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Women's College World Series: Texas stuns defending champ Oklahoma, Texas Tech beats UCLA
The Women's College World Series continued on Saturday with a matchup between Oklahoma and Texas. (Brett Rojo-Imagn Images)
A busy Women's College World Series continued on Saturday with two thrilling games. A pair of narrow wins, both upsets, kept Texas and Texas Tech flying high, while UCLA and Oklahoma find themselves in some hot water.
Texas 4, Oklahoma 2
Suddenly, the road to a fifth straight NCAA softball title for Oklahoma got steeper. The No. 2-seeded Sooners were defeated 4-2 by No. 6 Texas on Saturday in a matchup of two of the top teams in the country.
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It was the first time Texas had beaten the Sooners in the state of Oklahoma since 2011 — and its first victory over OU in the women's CWS. The Sooners beat the Longhorns in the 2022 and 2024 CWS finals.
The Longhorns struck first with two runs in the first inning. Sophomore outfielder Kayden Henry got the first run by stealing second and later stealing home.
Oklahoma came alive in the second inning, scoring two of its own and capitalizing on a Texas error.
That changed in the fifth inning, when Texas took a 3-2 lead on a solo homer from Henry.
Texas added to its lead with another solo homer in the sixth inning, this time from first baseman Joley Mitchell.
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Oklahoma had one more chance to rally, but Longhorns ace Teagan Kavan struck out the final two batters to close out the complete game and finish with eight strikeouts.
Texas Tech 3, UCLA 1
It was another defense-heavy win for No. 12 Texas Tech, which defeated No. 9 UCLA with a victory that came down to the final innings.
After four scoreless frames, the Red Raiders finally broke the drought in wild fashion: by stealing home plate. Pinch runner Makayla Garcia pulled off the steal to give Texas Tech the lead in the fifth inning.
The Bruins quickly hit back, with shortstop Kaniya Bragg hitting a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth. But another solo homer, this time from Red Raiders shortstop Hailey Toney, gave Texas Tech the lead in the sixth.
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The Red Raiders iced the win in the seventh with another run. The victory was buoyed by Texas Tech ace Nijaree Canady, who notched seven strikeouts — including one in the final inning — while pitching the complete seven innings.
UCLA and Oklahoma will have one more chance to stay alive, playing Tennessee and Oregon, respectively, in win-or-go-home elimination games. Texas and Texas Tech, meanwhile, advanced to the semifinals where they will play the winners of those games.
