OKLAHOMA CITY — Tennessee softball’s opening round game of the WCWS was not easy, and the path won’t get any lighter from here.

The Lady Vols downed No. 2 Texas 6-3 on Thursday afternoon at Devon Park to open play. No. 7 Tennessee drew Texas Tech in the second round, the 2025 national runner-up that already run-ruled Mississippi State 8-0 on Thursday.

With a win, the Lady Vols would sit a game away from the championship series. Lose, and Tennessee will face the winner of the Texas vs. Mississippi State game on Friday. Here’s a preview of the team that stands between them.

A batting lineup that does everything

Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly didn’t mince words about the Red Raiders after her team’s win over Texas.

“Just a super talented team,” she said. “A stacked lineup. Up and down all the way through, one through nine. They’ve got everything you would want from a talent perspective.”

On paper, she’s exactly right. Texas Tech led the nation in batting average at .384 and ranked third in on-base percentage, reaching base at a .481 clip. The Red Raiders also drew 297 walks, the fourth-most in the nation, struck out fewer than 160 times and won 37 games by run rule.

“They don’t strike out a lot, and they walk a ton,” The Daily Toreador’s Ty Kaplan said. “They’re very intelligent at the plate. If Tech can get walks, that could be the decider of the game more than anything.”

More than one threat

Jackie Lis sets the tone. The infielder is hitting .444 and arrived in Oklahoma City scorching, with five hits and three home runs over her last two games.

“She’s just very poised,” Kaplan said. “Lis is very composed.”

Kaitlyn Terry can get it done on both sides of the game. The senior UCLA transfer is batting .455 with 10 home runs and 56 RBIs while owning a 24-1 record and a 1.67 ERA in the circle.

“She wants to be put in a moment where it’s bases loaded, bottom of the seventh inning,” Kaplan said. “She wants those moments.”

There’s also Mia Williams. The junior Florida transfer made one of the season’s loudest statements in the super regionals against her former team, when she was hit by a pitch five times and answered with a three-run shot that helped run-rule the Gators in the final game.

The headliner

NiJaree Canady is the Red Raiders’ headliner. The star pitcher is 26-6 with a 1.74 ERA and 229 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .160 average, and she is the highest-paid player in the sport on a reported $1.2 million NIL deal.

This spring, Canady was the No. 2 pick in the AUSL draft, second only to Tennessee’s Karlyn Pickens. The two face off Saturday in a duel of the draft’s top two arms.

“That’s such an unreal moment in the sport,” Kaplan said.

The break the Lady Vols can press is Canady’s recent form. Her postseason ERA sits at 5.63, well off her regular-season mark, even after a scoreless, two-hit outing against Mississippi State on Thursday.

Built to run

Speed is one of Texas Tech’s most overlooked weapons. Outfielder Mihyia Davis will give the Lady Vols trouble on the basepaths, racking up 37 steals while batting .435. As a team, the Red Raiders have swiped 132 bags, the fifth-most in the country.

That pressure lands on Tennessee’s freshman catcher. Elsa Morrison has seen few steal attempts and has thrown out even fewer runners this year. She’s allowed 13 of 16 steal attempts to reach safely.

Tennessee’s blueprint

Even with all the firepower, Texas Tech has a flaw — when the bats go cold, the whole team goes with them.

“When it doesn’t work for Tech, it doesn’t work at all,” Kaplan said. “Four of Tech’s seven losses this year were shutouts.”

The formula against the Red Raiders’ arms is just as blunt, Kaplan said. Swing and be willing to miss.

“Every pitcher throws a ball that goes over the plate,” he said. “If a team’s willing to strike out, they’re probably going to have success against (Canady) and Terry.”

Glasco’s machine

In his second year in Lubbock, Gerry Glasco has turned a roster full of transfers into one of the country’s most complete teams. He coaches his team strategically, leaning on veteran leadership to manage his revolving door of lineups.

Thirteen of his players have prior WCWS experience, and he won’t hesitate to move his lineup or pitchers.

“Gerry is a madman,” Kaplan said. “He’s like a mad scientist when it comes to these batting lineups.”

The coaching works because the players buy in.

“He loves these girls like they’re his daughters,” Kaplan said. “They respect him, but they also know that he loves them.”

The Lady Vols’ path

Tennessee’s key to the game is pitching. If the Lady Vols can set the tone early by throwing the Red Raiders’ bats off, they will also throw off Canady or Terry in the circle.

Luckily for Tennessee, its pitching staff runs three deep this year. The AUSL’s first overall pick, Pickens, and Sage Mardjetko will likely split the game, not giving Texas Tech an opportunity to adjust to one pitcher.

The duo has been elite this year, with Mardjetko entering the postseason with one of the nation’s lowest ERAs at 1.08 while going 15-2. Pickens lags behind her, posting a 1.60, but is also 15-7 this season.

The Lady Vols haven’t lost a game this year where they’ve scored four or more runs, but Kaplan sees that changing on Saturday.

Score predictions

Kaplan: Texas Tech 9, Tennessee 6

Edmands: Texas Tech 5, Tennessee 2

First pitch is 3 p.m. ET Saturday at Devon Park on ABC.