OKLAHOMA CITY — Kaitlyn Terry allowed two runs in five innings and drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth, leading the way for Texas Tech in an 8-7 victory over UCLA in an elimination game Sunday at the Women’s College World Series.
Terry and NiJaree Canady alternated pitching duties seven times for the Red Raiders, but it was Terry who was the star of the game against her former teammates. Her double in the ninth inning scored Taylor Pannell to make it 7-6, and she scored an insurance run on an error later in the inning.
The eighth-seeded Bruins rallied in the bottom of the ninth when Jordan Woolery, who earlier hit two home runs, drove in Rylee Slimp with a one-out single. Canady came back in to pitch and ended the game on a flyout and a strikeout.
Terry, who transferred to Texas Tech from UCLA after last season’s Women’s College World Series, struck out seven batters in her five innings. Canady (27-6) was credited with the win because she finished the eighth.
No. 11 seed Texas Tech (59-8) advances to the national semifinals against top-seeded Alabama (56-7) on Monday night. The Big 12’s Red Raiders will need two wins against the Southeastern Conference’s Crimson Tide, who have yet to lose this year at Devon Park, to advance to the best-of-three WCWS finals for the second consecutive season.
UCLA trailed 6-3 in the bottom of the seventh, but leadoff batter Ramsey Suarez ripped a pinch-hit homer off Terry to make it a two-run game. With two outs, Woolery, who finished with three hits and five RBIs, sent an 0-1 pitch from Canady deep to center field for a game-tying home run.
Taylor Tinsley (33-8), who pitched every inning in UCLA’s three games in Oklahoma City, allowed eight runs (seven earned) and threw 181 pitches.
A record-setting season for the Big Ten’s big-hitting Bruins came to an end after they scored 672 runs and tallied 209 home runs. UCLA (53-10) also set records for most total bases and most RBIs.
The matchup was the first between two teams with more than 600 runs in a season. The game was delayed for a few minutes before the bottom of the eighth when the automatic sprinklers came on in right field.