The All-American pitcher added another bullet to her extensive resume.
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech Red Raiders softball team had already clinched the Big 12 regular season title for the second year in a row entering the final conference series against Baylor this weekend, but they chose not to celebrate until after Saturday's home game against the Bears.
And there was plenty to celebrate.
All-American pitcher NiJaree Canady threw her first-career perfect game on senior day, where the veterans were honored pregame for the regular-season finale. Canady started her final home regular-season game in the circle, and she capped her stellar career with the one milestone she had yet to accomplish.
"It's really cool," Canady said with a laugh in the postgame interview.
As Canady finished her remarks, the conference championship trophy was hoisted on the field by her Red Raider teammates. The team chose to delay their official championship celebration until they were back in front of their home crowd in Lubbock.
They did so after Texas Tech beat Baylor 8-0 in five innings to capture the series victory. Head coach Gerry Glasco improved to a perfect 67-0 for his career in conference series.
"Fantastic day here at Tracy Sellers Field," Glaso said. "I told the kids in pregame, 'We want to make a statement.' We embarrassed ourselves a little bit last night with our play, and we want to make a statement."
The win Saturday in the regular-season finale came after Texas Tech fell to the Bears 8-7 in Game 2 of the series. Tech won Game 1 by a score of 5-0.
"We know better. We didn't want to play like that - nobody wants to play like that," Glaso said about learning from the second game against Baylor. "Sometimes the game just catches you, and teaches you things you need to know. I think there were things we had to find out last night. The game taught us ... and when you have a loss, you make sure you learn everything you can from it, because it'll help get that next loss further down the road.
"We want to be a long way from another loss."
With the series win, Texas Tech improved to 50-5 on the season, becoming the first team in the country to reach the half-century mark for 2026. The Red Raiders moved to 21-3 in Big 12 play, setting a new program record for conference wins in a season.
Canady's final card featured nine strikeouts to go with no hits or walks allowed. She threw 62 pitches in five innings of work to earn her 21st victory in the circle in her senior year.
Texas Tech got the bats rolling in the bottom of the first after Canady struck out the side to open the ball game. Jasmyn Burns' grand slam was her 16th homer of the year, second on the team behind Mia Williams' tied program-record total of 20.
A two-run home run by Lauren Allred over the right field bleachers extended the lead, then a two RBI double by Hailey Toney put the run rule into effect.
Texas Tech now turns its attention to the postseason, where the Red Raiders will be big favorites to repeat as conference tournament champions and embark on another run to the Women's College World Series.
