OKLAHOMA CITY – Jackie Lis belted a two-run home run, NiJaree Canady pitched four scoreless innings, and Texas Tech opened the Women's College World Series with a run-rule 8-0 victory over Mississippi State on Thursday.
Texas Tech (58-7) will play Saturday against the winner of Game 2 between Texas and Tennessee. Mississippi State (43-20) will play the Texas-Tennessee loser on Friday.
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The Red Raiders took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when leadoff hitter Mia Williams was hit by a pitch and Lis followed with a home run. Texas Tech added two more in the second inning on RBI doubles from Lauren Allred and Williams.
The Red Raiders scored four runs in the fifth inning on a single by Lis for her third RBI of the game, an RBI-single by Kaitlyn Terry, and a one-out single by Mihyia Davis in which two runs scored invoked the run rule with one out.
Canady (26-6), the two-time national pitcher of the year, allowed two hits and struck out five in four innings. Terry pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning.
For Mississippi State, Alyssa Faircloth (16-8) allowed four runs in 1 1/3 innings. Peja Goold gave up four runs, three earned, in three innings.
This is the first time since 2007 that neither Oklahoma nor Florida has been in the WCWS. Mississippi State eliminated Oklahoma in the Super Regional round and Texas Tech defeated Florida in another Super Regional.
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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports