Texas Tech softball’s Gerry Glasco on series win vs. BYU, Big 12 tournament
Texas Tech softball’s Gerry Glasco on series win vs. BYU, Big 12 tournament
Top-seed Texas Tech rode another strong pitching performance from NiJaree Canady to knock off eight-seed Baylor 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference softball tournament Thursday at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Canady had a perfect game going through 5⅔ innings before Faith Piper poked a bloop single into right field just outside of the reach of the diving Alana Johnson.
Chloe Riassetto came in to pitch the seventh but Canady was put back in the circle after the Bears loaded the bases with one out. Canady got the final two outs and finished the day with 13 strikeouts, her first game with double-digit strikeouts since fanning 14 at Kansas on March 29.
Texas Tech broke the game open in the top of the fifth thanks to a pair of Baylor errors on defense. The biggest came when Mihyia Davis singled to right field. The ball rolled between the legs of the defender and all the way to the fence, allowing three runs to come across in what was a four-run inning.
The Red Raiders (43-12) will now take on Arizona State in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Friday. The fifth-seeded Sun Devils defeated four-seed Oklahoma State 2-1 in Thursday’s first game. Texas Tech won the series with ASU 2-1 in the regular season.