With runners in scoring position and a chance for Texas softball to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning in the first game of the Women’s College World Series final, there was no one better to send up than the all-time program RBI leader, junior catcher Reese Atwood.
Junior pitcher NiJaree Canady tried to intentionally walk Atwood, but the two-time All-American had different plans.
With a ball thrown high just outside the box, Atwood took a chance. She made contact for her first hit of the tournament, bringing the score to 2-1 as senior utility Mia Scott and sophomore outfielder Kayden Henry came home.
“I knew I was gonna have to take a risk to try and do something for my team because (Canady) definitely kept us real tight throughout that game,” Atwood said. “She’s a great pitcher, and I saw my opportunity and I took it.”
In a true pitchers’ duel between Longhorn sophomore ace Teagan Kavan and the Raiders’ crown jewel, Canady, the Texas bats were practically powerless and struggled to adjust to Canady’s riseball.
Texas’s defense found itself in a serious jam within minutes of the top of the first but was able to work itself out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation after a circle visit.
“(The) first inning, definitely a little rough, not the best, but I think we responded from that, and my team kept me in it,” Kavan said. “Reese came up big in that moment, that really helped us out.”
Fans sporting burnt orange and white who traveled from Austin to Oklahoma City for the WCWS final had the look of defeat and worry written all over their faces as Canady struck out seven Longhorns and allowed just four hits.
Texas’s first major step in claiming its first-ever national title was not going to plan, with players becoming frustrated after strikeouts and a controversial obstruction call. The call was costly, and the Red Raiders soon drew first blood.
But the Longhorn offense soon regained its composure.
With two outs, Henry hit a single to the left and then stole second. Scott immediately hit another single, bringing Henry to third, and promptly stole second base on the next pitch.
Then, Atwood stepped to the plate, and the anxiety that loomed over the Texas side of the stands quickly turned into jubilation.
“She’s an All-American for a reason, two times at this point,” Henry said. “And the confidence really never goes down for her. She’s a predator. She’s a hard worker, (and) at the end of the day, just kind of gonna take the one swing, and she took it.”
Despite the win, the Longhorn offense will look to perform better against Canady tomorrow in game two of the final series to turn those fleeting moments of offensive momentum into actual results.
One more win will earn Texas its first national championship.
“I feel like there’s never a time at bat where we just felt like (it) was wasted,” Henry said. “We kind of communicated throughout the whole entire game. We battled for the whole entire game, and it was just at some point we knew that we were going to execute and we’re going to get through, and it just happened to be the sixth inning.”
