Texas Tech vs. Texas WCWS finals preview: Will the...

playHow Texas can repeat against a familiar foe in WCWS Champ Series (6:25) All the plot twists of the last three weeks of softball just brought us all the way back to Texas vs. Texas Tech. Alabama was the most well-rounded team. Tennessee had the wicked pitching. UCLA had the best bats we've ever seen. Nebraska had Jordy Frahm and all the momentum in the world. None of them could prevent a national title series rematch. Neither could early-round adversity. Texas has played six must-win elimination games; Tech has played four elimination games, gone to extra innings three times and overcome an eight-run, seventh-inning deficit. These two teams were destined to reach the finals again, even though they spent most of the last three weeks convincing us it was going to be anyone else but them. The biggest series in the sport starts Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Here's everything you need to know. Postseason Path (9-2): def. Wagner (9-1), def. Wisconsin (9-0), def. Baylor (7-0), lost to Arizona State (1-4), def. Arizona State (4-3), def. Arizona State (5-0), lost to Tennessee (3-6), def. Mississippi State (4-0), def. Nebraska (3-1), def. Tennessee (5-2), def. Tennessee (4-0) The champs can't really relax until they can taste blood in their mouth. After an almost perfect start to the season, Texas lost seven of 11 games in late March and April before rallying to roll to the SEC tournament. The Longhorns lost the first game of the super regionals to Arizona State before winning two straight, then they lost to Tennessee in the first game of the Women's College World Series before winning four straight to reach the championship series anyway. The Horns are 6-2 over the past two weeks -- 0-2 in non-elimination games and 6-0 in elimination games. And not even that fully describes their clutch play: They trailed Arizona State 3-2 in the sixth inning of their first super regional elimination game until Victoria Hunter hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer; against Nebraska in their second WCWS elimination game, they trailed 1-0 in the sixth before Katie Stewart's three-run bomb gave them the advantage; in the first of two wins over Tennessee on Monday, they were tied 1-1 in the fifth when Stewart homered again, and even up 5-2 in the seventh they allowed the Volunteers to load the bases before Teagan Kavan saved the day with a strikeout of Elsa Morrison. Texas doesn't deliver what it needs until the moment it needs it. 1B Katie Stewart: 32 at-bats, 5 HRs, 14 RBIs, 1.469 OPS CF Kayden Henry: 38 at-bats, 3 HRs, 7 RBIs, 3 stolen bases, 1.136 OPS SS Viviana Martinez: 33 at-bats, 7 RBIs, 1.008 OPS Among the eight WCWS teams, Texas has the fourth-best OPS in the NCAA tournament, but they're pretty far behind the top three (UCLA, Arkansas, Texas Tech). They've chased a lot of pitches outside the zone, and they've left themselves with a lot of late work to do. But they've also gotten home runs from seven different players and extra-base hits from 10. And when the must-win games began in Oklahoma City, Katie Stewart shifted into a different gear. play0:34Katie Stewart blasts a home runOver the past three games, Stewart is 5-for-10 with three homers. How she caught up to that impossible Karlyn Pickens low heater to drive it that far, I have no idea. Stewart, Martinez and designated player Hannah Wells went a combined 12-for-20 on Monday with five runs scored, five RBIs and Stewart's two homers. The lineup has had some holes in the postseason -- and we're still waiting for 2025 title series hero Reese Atwood to get going at the plate -- but the right players raised their game at the right time. Teagan Kavan: 6-2, 50⅓ innings, 1.25 ERA, 0.488 OPS allowed Citlaly Gutierrez: 2-0, 19⅔ innings, 2.14 ERA, 0.564 OPS allowed Teagan Kavan, adrenaline junkie. Texas' veteran ace allowed five earned runs in seven innings against Arizona State in the super regionals before pitching a Game 3 shutout. In OKC, she allowed three runs in three innings of the loss to Tennessee but responded by allowing one earned run in 21⅓ innings afterward. She got her fourth save of the year in the first game against Tennessee on Monday, then got her 28th win of the season with a brilliant, two-hit, 10-strikeout shutout in the decider. She threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of 23 batters and never allowed anyone to see anything good. The more important the game is, the better she pitches. Just like last year. Postseason Path (9-2): def. Marist (10-3), def. Ole Miss (10-9), def. Ole Miss (14-2), def. Florida (10-8), lost to Florida (2-10), def. Florida (16-7), def. Mississippi State (8-0), lost to Tennessee (1-2), def. UCLA (8-7), def. Alabama (5-4), def. Alabama (2-0) In last year's run to the title series, Texas Tech won its first eight postseason games by a combined 38-11. NiJaree Canady pitched 45 of the last 48 innings in this stretch and at one point won six straight games despite Tech giving her three or fewer runs of support. This time arou

Texas Tech vs. Texas WCWS finals preview: Will the...

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