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Texas Softball 2025 - Sick of Being Second Place


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Posted
1 hour ago, po elvis said:

Stupid question because of softball ignorance. If they would have played again tonight would Nijaree have pitched the whole game again?

So they can actually pitch her for all the games vs us if they want?  That doesn’t seem fair but I’m also in your boat and have no clue.  

Posted
2 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

So they can actually pitch her for all the games vs us if they want?  That doesn’t seem fair but I’m also in your boat and have no clue.  

Sure. And we could pitch TK in all the games if we wanted 

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Posted
So they can actually pitch her for all the games vs us if they want?  That doesn’t seem fair but I’m also in your boat and have no clue.  



No limitations except physical and performance. This is not the time of the year to save an arm for next week.
Posted
15 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

So they can actually pitch her for all the games vs us if they want?  That doesn’t seem fair but I’m also in your boat and have no clue.  

Her arm's not going to seize up and fall off like a baseball pitcher's, but throwing her all three games (if necessary) would take a toll.

Posted

It wouldn't benefit Texas but I always thought a pitch count per series and/or tournament would make softball more interesting and competitive.  It would tax coaches more in game and building teams so I'm sure it will never happen.

Posted (edited)
14 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

She may get to 700 pitches for the tournament

665 already if my math is right. Counting the 2 regional games she threw, 2 supers games and 3 WCWS games already.

735 for TK 

Edited by Js1
Posted
Just now, ClubWhatever said:

Then 1000 is not out out of the question 

Def not. She’s thrown 5 or 6 consecutive CGs in a row going back to regionals.
 

TK only threw 1 complete game in the regional, 1 in the supers (but pitched in all 3) and 2 CGs in OKC. 

Posted
Just now, Pato del Muerto said:

Been done before

yep. no one is going to bat an eye.  the way the tournament works with regional, super, CWS and Champ Series the reality is you can pitch one pitcher the whole way(especially if you don't lose).

Posted
3 hours ago, Js1 said:

In the WCWS, you typically go with your ace when you have a day off. What Mike today was unexpected but worked.

....only because we were in the winner's bracket, and we had that luxury....it wasn't a "must" win....otherwise, it probably would have been TK.....or he may have just played it like he did.

Posted
8 hours ago, Js1 said:

Def not. She’s thrown 5 or 6 consecutive CGs in a row going back to regionals.
 

TK only threw 1 complete game in the regional, 1 in the supers (but pitched in all 3) and 2 CGs in OKC. 

This Tech team seems to gain confidence and get better as the game goes on. I think the key for Texas is to get an early lead. If you can find a way to get 3-4 runs that may be enough against them

Posted
18 minutes ago, FloridaHorn said:

This Tech team seems to gain confidence and get better as the game goes on. I think the key for Texas is to get an early lead. If you can find a way to get 3-4 runs that may be enough against them

Way easier to make this happen if Atwood snaps out of it. Maybe try to take something the other way? She's either early or just not seeing the pitch at all. One of you coaches break it down. 

Posted
15 minutes ago, Gut Wagon said:

Way easier to make this happen if Atwood snaps out of it. Maybe try to take something the other way? She's either early or just not seeing the pitch at all. One of you coaches break it down. 

She looks like she is guessing at the plate. In her own head a bit. If I was coaching her right now, instruction would be simple….

See it and hit it. Quit thinking and trust your eyes and hands.

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Posted

Right now, everyone is busting Reese inside, sometimes up and in, sometimes as a strike, sometime not, but almost always early in the count.  She takes most of these, cause of the count, and when she doesn't she pulls it foul (which is natural when it's inside).  I would have her work on trying to stay inside the ball on these and not turning on it so much. And hunt this pitch - especially early in the count.  It's a home run ball if approached correctly.  Gotta make the pitch caller stop calling this so much.  

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Posted
6 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

Right now, everyone is busting Reese inside, sometimes up and in, sometimes as a strike, sometime not, but almost always early in the count.  She takes most of these, cause of the count, and when she doesn't she pulls it foul (which is natural when it's inside).  I would have her work on trying to stay inside the ball on these and not turning on it so much. And hunt this pitch - especially early in the count.  It's a home run ball if approached correctly.  Gotta make the pitch caller stop calling this so much.  

She's not that far off, she roped that double play ball right at the 3rd baseman.   Just missed the sac fly ball in the 1st against OU.   Just needs to take one of Canday risers for trip over the fence and she'll be fine.

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Posted
41 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

Right now, everyone is busting Reese inside, sometimes up and in, sometimes as a strike, sometime not, but almost always early in the count.  She takes most of these, cause of the count, and when she doesn't she pulls it foul (which is natural when it's inside).  I would have her work on trying to stay inside the ball on these and not turning on it so much. And hunt this pitch - especially early in the count.  It's a home run ball if approached correctly.  Gotta make the pitch caller stop calling this so much.  

 

33 minutes ago, Hornsbay22 said:

She's not that far off, she roped that double play ball right at the 3rd baseman.   Just missed the sac fly ball in the 1st against OU.   Just needs to take one of Canday risers for trip over the fence and she'll be fine.

 

9 minutes ago, Js1 said:

She'll be fine

 

If I recall correctly Reese did well until the championship series last year so maybe this year will be the opposite where she wasn't that great leading up to the championship series but goes off!

Posted

She shouldn't feel the pressure - she has Mia Scott up before her (leads Texas in career hits at the WCWS) and Joley behind her (3 HR this year at the WCWS).

She just needs to see the ball, hit the ball and take her walks when they present themselves. 

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Posted
16 minutes ago, Js1 said:

She shouldn't feel the pressure - she has Mia Scott up before her (leads Texas in career hits at the WCWS) and Joley behind her (3 HR this year at the WCWS).

She just needs to see the ball, hit the ball and take her walks when they present themselves. 

Taking walks is a great point. I would urge her to see a few pitches early in her ABs. A more MIA like approach.

Posted
Just now, FloridaHorn said:

Taking walks is a great point. I would urge her to see a few pitches early in her ABs. A more MIA like approach.

yep. she loves swinging at the first pitch inside fastball. she either hammers it foul or misses by a wide margin.  they don't want to pitch to her.

Posted
1 minute ago, dcar00 said:

yep. she loves swinging at the first pitch inside fastball. she either hammers it foul or misses by a wide margin.  they don't want to pitch to her.

Been busting stewie inside too and all she’s done is pepper mike white with them. 

Posted
24 minutes ago, FloridaHorn said:

Taking walks is a great point. I would urge her to see a few pitches early in her ABs. A more MIA like approach.

They mention a lot on the broadcasts that taking walks was the next big thing in her approach

2023 (freshman) - 3 walks, 11 HR

2024 (soph) - 26 walks, 23 HR

2025 (junior) - 41 walks, 21 HR

There's no reason she shouldn't have 50-60 walks next year as a senior. 

Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, FloridaHorn said:

This Tech team seems to gain confidence and get better as the game goes on. I think the key for Texas is to get an early lead. If you can find a way to get 3-4 runs that may be enough against them

Their run totals so far in the postseason: 6, 10, 9, 3, 2, 1, 3, 3

6 against Brown, 10 and 9 against MSST, at home

Haven't scored more than 4 after the regional round.  So yeah, I do think 3 is a winning number against Tech, with the way we are pitching and their offense. 4 would seem almost impossible for them to overcome

Not that we've been hugely better, but 10, 16, 9, 4, 7, 6, 3, 4, 2

Texas is averaging 3 runs per game, giving up .67, in OKC (2 shutouts, 0 ER given up)
Tech is averaging 2.33 runs per game, giving up 1, in OKC (1 shut out, 3 ER given up) 

It's going to be a very fun series, and very low-scoring. When it's about getting that extra run, I like our offense over theirs. Texas needs to utilize it's speed, as we did against OU to score early. 

Edited by Js1
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Posted
1 hour ago, FloridaHorn said:

Taking walks is a great point. I would urge her to see a few pitches early in her ABs. A more MIA like approach.

I would urge the whole team to do that, but the philosophy seems to be more to get in the hitters count and just swing.

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Posted

Twas the 3rd of June

 

Was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton and my brother was balin' hay
And at dinnertime we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And Mama hollered out the back door y'all remember to wipe your feet
And then she said I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge
Today Billie Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge….

Posted
13 hours ago, pacman said:

Sorry, not sorry. It's already over for you.

screen-shot-2019-04-08-at-9.48.26-pm.jpg

And of course, we lost that game.  Our first shot at a MBB National Championship and the most famous sports jinx in the Lone Star State has to show up.  🤬

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Posted
5 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I think what you mean is "kick the son of a bitch in, ladies."

Actually I think it was “kick those fucking Lubbock bitches in the cunt, ladies” 

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Posted
3 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Actually I think it was “kick those fucking Lubbock bitches in the cunt, ladies” 

I haven't seen the clip in a while, but I feel like I would have remembered Bum Phillips calling the Steelers a bunch of cunts. I'll go get a refresh on YouTube, I guess. 

Posted
2 hours ago, Js1 said:

Their run totals so far in the postseason: 6, 10, 9, 3, 2, 1, 3, 3

6 against Brown, 10 and 9 against MSST, at home

Haven't scored more than 4 after the regional round.  So yeah, I do think 3 is a winning number against Tech, with the way we are pitching and their offense. 4 would seem almost impossible for them to overcome

Not that we've been hugely better, but 10, 16, 9, 4, 7, 6, 3, 4, 2

Texas is averaging 3 runs per game, giving up .67, in OKC (2 shutouts, 0 ER given up)
Tech is averaging 2.33 runs per game, giving up 1, in OKC (1 shut out, 3 ER given up) 

It's going to be a very fun series, and very low-scoring. When it's about getting that extra run, I like our offense over theirs. Texas needs to utilize it's speed, as we did against OU to score early. 

I like our bats against Canady. Just have a hard time seeing her going through Mia, Atwood, Mitchell, Stewart multiple times per game without getting dinged up. If Maloney/Henry can get on a handful of times we'll be in great shape. 

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Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, Jimmy Two Times said:

I like our bats against Canady. Just have a hard time seeing her going through Mia, Atwood, Mitchell, Stewart multiple times per game without getting dinged up. If Maloney/Henry can get on a handful of times we'll be in great shape. 

I agree

I truly believe we are walking away with our first title on Thursday or Friday

I did not think so in 2022, and 2024 I wasn't that confident heading into the series against the juggernaut. 

I think the OU win on Saturday is going to propel this team to a title - they slayed the dragon, didn't have a letdown Monday against Tennessee and are hungry for it after last year. 

Experience - favors Texas big time
Coaching - I think Glasco is a good coach, but Mike has been in the title series twice already.  He knows what to say to this team on trip #3
Pitching - Canady is elite, no doubt, but TK is on a mission and even Mac/Cit/Cam should be able to handle Tech's offense
Offense - way in our favor

Edited by Js1
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Posted
52 minutes ago, Js1 said:

I agree

I truly believe we are walking away with our first title on Thursday or Friday

I did not think so in 2022, and 2024 I wasn't that confident heading into the series against the juggernaut. 

I think the OU win on Saturday is going to propel this team to a title - they slayed the dragon, didn't have a letdown Monday against Tennessee and are hungry for it after last year. 

Experience - favors Texas big time
Coaching - I think Glasco is a good coach, but Mike has been in the title series twice already.  He knows what to say to this team on trip #3
Pitching - Canady is elite, no doubt, but TK is on a mission and even Mac/Cit/Cam should be able to handle Tech's offense
Offense - way in our favor

Great summary.

Posted
59 minutes ago, Js1 said:

I agree

I truly believe we are walking away with our first title on Thursday or Friday

I did not think so in 2022, and 2024 I wasn't that confident heading into the series against the juggernaut. 

I think the OU win on Saturday is going to propel this team to a title - they slayed the dragon, didn't have a letdown Monday against Tennessee and are hungry for it after last year. 

Experience - favors Texas big time
Coaching - I think Glasco is a good coach, but Mike has been in the title series twice already.  He knows what to say to this team on trip #3
Pitching - Canady is elite, no doubt, but TK is on a mission and even Mac/Cit/Cam should be able to handle Tech's offense
Offense - way in our favor

I agree will all of this, but I think coaching is a bit of a wild card in this series. Glasco has been managing these games very freely and his team is starting to play that way. He is willing to roll the dice, at any point, without concern of it backfiring because that is what got them here. Mike has the burden of being here for the 3rd straight year, but this time with a team that is expected to win. That is why I said earlier that our ability to score early and put pressure on Tech is critical. 

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Posted
4 minutes ago, FloridaHorn said:

I agree will all of this, but I think coaching is a bit of a wild card in this series. Glasco has been managing these games very freely and his team is starting to play that way. He is willing to roll the dice, at any point, without concern of it backfiring because that is what got them here. Mike has the burden of being here for the 3rd straight year, but this time with a team that is expected to win. That is why I said earlier that our ability to score early and put pressure on Tech is critical. 

This is where I am at.

Posted

I do also think this team is more battle tested. We’ve had far more adversity to go through than Tech. They said yesterday they haven’t trailed in a game in over a month 

Posted

Good article from the Chronicle worth a read including comments from Glasco and Canady's earlier injury. (excerpts)    Joley Mitchell is a warrior. 

     “Personally, I wanted it to be OU,” Mitchell said. “I mean, if you want to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.”

And even though the Sooners won’t be playing at Devon Park the rest of the week, more than a few of their fans are likely to show up in the stands. And whom do you think they’ll be rooting for?

“Probably not us,” White said.

Quote

OKLAHOMA CITY — The surging Longhorns will vie for their first national championship in softball and try for the third time in four years as they go up against Texas-killer — and everybody-killer — Oklahoma.

No, wait.

OMG.

This just in.

Lo and behold, the Sooners aren’t in this year’s best-of-three final at Devon Park after winning an unprecedented four consecutive Women’s College World Series, two at the expense of the Longhorns in 2022 and 2024.

Both Texas ace Teagan Kavan and first baseman Joley Mitchell said they watched OU’s 3-2 walk-off loss to Texas Tech on Monday night.

“I was with my family and a few teammates and their families at a restaurant in Bricktown,” Kavan said Tuesday. “Definitely was a lot of shocked people in the restaurant, including myself.”

Mitchell, who has hit three home runs for Texas in the WCWS, called that shocker “the most entertaining game” she’s watched up here. But she also felt a twinge of regret.

“Personally, I wanted it to be OU,” Mitchell said. “I mean, if you want to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.”

There will be a different man — ‘er woman — who sits on the throne after this round, which begins at 7 Wednesday night.

Don’t know exactly how the unbelievable happened, but Tech (53-12) ended OU’s season Monday night. In so doing, it at least temporarily interrupted the Patty Gasso dynasty as both the Red Raiders and Longhorns beat the team up north to arrange the first championship round between two in-state rivals since 13-time champion UCLA beat Cal back-to-back in 2003 and 2004. The Bruins also whipped up on Fresno State four times for titles.

And the in-state rivalry between these two former Big 12 rivals makes for a neat storyline because, as Kavan said, “I think it’s super cool to be part of the trophy coming back to Texas, no matter what. And what’s even cooler about it is that it’s going to be someone’s first.”

It’d be cooler still if it was Texas because it’s back for yet another crack at it while Texas Tech is making its first appearance in the championship round, largely because of the million-dollar arm of NIL queen NiJaree Canady.

The Stanford transfer, who has followed in Caitlin Clark’s footsteps and become the latest poster girl for women’s sports superstars, has struck out more than 300 batters and thrown every pitch of the Red Raiders’ three victories here, the first to do so since UCLA’s Rachel Garcia in 2019.

When I asked Tech coach Gerry Glasco if he even brought any other pitchers with him on the trip, he chuckled and said, “Yeah, they’re dying to pitch, but they understand (Canady) is a generational pitcher. She’s a stone-cold assassin.”

Glasco, who is in his first year at the Lubbock school after bringing five players with him from his previous stop at Louisiana, won’t be shocked if Canady goes the distance in potentially three more games against Texas “unless something freaky happens.” She’ll take a 30-5 record and microscopic 0.89 ERA into Wednesday’s game.

“They have a lot of talent in their program,” Texas coach Mike White said of the Red Raiders. “Gerry brought over a lot of players who have experience from Louisiana, and they have the blend of speed and power. Maybe not as much power as some teams, but you don’t have to when your (ace) is throwing 0.89.”

Glasco praised his star pitcher for overcoming so much adversity. Learning a new team. Surrounded by young players. Working with a new head coach and pitching coach. And battling through injury, a “major, really, really serious soft-tissue injury,” Glasco said.

It was revealed that Canady suffered a soft-tissue strain in her leg against North Texas early in the season and pitched through the injury without benefit of much bullpen work between games to fine-tune her pitches.

“There were a lot of road bumps,” said Canady, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year who said Tuesday that reports of her injury were overblown. “It was not an easy ride. We took some hard losses, but we are peaking at the right time.”

Texas has beaten Canady before, twice in last year’s WCWS when she was with Stanford as well as once in Austin during this regular season when Kavan racked up a career-best 18 strikeouts in nine innings. That alone should stoke the Longhorns’ confidence.

Kavan’s been pretty assassin-like herself since the super regional when she pitched out of that two-on, no-out situation against Clemson in the eighth inning and continued her dominance with two wins and a save in Texas’ three games. She’s only allowed nine hits and two runs — one earned — in 17 innings and struck out 12 with a paltry ERA of 0.53 here.

In the 2-0 win over Tennessee to advance to the championship series, she  retired nine straight batters to oust the Lady Vols, combining with Mac Morgan on a three-hitter.

White downplays the experience of his team on this stage although he has 16 players back from last year’s team, which was swept in two games by OU.

“We’re hoping we can use that experience, but the game’s not going to know that we’ve been here before,” said White, who has been to eight WCWS in his time at Texas and Oregon without winning it all. “It’s going to reward the team that plays the best.”

Save for a loss to Clemson to start the super regional at McCombs Field, the Longhorns have been that team. They’ve won eight of nine postseason games in the NCAA Tournament and have yet to trail in this WCWS.

And, maybe best of all, they won’t have to face OU, which has won 22 of its last 26 meetings against Texas.

And even though the Sooners won’t be playing at Devon Park the rest of the week, more than a few of their fans are likely to show up in the stands. And whom do you think they’ll be rooting for?

“Probably not us,” White said.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/college/longhorns/article/texas-texas-tech-wcws-preview-20358631.php

 

 

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Posted
3 minutes ago, torre said:

warrior. 

     “Personally, I wanted it to be OU,” Mitchell said. “I mean, if you want to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.”

You did beat them, joley. Then tech beat them too. So now we see which team that beat them gets the belt. 

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Posted

I know it is stating the obvious, but whomever wins tonight's game has a huge series advantage. A win by Texas would allow them to trot out Mac Morgan for game 2 and use TK in a closer type role. If, and it's a big IF, Texas can get a run or two early in this game Canady will be faced with the mental fatigue of trying to be perfect. 

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