Texas Tech Holds Off Florida 10-8 in Super Regional Opener as Canady Struggles in Relief

Texas Tech defeated Florida 10-8 in Game 1 of a super regional on June 2, 2026. In the sixth inning, with Texas Tech leading 8-5, coach Gerry Glasco replaced pitcher Kaitlyn Terry after she allowed a home run. NiJaree Canady entered and hit the first batter she faced, allowed a single, and then surrendered a three-run homer to Ava Brown that tied the game.

Texas Tech regained a two-run lead in the seventh inning. Glasco brought Canady back in the bottom of the seventh, and she closed out the 10-8 victory. After the game, Glasco said of Canady: "You're looking at a gal that's a two-time national player of the year.

04 and leads Division I in that category. She has won 100 games in her career and recorded more than 1,000 strikeouts. She is one of five players in NCAA history named to the Women's College World Series All-Tournament team at two different schools.

This marks Canady's fourth appearance in the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. As a freshman at Stanford, she was named National Freshman of the Year. At the 2023 WCWS, she limited No. 1 Oklahoma to one earned run and held the Sooners without an extra-base hit for the first time in 105 games.

Oklahoma defeated Stanford 2-0 in that game behind Jordy Frahm's 11-strikeout performance. Canady signed the first $1 million NIL deal in softball history when she transferred from Stanford to Texas Tech. Before her arrival, Texas Tech had won 49 percent of its games overall and 31 percent of its games in the Big 12.

When Glasco arrived at Texas Tech, just three players remained on the roster. Glasco told ESPN last year that Canady was a "folk hero" and compared her standing to college football legends such as Bo Jackson and Herschel Walker. " Canady asked her catcher as a freshman if she really thought she was good enough to pitch in college.

Little girls pressed against the chain-link cage every time she warmed up at the 2023 WCWS. Texas Tech will play Texas in a best-of-three championship finals series beginning Wednesday.