Red Raiders open WCWS with run-rule win

The Red Raiders (58-7) will now play the Texas-Tennessee winner at 2 p.m. on Saturday while the Bulldogs (43-20) will face an elimination game on Friday.

Canady improved to 26-6 on the season after throwing four scoreless innings, striking out three and allowing only two hits. Kaitlyn Terry pitched one scoreless inning of relief, facing the minimum in the run-rule win to open the tournament. Lis led the Red Raiders by going 2-for-3 at the plate, including starting the game with a two-run homer after Mia Williams led off by being hit by a pitch. Lis finished the game with three RBI while Williams, Terry, Mihyia Davis and Lauren Allred also drove in runs. Davis also put together a 2-for-3 day at the plate for the Red Raiders who had seven hits against the Bulldogs. Williams and Allred each had doubles.

One pitch. One out. Two Tech batters. 2-0 lead. A tone was set early with the WCWS starting when Canady coaxed a first-pitch ground ball to Williams at second base for the first out of the game before recording two strikeouts for a 1-2-3 top of the first inning. Canady needed only nine pitches in the opening frame to get the Red Raiders up to the plate where Williams led off and was hit by a pitch to bring up Lis who hit a two-run home run to left field to give Tech an early 2-0 lead. The 21st home run of the season for Lis gave Tech a 2-0 lead going into the second inning.

Mississippi State got its first hit off Canady with a one-out single in the second inning but another 1-2-3 inning would transpire with Toney fielding a ground ball at shortstop and turned a double play to end the inning. Davis led off the bottom of the second with an infield single and raced around the bases to score on a double pulled down the left field line by Allred for a 3-0 lead. Williams followed with Tech’s second double of the game and her team-leading 23rd of the season, driving in Allred for a 4-0 advantage and moving Quiroga to third while also bumping Mississippi State’s starting pitcher from the game.

Canady worked out of a fourth-inning jam after giving up a leadoff single and a two-out walk, getting her third line out to the outfield for the third out of the inning with runners stranded on first and second base. Through four innings, Canady had allowed only two hits while recording three strikeouts and having only one walk. Tech went down in order in the bottom of the inning to take the game to the fifth with the Red Raiders still leading 4-0.

Terry entered the pitcher’s circle in the fifth, needing only seven pitches to record a 1-2-3 inning with two groundouts and an inning-ending flyout to Allred in right field. A leadoff walk by Williams resulted in Tech’s fifth run of the game when Lis driving her in from third with a single through the left side of the infield. The lead grew to 6-0 with Terry hitting a single to center field to score Lis before the game ended in run-rule fashion with Davis hitting an RBI single to score Terry and then Pannell scoring on a throwing error for the 8-0 win.

UP NEXT: Texas Tech will now play the Texas-Tennessee winner at 2 p.m. on Saturday while Mississippi State plays the loser at 6 p.m. on Friday in an elimination game.