
OKLAHOMA CITY — As Devon Park broke out into a cacophony of deafening white noise, near-lifesize cutouts of Mia Scott, Reese Atwood, Teagan Kavan, Leighann Goode and just about every Longhorn bounced up and down in the bleachers.
The Texas faithful beckoned everyone and anyone nearby to join in celebrating the 10-4 demolition of Texas Tech for Texas’ first national title in Game 3 of the Women’s College World Series final on Friday, one that felt like a long time coming after reaching the championship stage three times in the last four years.
GRAND SLAM MIA SCOTT 😤#WCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @TexasSoftball pic.twitter.com/xDTXoBJmSO
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) June 7, 2025
After Scott blasted a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth to push Texas’ lead to 10-0, a fan walked as close to the team bench as possible and turned, holding up a sign for fans to read: “The only rings in Lubbock will be onion rings.” It only took seconds for the Longhorns’ mascot to steal the sign and then use it to conduct the “Texas Fight!” chant among the crowd.
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“Texas!” the Longhorn demanded from the fans to its right; “Fight!” he conjured from those to his left. All the while the sign was the instrument used to conduct the orchestra.
The cutout players had first begun flying in the first inning, along with dozens of burnt-orange laminated cardstock signs reminding everyone of the “Texas Fight,” when the Longhorns took a commanding 5-0 lead to start the game.

Texas fans hold cutouts of Leighann Goode and Citlaly Gutierrez. (Lauren Merola / The Athletic)
Texas Tech ace NiJaree Canady’s five earned runs in the first inning were the most she allowed in a game since her Stanford days. Canady was pitching through a “tired” arm after throwing every ball for the Red Raiders from the super regionals on, coach Gerry Glasco said on the ESPN broadcast. Glasco used two more pitchers throughout the game, junior Chloe Riassetto and freshman Samantha Lincoln. Canady did not return to the circle.
It only took roughly 30 minutes until the Red Raiders dug themselves a 5-0 hole and quieted the half of Devon Park in scarlet and black.
Fans who previously blended together like tie dye began to mix more like water and oil. Longhorns fans stretched throughout the stands parallel to third base, with their most faithful stationed directly behind their bench, and Red Raiders fans mirrored that almost exactly along first. Potential once-hopeful fans in UCLA shirts, Washington button-downs and Oregon baseball caps stood out among the scarlet and burnt orange.
Tech supporters, too, brought signs, seeming to bring more homemade options, with personal handwritings of “Raider Power” and “NiJa’s fastball has its own ZIP code” taking up feet of white poster paper.

A Texas Tech fan holds up a sign that says “NiJa’s fastball has its own zip code.” (Lauren Merola / The Athletic)
Tech injected life back into the crowd when it found three runs at the top of the fifth. It found one more in the seventh, but the additions stopped at 10-4.
Texas has been waiting for this. The Longhorns fell to Oklahoma in the 2022 and 2024 WCWS finals. As a freshman, Kavan pitched 2.1 innings against the Sooners in last year’s final. After leading the charge in this year’s Game 1 by allowing just three hits, she finished the WCWS as the MVP, allowing no earned runs to help grab victory — and history — by the horns in Game 3.
Texas Tech fans — headlined by alumnus Patrick Mahomes, who was in attendance with his wife, Brittany — will wait another year to try to capture their first title. The Red Raiders failed to reach the postseason in 2024 and turned around to make their first WCWS appearance in 2025.
Promise hangs in the air for the program after re-signing Canady to another million-dollar deal to return to Lubbock for next season, as The Athletic confirmed Friday.
This story will be updated.
(Top photo: Sarah Phipps / USA Today via Imagn Images)
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