Texas Tech Red Raiders – Official Athletics Website

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – NiJaree Canady tossed a two-hit shutout against No. 5 seed Florida State and added a solo home run in the seventh inning Thursday evening to propel No. 12 Texas Tech to a 3-0 victory in the NCAA Tallahassee Super Regional opener at JoAnne Graf Field.

 

Canady (29-6) was near perfect in the circle as she didn’t allow a base runner until the fifth inning when the Seminoles (49-11) put two on with one out. Canady found her way out of trouble, though, thanks to a sprinting Demi Elder, who raced to catch a foul ball in left field followed by one of her four strikeouts in the win.

 

It marked the only time the Seminoles put a runner in scoring position as Florida State (49-11) was limited to only a single from Shelby McKenzie in the fifth and then a leadoff single from Katie Dack to start the seventh. The complete game shutout was Canady’s sixth of the season and the fifth for the Red Raiders (49-12) in their last seven games dating back to the Big 12 Championship title run. Tech has now recorded a shutout in 25 of its 49 wins, which leads the NCAA.

 

Canady, who only needed 79 pitches to secure Texas Tech’s first-ever Super Regional win, also helped power the Red Raiders with her bat, smashing a leadoff solo home run in the seventh inning. It was her third home run in the past four games after going deep against both Brown and Mississippi State last weekend in a quick sweep of the NCAA Lubbock Regional.

 

The Red Raiders led from the get-go thanks to the speed of Mihyia Davis, who singled to start the game and scored on a double steal attempt in the first inning for an early 1-0 lead. Texas Tech’s 9-1-2 part of the order combined for six of its eight hits with Davis finishing 2-for-4 overall with Alexa Langeliers and Hailey Toney both going 2-for-3 with Langeliers also reaching for a third time via a walk.

 

The first-inning run marked the fourth time in as many games the Red Raiders have scored in the opening frame, pushing all the momentum to Texas Tech’s side before Canady even hit the circle. The Red Raiders are now 30-1 this season when scoring in the opening inning and 43-5 overall when putting runs on the scoreboard first.

 

Alana Johnson added to the lead in the fourth with a solo home run to straightaway center field, her second long ball already in the NCAA postseason and ninth of the season. The home run chased Florida State starter Ashtyn Danley (14-2), who suffered only her second loss of the season after giving up two runs (one earned) off four hits and two walks in her 3.1 innings of work.

 

The Seminoles sent three pitchers to the circle in the loss as Julia Apsel threw 1.1 shutout innings with Annabelle Widra following by surrendering only the Canady home run in the seventh over her 2.1 innings. The Red Raiders struck out only twice against the Florida State pitching staff with the two relievers giving up four combined hits.

 

The victory adds to Texas Tech’s historic season as the Red Raiders are now one win away from their first-ever appearance at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. Game two of the three-game series is set for 3 p.m. Friday on ESPN2.