The top-seeded Red Raiders hammered Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament Semifinals to set up a chance to win another league title.
No. 3 and top-seeded Texas Tech headed into Friday's Big 12 Tournament Semifinals fresh off a 7-0 run-rule victory 8-seed Baylor.
The Bears pulled off a stunner in their last series against Texas Tech, taking one of three games in Lubbock. While they eventually lost the matchup, the lone win secured Baylor's spot in the eight-team field. Unfortunately, the Red Raiders awaited them in the opening round.
Following her perfect game in the prior series finale, Big 12 Co-Pitcher of Year NiJaree Canady and the red-hot offense turned the latest outing with the Bears into another lopsided affair. The win set Texas Tech up with No. 5 seed Kansas, who never faced the Red Raiders in the regular season.
Despite questions about how the Jayhawks could potentially square up given their unfamiliarity, Texas Tech quickly shut them down. This time it was Kaitlyn Terry that tore through an opposing lineup.
She allowed only two hits across all five innings while sitting down nine Jayhawk batters. It was Terry's 22nd win of the season, which consists of 23 decisions.
While Kansas could not get off the ground, Texas Tech blazed out of the batter's box. After the first inning, the Red Raiders already had a 3-0 lead, courtesy of a Jazzy Burns three-run blast.
The fireworks did not stop there, as Texas Tech piled on huge scoring bursts in the third and fourth frames. In the two innings combined, the Red Raiders tallied 11 runs to go out in front by an astounding 14-0 score.
Texas Tech hammered three more home runs on the afternoon, all of which came in the third, off the bats of Jackie Lis, Taylor Pannell and Desirae Spearman. While no homers came in the fourth, it was the six-run spot that finally put the game out of reach for Kansas.
The absolute beatdown in the second-straight run-rule victory in the tournament for Texas Tech, who stacked them like pancakes in the regular season. Although the defending champions look unbeatable, Saturday's championship game does not appear to be as easy.
If chalk holds, Oklahoma State will be the final challenger in line for Texas Tech, and the Cowgirls are one tough bunch of their own. They finished second in the Big 12 and have showcased the ability to beat anyone in the country, namely Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska.
The Pokes still have to take care of surprising Arizona State, who knocked off three-seed Arizona in the opening round. But if they can make Saturday's finale, Oklahoma State doesn't appear to be ready to give another title for the defending champs.
The Big 12 Tournament Championship gets started at 11 a.m. from Oklahoma City and will be aired on ESPN.