Many of the players on this year’s Texas Tech softball team have been to the Super Regionals before. They’ve felt the exhilaration of getting through the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, moving one step closer to the Women’s College World Series.
Whether its players returning from last year’s team, like NiJaree Canady, or newcomers who transferred in from successful programs, like Kaitlyn Terry, most of the Red Raiders knew what Sunday’s final game of the Lubbock Regional could feel like.
Jackie Lis was not one of those players. While the versatile senior had plenty of success at Southern Illinois, breaking program records and being a multi-time conference player of the year, Lis had never earned a title in a Regional before.
After a wild 24-hour swing, Lis can now say she’s achieved that, and it’s in large part because of her contributions.
Lis’ two-run home run helped kickstart Texas Tech’s historic comeback against Ole Miss on Saturday at Tracy Sellers Field, which ended when Lis slid across home plate for the game-winning run. In a return match with the Rebels in the finals, Lis was again the offensive catalyst, driving in five runs in what was a 14-2 run-rule victory for the Red Raiders.
Following the pure euphoria of doing something no team had ever done before the previous day, the Red Raiders spared the theatrics on Sunday.
“I feel like we learned a lot about playing as a team yesterday,” Lis said, “because we all knew, like, this at-bat can’t win it, so we all just kind of learned, OK, if you’re gonna go, I’m gonna go, and just keep it going. Rely on each other instead of, oh, I’m gonna win the game here. It was a true team effort and I think we really needed something like that.”
In a sense, the weekend was exactly what the Red Raiders needed as a whole. One of the top power-hitting teams in the country only managed three home runs across the three games, two coming in the seventh-inning rally. While much of Tech’s offensive production has come from the long ball this year, the Red Raiders still scored double-digit runs in each of the three games, getting all the little hits, making the little plays that often go unnoticed.
“I think it’s really important for us to show everybody that we can win in other ways other than the long ball,” Lis said. “Just showing that we have the ability to kill you on the ground, we can kill you in the air and we can kill you with walks. It’s just showing everybody that we have all the tools we need and just showing you that we can use them.”
When Lis joined the Red Raiders in the transfer portal a year ago, she came to Lubbock with no guarantees she’d be an everyday player. That was by design. Lis didn’t want to be promised anything, opting to earn it from her output and leadership.
Glasco knew early on Lis would be a regular piece to Tech’s championship puzzle. Still, he’s had to make some tough decisions throughout the process to satisfy the urge of everyone who wants to contribute. Lis was one of the first to get tested in that regard, Glasco not starting her to open the season.
“It wasn’t easy,” Glasco said. “Everybody wants to start opening day, especially when you know how good you are, but that was a big deal. … For her to accept that as a player just tells you volumes about her, and I have no doubt, because she earned her spot on this team. I didn’t give it to her. I have no doubt she’s more confident in her ability because of that. Just an example of why she’s invaluable to our program.”
Lis may not have started immediately, but she’s cemented herself as the first baseman for the Red Raiders (after playing shortstop and second base most of her softball career), earning first-team all-Big 12 and provided key hits and clutch defense along the way.
One of the perks of Lis joining Texas Tech was joining back up with her former travel ball teammate Canady (who hit a pinch-hit two-run double in her final game in Lubbock). Lis spent the first part of her career enjoying Canady’s successes from afar, and now they’re sharing in them together.
“Our travel ball coach was here at this game,” Canady said, “so that was fun. I feel like our senior year we came up on the short end of winning a lot, so hopefully now I feel like we have another chance to turn it around.”
Texas Tech softball vs Florida — Gainesville Super Regional
Best of three series, winner advances to Women’s College World Series
Game 1: Friday, May 22, 10 a.m., ESPN2
Game 2: Saturday, May 23, 11:30 a.m., ABC
Game 3: Sunday, May 24, TBD
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech softball shows a bit of everything en route to Lubbock Regional title
Reporting by Nathan Giese, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
