Game two of the WCWS Champ series is tonight and Texas Tech will need to win to push the series to three games. It's been done before, and I expect fire in the eyes of this squad today. 7 pm cannot get here soon enough. But Texas will have a similar fire, one that has them just 21 outs away from the first national title in school history. Whoever can control that fire, wins the game.
Setting the Scene
What if there is no catcher's interference and Lauren Allred gets to hit in the first with Mihyia Davis on third? What if the double play grounder that followed from Canady goes anywhere but third?
What if positioning was there to make a play on either of the singles in the sixth by Texas?
What if they pitch to Atwood? What if the infield is ready for her to hit it anyway?
Those were the what ifs that filled the air at Devon Park and trickled into the press conference there after for the players and coaches to face. The reality is though, no seasons ended on Wednesday. No champion was crowned. No careers came to an end, no cleats were left at home plate.
A what if can still be turned into a remember when with a game two win on Thursday.
"The momentum is absolutely in the Texas dugout at the beginning of the game," said Glasco. "The first couple innings are going to be critical for us to hold them and at some point get the momentum into our dugout early in the game tomorrow, as early as possible."
Momentum is powerful certainly but it's mental at the end of the day. Which team is gritty enough to link arms, stand strong and not just stop the boulder from tumbling down the hill but push it all the way back up together?
This team has had that about them before this season and will need to show that with the nation watching to keep there season alive.
"It's going to take a really tough, resilient team to come back. It always does. But if you can get one win and you get to Game 3, anything's possible. If you've got to pick a pitcher in America to come back and win two games in a row with -- I'll take NiJa." - Gerry Glasco
**** Full Recap and quotes can be found here:
STORY: - What Ifs or Remember Whens? Players + Glasco React To Gm 1 Loss & What's Ahead
Sports can leave you floating on air one night and feeling like you took a razor scooter to the ankle while stumping your toe on barbed wire the next. But the beauty is, it's still just one night. And that's the message Texas Tech softball leaned into following their 2-1 late inning loss to...
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Texas Hitters of Note
Mia Scott - .438 avg, 18 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 55 RBI, 5 SB
Ashton Maloney - .423 avg, 9 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 23 RBI, 61 R, 11 SB
Reese Atwood - .398 avg, 12 2B, 3 3B, 21 HR, 86 RBI, 6 SB
Katie Stewart - .379 avg, 13 2B, 17 HR, 78 RBI, 2 SB
Texas Pitchers of Note
Teagan Kavan - 2.33 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 192.1 IP, 224 K, 26-5 W/L
Mac Morgan - 3.23 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 73.2 IP, 39 K, 11-4 W/L
Citlaly Gutierrez - 2.57 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 81.2 IP, 69 K, 10-1 W/L
Team Comparison
| Team | Record | Team ERA | Team Batting Avg | Team Fielding % | Team HR | Team 2B | Team 3B | Team SO's (Batting) | Walks Drawn | Stolen Bases |
| Texas Tech | 53-12 | 1.75 | .320 | .974 | 60 | 92 | 14 | 217 | 172 | 108 |
| Texas | 54-11 | 2.64 | .355 | .973 | 91 | 95 | 16 | 216 | 224 | 80 |
Game One Press Conference:
