Texas Tech Softball Pushing towards Nijaly Canady Big 12 Titles

In the middle of Big 12 Conference Play, it’s safe to say that Nijaree Canady’s experience is a thriving experience for the Texas Tech softball team.

Despite dealing with what was classified as most soft tissue damage last month, the country’s best pitcher has continued to dominate her in Red Raider uniforms. This latest example happened last week in a home sweep in Utah. Canadi pitched 16 of 18 innings in three games, allowing 22 strikeouts, three walks, seven hits and one run in total.

Canadi (15-4 of the circle) also gave head coach Jerry Grasco something scary in the opener when he laid out for a short pop-up. She bumped into the dirt and went down a little after the catch, but then said to Grasco “just playing.”

“She had already thought that far ahead,” Glasco said. “It’s Nija. She’s fun to play. And man, she makes college softball games easy.”

Last Time: Texas Tech Softball makes a “statement” with its first home sweep since 2016

Canady has been promoted so far, and she is about to add a little more hitback to her repertoire with her home stretch. She returned to the batsman’s box last week in a mid-week match with Abilene Christian, where she went 3-0. On Sunday, she posted her first hit in about six weeks by racing a single to the left field.

Glasco said the Red Raiders need Canadi’s power in the lineup and want to perform around 30 plates for the rest of the regular season, so they’ll be back in rhythm by the time the postseason arrives.

In the meantime, Canady’s arms are still as good as ever, and she is about to set some Texas technical records.

Canady’s .60 run average ties the highest runs in the nation. A number below 1.00 (she has her entire career up to this point) would break the Texas Tech single-season record of 1.08 set in 2001.

The current record belongs to Amanda Renfro. Amanda Renfro holds a pitching record for almost every technical history. Some of Renfro’s achievements, such as the innings (351.1) and the complete game (40), are safe from the clutches of Canady, but Stanford’s transfer still has 12 regular season games.

Candy pitched to this point in 10 of Texas Tech’s 12 conference games, holding a 9-1 record in those games.

The right-handed junior may be able to take a break from the circle in this week’s home series with Houston. The Cougars were the last in the meeting standings with a 3-10 record, losing five of their last six big 12 games.

Even getting a crew of ESPN documentary in town last week has been the center of the team’s success, but as a whole, Red Raiders also sets new marks that the program has never seen before.

With an 11-1 mark against the Big 12 competition, the Red Raiders (31-9 overall) are the second-ever league win in program history, and are sure to blow past previous records of 13 victories. Last week’s series against Utah was the team’s first home sweep since 2016.

Red Raiders have set new standards for joining Rocky Johnson Field for the sum of single and three-game series in each of the first two Big 12 series.

Details: Texas Tech Athletics is in the midst of a moment.

Whether Texas Tech can get the support of such fans in the postseason is in the air. College Sports Madness’ latest College Softball Regional Projection has the technology as the No. 16 seed in Tuesday’s NCAA Tournament forecast. That’s the last place to host the area.

The same prediction comes next week’s Texas Tech opponent Arizona. The Red Raiders can make a statement there, but they must deal with the Cougars first.

For now, Texas Tech can rest assured that she can rely on Canadi even if she is back in full health. If that happens, Grasco thinks it’ll be faster than it would later, but the Red Raiders will be in the postseason prime position.

How to watch Nijal Canadi between Texas Tech Softball vs Houston

All Texas Tech home games can be streamed on ESPN+ and require a subscription.

What time will Texas Tech Softball play with Houston this weekend?

Friday: 6pm: 4pm: 12pm

Texas Tech Softball Schedule for 2025

Check out the latest and upcoming games from the Texas Tech softball team for the 2025 season. The full schedule can be found here.

April 2: Abilene Christian, W, 7-3

April 4: Utah, 2pm and 4:30pm

April 6: Utah, noon

April 11: Houston, 6pm

April 12: Houston, 4pm

April 13: Houston, noon

Current records: 31-9, 11-1

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