If you happen to’re questioning what Kansas Metropolis Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was doing on Monday evening, it’s not arduous to search out the reply. Simply head to his X account, the place he was firing off tweets about his alma mater’s softball workforce.
Seeded twelfth within the NCAA Match, Texas Tech remains to be alive in its first ever Ladies’s School World Sequence and punched its ticket to the championship stage by beating Oklahoma in walk-off vogue, ending the Sooners’ pursuit of a fifth consecutive nationwide championship and bringing the best dynasty within the sport to a thundering halt.
The Sooners lastly scored off Texas Tech ace NiJaree Canady within the prime of the seventh inning when Abigale Dayton linked on an inside providing and despatched it clear over the proper subject fence for a two-run homer. That tied the sport up and set the stage for the Purple Raiders to seize victory in a dramatic means.
Mihyia Davis bought on base with a single to shallow middle subject, then moved over to 3rd after her teammate Hailey Toney doubled to deep left middle. Lauren Allred then hit a ball that lofted simply deep sufficient into the outfield that gave Davis time to beat a throw and get house safely for the game-winning run.
And so, Texas Tech’s season of firsts continues. They gained their first Huge 12 title, reached the Tremendous Regionals for the primary time, appeared within the World Sequence for the primary time, and now are on the cusp of their first nationwide championship after defeating second-seeded Oklahoma, 3-2.
Patty Gasso’s Sooners had gained 4 straight World Sequence titles, an accomplishment unmatched by some other program in Division I. A fifth consecutive title would have been otherworldly and extremely spectacular, however the Purple Raiders extinguished any flicker of hope of that taking place.
Mahomes was simply among the many most excited Texas Tech followers. Right here’s one of many a number of celebratory tweets he posted:
Whereas Canady gave up that two-run homer within the prime of the seventh — simply the eleventh she’s allowed this season in 226 innings of labor — she’s an enormous purpose why Texas Tech finds itself two wins away from a nationwide championship. Her stellar play continued on Monday evening, as she walked only one Sooner and gave up solely 5 hits in seven innings of labor whereas placing out eight batters.
On the season, Canady entered this matchup main all of Division I softball in victories (32), ERA (0.86) and hits allowed per seven innings (3.61). She’s additionally seventh in strikeouts per seven innings (9.5), seventh in shutouts (7), and fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.88). She’s been an asset on the plate this season too with 11 house runs, 34 RBI and a .306 batting common.
Mahomes was a key a part of her recruitment to Lubbock when Canady was within the switch portal final offseason out of Stanford. The previous Texas Tech quarterback — now with three Tremendous Bowl trophies and two NFL MVP awards to his identify — interrupted his trip in Italy final summer season to name Canady in an try to woo her to Texas Tech.
“Patrick Mahomes, I’ve his quantity, I can attain out to him,” Canady advised ESPN. “So, I believe that’s cool. Final July, we had been consuming lunch and had an exquisite view of the entire soccer stadium. Somebody advised me, simply ship an image to Patrick to see if he responds. He’s getting ready for the season after which I believe inside 10 minutes he bought again to me.”
In fact, a $1,050,024 NIL deal from Texas Tech’s collective was seemingly an enormous promoting level in getting Canady to affix the Purple Raiders, however having one of many biggest quarterbacks of all-time on velocity dial is a pleasant perk too.
Canady has now taken victories in 11 straight appearances, not struggling a loss since Could 2. Texas Tech’s funding in her continues to repay in an enormous means.
On Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, the Purple Raiders will face former Huge 12 rival Texas within the championship collection. It marks the primary time in 21 years that there was an intrastate matchup at this stage of the match — not since Cal and UCLA met in 2003. Mahomes is among the many many who will likely be rooting for Canady and the Purple Raiders to come back out on prime in Oklahoma Metropolis.
