Auburn leads 2-1, as it comes to bat in the bottom of the fourth... Thanks to a Kirsti Merritt three-run homer (where have we heard that before) that makes it 4-2 Florida at the time, the Gators hold a 4-3 lead as Auburn bats in the bottom of the seventh... Tigers have the tying run at third with one out... Tying run scores on a grounder to first. Fielder immediately throws home, with runner getting under the tag... Hard line-drive single to left, putting runners on first and second with one out. Lead runner is the potential game-winner... Ground-out to second (fielder not able to tag runner going from first to second, but throws batter out at first), advancing runners to second and third with two down... Deep grounder to short. Very close at first base as to whether batter or throw got there first, but moot because first-baseperson drops ball. Winning run scores from third... AUBURN WINS 5-4, FIRST LOSS OF SEASON FOR FLORIDA (26-1).
NiJaree Canady, whose sub-1.00 ERA helped lead Stanford to the Women's College World Series in both her years with the Cardinal, announced on July 24 that she is transferring to Texas Tech. I've lived in Lubbock for 27 years and can say that the town has been improving with a greater selection of restaurants and shops, and a new downtown performing arts center. Likewise, nice new facilities have been dotting the Texas Tech campus . Still, it seems unlikely that Canady would have become a Red Raider without the $1 million annual Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal for her, made possible by the donation of a Texas Tech alumni couple. So stunning an event is this, even in the ever-changing world of collegiate athletics, that the New York Times even ran a behind-the-scenes story on Canady's path to Texas Tech. I look forward to being in the stands to watch Canady pitch next spring, an opportunity I never expected to have.