OKLAHOMA CITY — The stage is set for one of the biggest non-championship games in Women’s College World Series history.
That’s saying a lot considering Oklahoma, the local favorite who has dominated the sport for a while, isn’t even eligible to play at Devon Park this weekend. The Sooners’ death grip on the college softball world has weakened. Now Texas Tech softball and Tennessee will try to take up the mantel by going after one another in the marquee game of the weekend.
Texas Tech and Tennessee each got to winners bracket of the WCWS with relative ease, the Red Raiders erasing Mississippi State with an 8-0 victory that ended in five innings. Likewise, Tennessee got a pair of big home runs that helped get Karen Weekly’s team by reigning national champion Texas 6-3 to set up the anticipated matchup.
But why is the game so anticipated? For the casual fan, Tennessee and Texas Tech are two of the best teams in the country, feature some of the best pitchers the sport has to offer and represent two factions of the softball world: new school and old school.
For those who follow the sport closely, there are layers to the festivities.
Texas Tech, of course, are the new kids on the block, trying to rewrite the rules in how softball teams can find success. The Lady Volunteers represent the traditionalists, those who have decades of achievement as opposed to just a few years.
Even with all that history, though, Weekly knows the Vols are in for a fight.
“I mean, just a super talented team,” Weekly said of the Red Raiders. “Again, a team that can go deep in pitching. Haven’t had to rely on one arm, just like we haven’t had to. A stacked lineup. Up and down all the way through, one through nine.
“Yeah, I mean, we’ve got everything you would want from a talent perspective.”
Players to watch in Texas Tech softball vs Tennessee in Women’s College World Series
A total of four NFCA All-American pitchers will be featured in this game with two from each team.
Texas Tech softball’s NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry
NiJaree Canady got the start against Mississippi State and went a solid four innings before giving way to Kaitlyn Terry, who pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning and scored the game-ending run. Who starts the Tennessee game between Canady and Terry is less important than how Tech utilizes the lineup and if they want to go shot-for-shot against the Vols like he did against Florida. Terry is a first-team utility selection and Canady a second-team All-American honoree.
Tennessee softball’s Sage Mardjetko and Karlyn Pickens
It’s a similar story for Tennessee pitchers Sage Mardjetko and Karlyn Pickens. Both first-team All-Americans, the pair are part of Tennessee’s three-headed pitching attack and will likely handle the majority of the innings in OKC. Mardjetko went four innings against Texas and only allowed one hit while Pickens got dinged a bit but helped close things out.
Score prediction Texas Tech softball vs Tennessee in Women’s College World Series
Texas Tech 6, Tennessee 5: Look for things to be a bit more dramatic for both teams in their second games in OKC compared to their first. Also be on the lookout for potential shenanigans as there’s some bad blood between the two programs over some offseason happenings, in case you hadn’t heard.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: What to watch as Texas Tech meets Tennessee in Women’s College World Series
Reporting by Nathan Giese, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
