a back-to-back. After winning the opener, Kavan did not pitch the second game last year. Texas piecemealed four pitchers, asking Kavan to throw two-thirds of the sixth inning in the 4-3 loss.

The Longhorns could opt for senior Citlaly Guiterrez, a right-hander White repeatedly praised this week for her recent appearances. She has a 2.27 ERA over 80.1 innings, a sharp drop from the 226.2 that Kavan threw with a 2.35 ERA.

“There's an option there,” White said. “It's something we'll kind of sleep over.”

They know what Texas Tech will do. Terry and Canady will carry the load with a season on the line. Glasco already completed most of his draining thought process while Texas batted around and boosted confidence. Their vision is also long the other way. They can’t let up as they did here a year ago.

“It's not going to come easy,” Stewart said. “They're going to come back fighting harder than ever.”