Tag: Big 12 Softball

Reigning National Player of the Year NiJaree Canady reveals transfer destination

This was a massive win for Texas Tech and new head coach Gerry Glasco.

College softball’s reigning National Player of the Year NiJaree Canady announced where she will play next season. After leading Stanford to the Women’s College World Series, Canady opted to enter the transfer portal. She announced on social media that she will continue her playing career with the Texas Tech Lady Raiders softball team.

The school recently hired Gerry Glasco away from Louisiana, where he guided the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 300-88 record over seven seasons. They were selected to an NCAA Regional in every season except for the pandemic season in 2020.

Canady brings a remarkable career record of 41-10 with a 0.67 ERA with 53 starts under her belt. She has totaled 365.2 innings with 53 starts, 34 complete games, and nine saves. Last season Canady led the Stanford staff with 24 wins and 337 strikeouts in 230.2 innings pitched.

Canady is part of an impressive transfer class that the new softball head coach has put together in just over a month on the job.

Texas Tech Softball Transfer Class

  • Mihyia Davis, OF: Louisiana (Sun Belt Player of the Year)
  • Victoria Valdez, Catcher: Louisiana
  • Chloe Riassetto, Pitcher: Louisiana
  • Lauren Allred, IF: Louisiana
  • Alexa Langeliers, IF: Louisiana
  • Alana Johnson, Utility: Washington
  • Katie Lott, Outfield: Oklahoma State
  • Makayla Garcia, Utility: UT-Tyler
  • NiJaree Canady, Pitcher: Stanford

Texas softball earns No. 1 overall seed for NCAA Tournament

Texas was awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, the first in school history.

The Texas Longhorns softball team was awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, the first in school history. Continue reading “Texas softball earns No. 1 overall seed for NCAA Tournament”

Texas softball wins Big 12 regular season title

The No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns softball team claimed the Big 12 regular season title over the weekend.

The No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns softball team overtook its biggest rival, Oklahoma, on the last weekend of the season to claim the Big 12 regular season title.

Texas, 45-6 (23-4 Big 12), did so in emphatic fashion by outscoring the Texas Tech Red Raiders by 43 runs in what became three 5-inning contests in Lubbock.

The Sooners, 46-6 (22-5 Big 12), dropped two straight against Oklahoma State in Norman before winning Sunday’s finale, 8-2. The Sooners had won 11 straight regular season titles prior to this weekend.

The Longhorns won two of three games against the Sooners April 5-7 in what was their first series win against Oklahoma since 2009. Now, the Longhorns look to take the title of Big 12 Tournament Champions from defending-champion Oklahoma this week in Oklahoma City.

Big 12 Tournament play begins Wednesday, with the Longhorns set to play the winner of Iowa State-Texas Tech at 5 p.m. CT Thursday.

Oklahoma’s Kierston Deal wins second straight Big 12 Pitcher of the Week

Kierston Deal has been thriving in the circle of late and after a great weekend in Orlando earned her second straight Big 12 Pitcher of the Week award.

[autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] has been on a roll in recent weeks helping solidify Oklahoma’s pitching staff with a one-two punch following ace Kelly Maxwell. For the second consecutive week, Deal earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors.

In 7.2 innings pitched, Deal allowed just one run across two appearances. She was lights out in a Saturday start against UCF, going seven innings, and allowing two hits, a walk, and an unearned run in the seventh inning. She also struck out four Knights to get the win. She threw 0.2 innings in the sweep clinching win on Sunday, allowing two hits, a run, and striking out one.

She hasn’t allowed an earned run in her last four starts and been as good as any pitcher in the Big 12 over the last few weeks.

The back-to-back pitcher of the week awards is the first for the Oklahoma Sooners since Giselle Juarez won the award four straight weeks in 2019, according to SoonerSports.com.

Deal’s ERA is sitting at 1.00 on the season and she’s 11-1 on the season. She’s thrown five complete games and four shutouts.

The Sooners will need Deal to keep up her incredible run as they get set to host the Oklahoma State Cowgirls in what could be the final Bedlam series for the foreseeable future this weekend in Norman.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

Could Texas Longhorns softball catch Oklahoma for Big 12 regular season title?

Currently on a 9-game winning streak, the Texas Longhorns softball team sits a game back of rival Oklahoma in the Big 12 softball standings.

After winning two of three contests against the former No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, who had a 40-game Big 12 Conference winning streak before that, the now No. 1 Texas Longhorns have buoyed those two wins into a current 9-game winning streak. Continue reading “Could Texas Longhorns softball catch Oklahoma for Big 12 regular season title?”

Texas softball wins series over No. 1 Oklahoma

After Oklahoma won the first of a three-game series 5-2 on Friday, the Longhorns registered consecutive 2-1 victories.

The No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Sooners have been the gold standard of college softball in recent seasons. At least for a weekend, the No. 5 Texas Longhorns had something to say about that.

After Oklahoma won the first of a three-game series 5-2 on Friday, the Longhorns registered consecutive 2-1 victories on Saturday and Sunday in Austin.

The Longhorns improved to 31-6 (11-4 Big 12), while the Sooners dropped to 35-3 (13-2 Big 12). Saturday’s win for Texas saw an end to Oklahoma’s 40-game Big 12 Conference winning streak.

“We probably did what most people thought was impossible and that’s to beat Oklahoma two days in a row,” said Longhorns head coach Mike White.

White pointed to the team’s pitching and defense as reasons for the victory.

In the circle, Texas’ Citlaly Gutierrez pitched an efficient game Saturday, giving up one run on six hits while striking out two batters, throwing 94 pitches. Texas got a combined effort from Teagan Kavan and Estelle Czech on Sunday as Katie Stewart’s 2-run home run proved to be the difference in Texas getting the series victory.

Oklahoma Sooners hang on to beat Texas 5-2 in series opener

Kelly Maxwell was phenomenal through six innings, and Jayda Coleman provided the difference at the plate in the Oklahoma Sooners 5-2 win over Texas.

[autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] was phenomenal through six innings, and [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag]’s three-run homer proved to be the difference in the Sooners’ 5-2 win over the Texas Longhorns.

In a highly-anticipated top-five matchup, the game lived up to the billing as Maxwell and Longhorns starter Mac Morgan battled to keep the score low.

The Sooners got things going in the third inning. However, a heads-up challenge from Texas head coach Mike White and solid defensive positioning from the Horns prevented Oklahoma from creating a bigger inning.

After her single moved Maya Bland to third, Kinzie Hansen was called out for leaving the base early on a [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] single, which wiped Oklahoma’s first run off the board and put Bland back on third. Instead of first and third and nobody out, the Sooners gave up an out with Hansen’s aggressiveness.

It ultimately didn’t matter as the Sooners cashed in, but the inning could have been bigger.

But Boone came through with one out, and Jayda Coleman’s drive to left could have gone for extra bases, but White had his team playing the line to take the double away, and [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] was forced to hold Boone at third. Coleman drove in Bland to put the Sooners on the board. On the next at-bat, [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] drove in Boone to make it 2-0.

The Sooners then got things going again in the fifth, again on a rally started by the back half of the order.

In the fifth, Hansen looked to drive a double down the line, but another timely challenge from White ruled that the ball was foul as it went past third base. Hansen then grounded into a fielder’s choice. Rylie Boone singled on a chopper to put two on with one out for the reigning Big 12 and National Player of the Week, Jayda Coleman.

Facing a 2-2 count, Coleman launched a ball to right field for a three-run home run to put Oklahoma up 5-0.

More: By the Numbers: No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 4 Texas Longhorns

Things got interesting in the bottom of the seventh when Joley Mitchell singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on a wild pitch. One of the best hitters in the nation, Reese Atwood, doubled down the left field line to score Mitchell and get the Longhorns on the board. Leighanne Goode walked and Viviana Martinez moved Adayah Wallace to third on a fielder’s choice. Ashton Maloney’s sacrifice fly scored Wallace to make it 5-2 and after a walk to Victoria Hunter, freshman Katie Stewart came up to the plate as the tying run with two outs.

The broadcast team mentioned during her at bat that in pregame batting practice, Stewart hit a ball over the fence and into the apartments beyond the stadium, breaking a window. With that kind of power, Texas was one swing away from tying the ball game. Stewart battled to a full count and Kelly Maxwell induced a groundball to [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] to close out the game and secure the win.

The Texas Longhorns offense came into this game sixth in the nation in scoring and second in batting average. Maxwell held them to two runs on three hits, three walks and recorded 10 strikeouts. At one point in time, Maxwell had struck out 7 of the 11 Longhorns batters that she’d faced.

After hitting .857 last weekend against Kansas, Coleman was the hero in this one, going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Rylie Boone was the only other Sooners hitter with multiple hits on an evening where the vaunted Sooners lineup only collected seven hits. [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] walked twice

The win moved Oklahoma to 35-1 on the season and 13-0 in Big 12 play. The Sooners are now four games up on Texas in the regular season conference title race. Oklahoma State beat Houston to stay within three games.

It was the Sooners ninth win in a row over the Longhorns and they extended their nation leading win streak to 17 games.

Oklahoma and Texas get back at it on Saturday for game two of the Red River Rivalry series in Austin. That game can be seen on ESPN with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT.

More: How to watch No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 4 Texas Longhorns

More: Sooners, Blue Devils top consensus top 25 rankings for week 8

Longhorns, Sooners set for top-five showdown in softball

The No. 5-ranked Longhorns are getting national TV exposure for weekend series against the No. 1 Sooners.

The No. 5-ranked Texas Longhorns softball team is getting national TV exposure for weekend series against the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners starting Friday on the networks of ESPN.

First pitch of Friday’s contest is set for 5:30 p.m. CT at Red & Charline McCombs Field, with ESPNU broadcasting the game. Saturday’s contest is set for 7 p.m. with ESPN broadcasting the game.

Sunday’s rubber match is set for 1 p.m. with Longhorn Network broadcasting the game.

It will be an opportunity for the program, who has started 29-5 (9-3 Big 12), to show how it stacks up against the defending Women’s College World Series champion Sooners.

Infielder Joley Mitchell leads the Longhorns with a .450 average. Catcher Reese Atwood leads Texas with 52 RBI and 12 home runs, batting .400. Outfielder Ashton Maloney boasts a .424 average while outfielder Kayden Henry’s average sits at .404.

In the circle, Teagan Kavan leads the Longhorns with an 11-2 record, starting 13 games. She has a 1.84 ERA. Citlaly Gutierrez leads Texas with a 1.17 ERA. She is 6-0 in 11 appearances with nine starts. Mac Morgan is 8-0 with a 1.26 ERA.

Sooners Tiare Jennings on a tear in Big 12 play

Tiare Jennings is putting together another incredible season for the Oklahoma Sooners ahead of their trip to face the Texas Longhorns.

The Oklahoma Sooners offense has erupted during conference play. In their 12-0 run, Oklahoma has outscored their opponents 126 to 18. They’re three games up on Oklahoma State and Texas in the conference standings and riding a nation-leading 16-game winning streak since their loss to Louisiana.

One of the catalysts for Oklahoma’s offensive surge has been National Player of the Year candidate [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag].

In 12 games during Big 12 play, Jennings is hitting .487 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs. It has put Jennings on pace to flirt with the all-time RBI record in collegiate softball and to have another season with more than 20 home runs, better than a .400 batting average, and she’ll close in on 70 RBIs just in the regular season.

Over the weekend, in the Sooners three-game sweep of the Kansas Jayhawks, Jennings had a home run in all three games and racked up six RBIs. On the season, she’s now hitting .446 with 15 home runs and 45 RBIs. Her slugging percentage is up to 1.000 and she’s getting on base at a .520 clip.

Oklahoma has 17 games in the regular season remaining. If all goes according to plan, they’ll play at least 12 games in the postseason. At her current pace of 1.34 RBIs per game, Jennings would finish the season with 83 RBIs, which would put her into a tie for first place all-time in RBIs in a career.

It’s another incredible season in what has been one of the best careers in the history of the sport. As the Sooners get set to take on the Texas Longhorns in Austin, Jennings is turning it up at just the right time. Here’s hoping she can keep the power surge going in the Red River Rivalry.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.