The marquee game of the Mary Nutter Classic, featuring No. 1 and undefeated UCLA against No. 2 and once-defeated Oklahoma, figured to be a tight, back-and-forth battle, or so I thought. The Sooners laid waste to that forecast, routing the Bruins 14-0 in run-rule fashion. With Michigan transfer Alex Storako pitching five innings of shutout ball for OU (5 K, 3 hits, 0 BB), the Sooners began their offensive onslaught scoring 6 in the second inning, 2 each in the third and fourth, and 4 in the fifth. Perhaps the most amazing stat of the day was that OU amassed 20 hits in just five innings! UCLA starter Megan Faraimo was driven from the game after just 1 2/3 innings, having allowed 7 hits and 4 runs.
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.