Good Gals: Texas Tech Red Raiders (61-8)
Bad Gals: Texas Longhorns (52-12)
When to Watch: Wednesday, June 3rd – Friday, June 5th
Where to Watch: Devon Park | Oklahoma City, OK
Links: Preview

Championship Game #1 Info: 6/3 @ 7:00 p.m. on ESPN
Final Score: Texas 7, Texas Tech 3
Links: Recap | Box score
Key Pitchers: Kaitlyn Terry 1.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER; Nijaree Canady 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 SO; Samantha Lincoln 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO
Key Hitters: Mia Williams 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI; Mihyia Davis 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese: Texas Tech softball its own worst enemy in first WCWS finals game | Giese

He moved some more chess pieces around before the first game of the Women’s College World Series finals. Kaitlyn Terry was the starting pitcher rather than NiJaree Canady (which wasn’t all that surprising) but Victoria Valdez was the catcher and Desirae Spearman, who’s had one hit in the last month, in left.

The moves on the surface seem innocent. In tandem, they created a gamble Texas Tech could ill afford to take. Logan Halleman is the superior defender in left, but she and Valdez (who has struggled at the plate this season) shouldn’t be in the battery together.

Again, it all made sense. It just had to work.

It didn’t. Mihyia Davis’ first-inning home run off Teagan Kavan was the little offense Texas Tech could muster much of the game. Katie Stewart rocketed a two-run homer off Terry in the bottom half and that was all the Longhorns really needed.

Championship Game #2 Info: 6/4 @ 7:00 p.m. on ESPN
Final Score: Texas 4, Texas Tech 1
Links: Recap | Box score
Key Pitchers: Nijaree Canady 7.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO
Key Hitters: Jasmyn Burns 2-3; Lauren Allred 1-3, 1 RBI; Mihyia Davis 1-3, 1 R

“For my team, I want to say I couldn’t be prouder of this team,” said Texas Tech head coach Gerry Glasco who has led the program to a 115-24 record in his first two seasons. “You always want to win one more, and you want to win the championship, and you want to see the career of NiJa Canady end with a championship. I think that when I look at this century, the last 26 seasons, you’ve got the greatness of Monica Abbott, Cat Osterman, and now NiJaree Canady. I thought we just come up short tonight. I thought we had it right where we wanted. We had a play where we could have got that forced out and kept it 1-0. We only had six outs to go at that point. We could have just got that out, and we couldn’t make the play.”

“I thought we just come up short tonight,” Glasco said. “I thought we had it right where we wanted. We had a play where we could have got that forced out and kept it 1-0. We only had six outs to go at that point. We could have just got that out, and we couldn’t make the play. Then give Texas credit. They kept attacking. They kept attacking. I thought Logan Halleman made two phenomenal catches in left field. That was the kind of effort you have to have in the World Series, and we just come up short on some other plays.”

The 2026 All-Tournament team! 🌟#WCWS pic.twitter.com/Owtg9z5NF8

— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) June 5, 2026

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese: Texas Tech softball keeping perspective in another disappointing ending

“I think that anyone that understands our sport knows that you can’t buy a championship,” Glasco said, “and I think our investors are like beyond thrilled with where we’re at.

“I think that the families and the businesses that are supporting us, I think they’re elated beyond what — they couldn’t imagine what we did happening 24 months ago. Only if you’re naive and don’t understand the difficulty of this sport and the difficulty, and then give your opponents respect, could you think this was disappointing.”

Glasco is right to keep that perspective. Most won’t care to hear it. Texas Tech built a super team and didn’t win the whole thing, therefore they’ve failed. Never mind the New England Patriots with Randy Moss and Tom Brady lighting up the world lost in the Super Bowl to the Eli Manning-led New York Giants. Or that the Yankees rarely actually win the World Series anymore. Just because you have the talent to do it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. Nothing is that simple.