If you are going to lose to somebody, you might as well lose to the best and that’s what happened to No. 8 Stanford softball on Monday night as they fell to No. 1 Texas by a final score of 1-0 in the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series. Texas freshman Teagan Kavan (20-2) was the winning pitcher for the Longhorns in a starting role while Stanford sophomore NiJaree Canady (24-7) was the losing pitcher for the Cardinal in a starting role. As a result, Stanford’s run for a national championship comes to a close.
BOX SCORE: Stanford vs. Texas-Monday, June 3rd
VIDEO: Stanford Softball: Texas Postgame Press Conference | WCWS
“Obviously, season coming to an end,” Stanford head coach Jessica Allister said after the game. “Didn’t end the way that we wanted it to, but still just a lot to be proud of. You know, when you end your season in Oklahoma City, you know that’s the goal every single year. And like I told the team in the locker room, you just got to keep tossing your hat in the ring and getting your heart broken a couple times, and standing back up and trying again.
“But I couldn’t be more proud of the group of women on the team. Just, they played for each other, they took care of one another, they worked hard, they stayed in growth mode, I mean I feel like we were just getting going. I think we were getting better every game. But just an absolute wonderful, wonderful group. A pleasure to be around.
“You know, obviously, NiJa was fantastic all week. Fantastic today. I mean, maybe one of the best performances in Oklahoma City that I’ve seen at least and none of us that are around all the time are surprised, but just gritty and tough and phenomenal and sad for this year to be over, but proud. Really really proud.”
This game was a real pitcher’s duel as the final score indicates, though Stanford in particular really struggled to generate any offense. The lone hit the Cardinal got was in the bottom of the 2nd inning as Jade Berry singled through the right side with one out. Caelan Koch then grounded into a double play to end the inning. The lone walk for the Cardinal came in the bottom of the 4th inning as Ava Gall drew a walk with two outs. Aly Kaneshiro then struck out to end the bottom of the inning. It was just that kind of game for Stanford and a lot of credit goes to the way Teagan Kavan pitched. She was on point all game long.
As for Texas, Mia Scott singled in the top of the 1st inning, Katie Stewart got hit by a pitch in the top of the 2nd, Bella Dayton singled in the top of the 3rd, Stewart doubled in the top of the 4th while Alyssa Washington got hit by a pitch, and then Reese Atwood singled in the top of the 6th inning before being replaced by pinch runner Adayah Wallace, who was able to advance to third base with two outs before NiJaree Canady forced a ground out to end the top of the inning. While it remained tied 0-0 at the end of the 6th inning, Texas definitely was putting more pressure on Stanford.
“Honestly, the whole game, that’s a really good team,” Canady said of Texas. “So, just, I knew just to go at them as hard as I can and just trust my defense.”
Texas would finally break through and score in the top of the 7th inning. Washington reached first base courtesy of a fielding error with no outs after which Joley Mitchell doubled to left center to advance Washington to third base. Then, Ashton Maloney reached first base on a fielder’s choice via sacrifice bunt and advanced to second base while Mitchell advanced to third base and Washington came home. There was a play at the plate as Washington was trying to find a way home as she was running in between third base and home plate. She was able to get to home plate in time to score the run as Kaneshiro was not quite able to tag her out in time. It was reviewed and upheld. That gave Texas the lone run they had of the game.
Canady then got three straight batters out to keep it at a 1-0 game. Stanford had a shot to tie it up with one run in the bottom of the 7th. Unfortunately for Stanford, they were not able to even up the game as Kyra Chan struck out, Ava Gall grounded out, and Aly Kaneshiro fouled out to end the game. 1-0 Texas won, advancing to the College World Series final where they will face either Florida or Oklahoma.
For Stanford, while it’s disappointing to come up short, they had an amazing run and stay in the College World Series. They got all the way to the semifinals and put themselves in a position to possibly force a decisive game against the top team in the nation. They were as close as you can get to forcing a game on Tuesday.
Of course, the major story from this postseason run for Stanford is the pitching of NiJaree Canady. She was phenomenal. She had to carry the Cardinal on her back and pitch every game in the College World Series and Super Regional. In the end, Stanford’s lack of a solid number two pitcher ended up hurting them, though in truth, it was really their lack of hitting that ended their season. Giving up one run is a really strong pitching performance. Canady just didn’t get the run support she needed in the end.
“I think something I’m most proud of honestly is just the way this team fought until the very last out,” Canady said. “Like, I’ll pick us every single time and as far as my growth, I think just trying to dig in even more. Just dig in and compete and get us back in. Yeah."
“I don’t know if you can even describe it, right?” Allister said of what Canady did. “Her competitiveness is the piece that just continues to awe me every single day because her skillset is unique, but really just the way she competes sets her apart and I’ve never seen a situation that she backs down from…And I just think that competitor in her is unlike anything that I’ve ever seen.
“And then she sits here and the team doesn’t get the result that we want and she looks inward and talks about what she can do better and that’s just, it’s not common. It’s what makes her a wonderful teammate. It’s what makes her so successful and it’s why her teammates love her. And you heard it in all the press conferences or in the sound bites from all of them. They’re saying we’re playing for NiJaree. I mean, they love her because she does all of those things. So, she’s phenomenal.”
Looking ahead to next season, Stanford will look to build on the success they had this year and get back to the College World Series for a third straight season. All while playing in the ACC. If they can get NiJaree Canady more help at the plate, maybe they’ll be able to make an even deeper run next year. Stanford will not be playing in their regular stadium next season as it is getting remodeled. They’ll be playing their games at the football stadium, so that will be an interesting set up. Of course, they’ll be doing it without the outgoing seniors who are moving on after this season.
“They’ve had just the most tremendous impact on this program,” Koch said of the seniors. “Both on the field and off. Biggy [Aly Kaneshiro] with the golden glove winner, Regan [Krause] with all of her accolades and strikeouts, Ellee [Eck] is the fastest person I know on this planet Earth, and [Kaitlyn] Lim just can hit the ball. They’re just so talented and they’ve made such a huge impact on the program and us and they’re just wonderful people. We’re all just so proud of them and so sad to see them go. But, they’ve left their mark in every way possible and we just couldn’t prouder and happier for them. Like, they’re awesome.”
“Yeah, just piggybacking off of that, I think part of the reason we went to go so far was just for those seniors and we just wanted their last game to be as late as possible,” Canady added. “At one point we were just playing for them and try to prolong their season for as long as possible.”
The future of this Cardinal program is bright. They just need to get improve their batting and also find a way to give Canady a bit more help out of the bullpen. If they address those two needs, they’ll have a chance to be even scarier than they were this year.
CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook & X (Twitter): @StanfordRivals
Ben Parker on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, & X (Twitter): @slamdunk406
Email: slamdunk406@yahoo.com
