If No. 14 Texas Tech is going to advance far in the postseason, it will be on the arm of star pitcher NiJaree Canady. She proved she could handle that by pitching 17 of 18 innings in three games against No. 12 Arizona and lifting her team to a 2-1 series win.
Canady pitched a complete game in a loss on opening night. In game two, she took over in the second inning with her team leading 4-0. She returned on Saturday to finish it off with a 5-2 defeat of the Wildcats.
In the first game, Canady faced off against Miranda Stoddard to start, then Arizona ace Devyn Netz came in to finish it off.
Stoddard gave up one run in her two innings of work. Netz kept the Red Raiders off the board for the next five. She also hit the two-run home run that won the game for Arizona.
Canady gave up just one run to the Wildcats in the second game while three Arizona pitchers combined to give up 10 to the Red Raiders in five innings.
The first five innings of the rematch between Canady and Netz on went much like the first showdown between the teams The No. 14 Red Raiders once again jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. In game one of the series, the run came on a leadoff home run from Mihyia Davis. In game three, Bailey Lindemuth hit a ball halfway up the third base line to score Davis from third.
Arizona would have to score at least two runs against Canady again. She came in with a 0.77 ERA and .155 batting average against, meaning it would be no small feat.
Things got even more bleak in the top of the third. Netz put runners on the corners to bring up Alana Johnson. Johnson laid down the bunt. Netz tried to flip the ball to catcher Sydney Stewart, but the throw was off. Everyone was safe. Texas Tech led 2-0.
Arizona responded in the bottom of the inning. Dakota Kennedy saw nine pitches from Canady to run the count full. She hit the tenth pitch over the fence to cut TTU’s lead in half.
It didn’t stop with Kennedy. Back-to-back singles, a wild pitch, and a walk loaded the bases with one out. Stewart’s sacrifice fly tied the game at 2-2 and moved the remaining runners up. Stoddard walked on four straight pitches to load the bases again.
Canady had given up two runs in the inning on three hits, two walks, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly. She finally found her control again and induced the flyout from freshman Jenna Sniffen to end the frame, but Arizona had new life.
The Wildcats held onto that life for two more innings, but things got away again in the top of the sixth. Lindemuth hit a ball deep in the hole to shortstop. Tayler Biehl fielded it and threw across the diamond, shorting-hopping it due to the distance. Stoddard couldn’t come up with it, and Biehl was charged with the throwing error that put the leadoff runner on first.
Texas Tech regained the lead two batters later when Lauren Allred got the Red Raiders’ first home run of the inning. One of the two runs was unearned, but that didn’t help on the scoreboard.
Netz got the second out of the inning on a flyout to centerfield. The next fly ball went over the left field wall and stretched the lead to 5-2. Netz left the circle and took over at first base.
Fellow senior Saya Swain took over to try to get the final out of the inning. She and her defense accomplished the task in both the sixth and seventh innings; Arizona’s offense didn’t accomplish its task.
Canady dismissed Arizona’s last six batters in order, punctuating it with a strikeout of Kaiah Altmeyer to end the game.
Arizona had a few chances that it let slip away. Letting those opportunities fall by the wayside against a pitcher like Canady proved fatal.
Netz staying in the game after giving up the first home run of the sixth inning was an understandable move, considering that she has been Arizona’s most consistent pitcher. The senior has earned the trust and the opportunity on her senior night. She just wasn’t able to fulfill the role this time.
Another decision involving a senior might be more puzzling. Arizona went into the bottom of the sixth trailing by three and with its 7-8-9 hitters coming to the plate. Sniffen hits .314, Biehl hits .286, and Kiki Escobar hits .200. The Wildcats had five hitters on the bench who hit .250 or better, including senior Paige Dimler who hits .434 and has some speed. Kennedy is the only Wildcat with a better average than Dimler, but neither Dimler nor any other player pinch hit on Saturday. The bottom of the sixth was a prime opportunity with a pressing need for the Wildcats to get baserunners, but they ended up sitting down in order.
The two losses to Texas Tech do not mathematically eliminate Arizona from taking the Big 12 regular season title, but they make it highly unlikely. The Red Raiders improved to 36-10 overall and 16-2 in the Big 12. The Wildcats are 37-9 overall and 14-8 in the conference.
Arizona will have its Big 12 bye week next week. The Wildcats will host New Mexico State for a doubleheader on Tuesday, Apr. 22. They head to San Diego State for games on Friday and Saturday. The following week, they finish up the regular season with a series at Houston.
Texas Tech has midweek games against North Texas and UT Arlington before hosting ASU next week. It finishes the regular season with a road trip to BYU. Both the Sun Devils and the Cougars have been erratic. Arizona defeated both teams two games to one in road series earlier in the season.
Arizona will likely keep the lead in RPI over TTU, though. After Thursday’s win, the Wildcats moved up from 13 to 11 in the official selection rankings. The Red Raiders stood pat at 22. The live RPI at D1 Softball has Arizona at No. 12 and Texas Tech at No. 19 after Saturday’s game. The official RPI is not yet available.
Lead photo by Ryan Kelapire