Texas Tech softball pulled off a historic NCAA comeback, while Red Raiders baseball turns to the Big 12 Tournament needing a May surge.
Texas Tech softball and baseball are giving Red Raiders fans plenty to watch this week, and as Texas Tech on SI wrote, the stakes couldn’t be much higher.
The Texas Tech softball team is still alive in the NCAA Tournament after one of the wildest comebacks the sport has ever seen. Down 8-0 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh against Ole Miss, Gerry Glasco’s team somehow refused to fold.
The Red Raiders scored eight runs with their season nearly slipping away, tying the game on Lauren Allred’s clutch grand slam. Even after Ole Miss moved back in front 9-8 in the eighth, Texas Tech answered again, winning 10-9 on Taylor Pannell’s walk-off sacrifice fly.
Before that comeback, NCAA softball tournament teams trailing by eight or more runs in the seventh inning were 0-640. Texas Tech changed the number — and maybe changed the national perception of its postseason ceiling.
Now the Red Raiders need one more win over Ole Miss to move on to the Super Regional round. A victory would send Tech straight through without needing a winner-take-all third game, which could help preserve pitching for the next stage.
If Texas Tech reaches Super Regionals, the format shifts to a best-of-three series. Win that, and the Red Raiders are back in the Women’s College World Series as one of the final eight teams standing.
On the baseball side, Tim Tadlock’s team is trying to create its own postseason spark. Texas Tech finished the regular season 27-27 after dropping two of three at No. 25 Cincinnati, but one win — combined with Arizona’s loss — helped the Red Raiders squeeze into the Big 12 Tournament.
Now it’s reset time.
Texas Tech opens Tuesday against BYU with its NCAA Tournament hopes likely depending on a deep conference run. The season has been uneven, but May baseball can change fast.
For Red Raiders fans, the message is simple: softball is chasing history, baseball is chasing survival, and Texas Tech’s diamond teams are right in the middle of postseason chaos.
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