OKLAHOMA CITY -- Texas slugger Reese Atwood knew that if her Longhorns were going to rally to beat Texas Tech and superstar pitcher NiJaree Canady in Game 1 of the Women’s College World Series finals Wednesday night, she would have to take a risk.

Texas Tech was trying to intentionally walk Reese Atwood.

“I saw my opportunity,” Atwood said, “and I took it.”

Atwood smacked what could have been ball four to left field to score a pair of Texas runners in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the Longhorns stunned Texas Tech 2-1 to take the opener of the best-of-three championship series at Devon Park.

The runs were the first of the game for Texas and ultimately secured a 2-1 win over Texas Tech.

The Longhorns are now one win away from securing the program’s first WCWS championship in the best-of-three series.

Canady was in control of the game, having allowed a single Texas hit through 5 2/3 innings. But she allowed a pair of two-out Texas singles in the bottom of the sixth that put runners on second and third base after two steals.

Then Atwood delivered with one of the more bizarre clutch hits that you’ll ever see. The hit was the first of the WCWS in 10 at-bats for Atwood, who’s been struggling in Oklahoma City on the heels of her All-SEC campaign. But she delivered Wednesday night when it mattered most to put the Longhorns on the cusp of a championship.

“It’s a close game, you got to take risks,” Atwood told ESPN after the game. “The first pitch, I thought I could have hit it. The next one she kind of slowed down on it. So I took my chance, and I got it.”

It was the first time in her college career that Canady had been asked to intentionally walk a batter.

“I’m a junior now, I should be able to do that,” Canady said. “That’s no excuse.”

It was also the first hit Canady had ever allowed on a 3-0 pitch.

“I made that mistake,” Canady said. “I think that loss is on me, and I apologize to my team.

Afterward, Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco defended the decision.

“I didn’t want to pitch to maybe the best hitter in the country,” he said of Atwood, an All-American who entered with a .398 average and 21 home runs this season. “You got to give her credit. She wanted to play ball. She wanted to make a play. And she made a difference in the game at a time when we were trying to take her out of the game.”

After Atwood’s late hit, Texas’ All-America starter Teagan Kavan finished the job with a scoreless top of the seventh to secure the 2-1 win. The win for Kavan capped a sterling effort that was marred by only a single controversial unearned Texas Tech run that threatened to give the Red Raiders a win before Atwood’s late heroics.

Controversial call almost delivered a Texas Tech win

With the game locked in a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning, Texas Tech’s Logan Halleman attempted to steal second base after reaching first on one of four Texas errors. Atwood delivered a perfect throw on the steal attempt, and shortstop Leighann Goode tagged Halleman out by at least two feet.

The play wasn’t close. Halleman was clearly out. But Texas Tech challenged and was awarded an obstruction call upon review with umpires ruling that Goode’s left foot was on the basepath. Halleman was awarded second base with one out instead of being called for the second out of the inning.

Halleman came around to score on a two-out single by Mihyia Davis, and Texas Tech has a 1-0 lead after the top of the fifth inning.

It was a daunting position for Texas against Canady, an All-American pitcher who entered Wednesday game with an NCAA-best 0.90 ERA. The Texas Tech starter is the USA Softball National Player of the Year and the only NCAA softball player with a $1 million NIL deal after she transferred from Stanford following consecutive WCWS appearances.

But Texas countered with an offense that produced the most hits and best batting average in softball this year. And it finally broke through with two critical hits in the sixth inning to set Atwood up for her game-winning hit.

And it’s Kavan who comes out victorious with another sensational effort in Oklahoma City. Kavan’s now pitched 24 innings at the WCWS without allowing an earned run.

The Longhorns are now one win away from their first softball national championship. With another victory, they can become only the third SEC program to win a softball national title, joining Alabama (2012) and Florida (2014, 2015).

The Red Raiders will look to come back in the series Thursday.

If Texas Tech wins, then Game 3 will be played Friday at 8 p.m. at Devon Park.

The games are still being televised on ESPN.

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