"Where TF Is Lubbock???"

This was the sign held boastfully above the head of a fan behind the UCLA dugout in Devon Park on Saturday night.

That is until the Lubbock native herself, Makayla Garcia, shocked the crowd and nation by completing the, ever so rare in softball, straight steal of home to give Texas Tech a 1-0 lead.

Hard work. In the dirt. The West Texas way with Raider Powers pouring in from the stands in celebration.

"It's definitely just so special to put Lubbock on the map and getting to show everyone what Texas Tech is like really made of," said Garcia after the game. "Getting to hear Raider Power fill up the stands is something special we do in Lubbock. You hear it at football games, basketball games. It's just so impactful getting to hear it in the softball world."

The execution was only one half of the story, the absolute dawg a coach has to have in them to call that is another. Gerry Glasco has been aggressive all season with this team on the base paths, evident by them breaking the school record for stolen bases, but this was on another level.

"I said when we get two strikes, we're going to start to run at first," Glasco detailed the instructions he gave Garcia on third. "I think they'll look at the runner at first, I don't think they'll throw it, and I want to you go. I want you to just take off and go, kamikaze.

She looked at me like, What? This is not something we've practiced. I said, Look, just trust me. I'll be the one that takes the blame at the press conference."

No blame needed Coach, other than to say - WHAT A CALL, WHAT A MOMENT!

Before all of this it was Lauren Allred who once again set the stage by lining one into left for the Red Raiders to lead off the fifth. The RS-sophomore was seeing it well all night as she also started the second inning off with a walk.

She was driven around to third on a NiJaree Canady double to right that was absolutely scorched down the line. Not bad considering she was putting in the work in the circle in this one once again too. She's a pitcher, she's a hitter, she's a BALL PLAYER Y'ALL!

The aforementioned Garcia came in to pinch run for Canady and after a nice play by UCLA got the second out of Allred trying to score from third on a grounder to first....well go re-read the first half of this article and Tech found themselves ahead 1-0 headed into the bottom of the fifth.

The buzz in the stadium was simmering to a boil right when the Bruins Kaniya Bragg threw some cold water on the Red Raiders fire by hitting a home run to lead off the bottom half of the fifth. All the sudden the score was right back to even.

It felt like the perfect illustration of styles of play between the teams. Tech working to create chaos by using their speed to score and UCLA relying on their power to one swing themselves right back in it.

Hailey "Call her a DAWG not a Freshman" Toney reminded the world the Red Raiders have a yaaaaaabooooom stick as well though when she hit one to right center in the top of the sixth. It's the third time this postseason alone Toney has followed an inning the opposing team has scored with a home run herself to regain the momentum for her team. DAWG.

"My second at-bat, I was on it," Toney explained postgame how she was feeling heading to the plate before her home run. "I felt good when I swung. It just didn't happen to go my way. My third at-bat, I was literally trusting my swing and him telling me to get on top, get on top. Then it just happened. Then all the momentum, like Makayla said, it was all in our dugout. I just felt confident going up to the plate."

Tech would go on to add one more insurance run on an always clutch Raegan Jennings pinch hit in the top of the seventh as she got one into center to bring in Alana Johnson from second. It was a true every player contributed win, something Glasco credits to how tight this team is as a family and how hard they work so they are ready when their name is called to help said family win.

"I'm asking everybody in the dugout to work really hard. Everybody is doing the same thing every day. They may only get one at-bat, but that one at-bat is really important for them mentally to know that they had an opportunity to help their teammates and to play for their sisters in the dugout. It has to be like a sisterhood. It has to become like a family of players that they're fighting for each other.

That's your strongest emotional -- you get more power out of that than any other thing, when you get them playing to take care of their family. You've got to give them a chance. You've got to put them in."

Oh and did we mention NiJa Canady was NIJA FRECKIN CANADY in this one? It seemed like when the Bruins got a runner on base she somehow turned it up a notch from beast mode to beast mode infinity to get out of it.

Bases loaded and only one out jam in the second? No problem.

Two on, nobody out to start the bottom of the seventh against a team that had comeback to walk off each of their last two games? LIGHT WORK.

Canady handled both innings mixed in with quick and easy 1-2-3 innings to finish her day with seven innings pitched, four hits allowed, one earned run, two walks and seven strikeouts. That'll play.

"She's able to attack the strike zone, and when you get to the World Series... the strike zone here is a very disciplined strike zone. So you have to be able to challenge that zone, especially early in the count.

I think that's what separates her from most pitchers. I thought she did a tremendous job against a very good hitting team and in a World Series strike zone. I thought she was outstanding."

It may be UCLA's 33rd appearance in the WCWS versus Texas Tech's first but all that mattered at the end of this day was the scoreboard said Red Raiders 3, Bruins 1 and this new blood took down the blue blood to claim it's spot in the semifinals on Monday.

Tech awaits the winner of the Oklahoma versus Oregon game on Sunday night. Whoever wins this will face the Red Raiders Monday at 6 pm and if necessary a deciding game thereafter at 830 pm.

Sitting at 2-0 in a double elimination format means Tech needs just one more win to secure a spot in the WCWS final while their opposition will need to sweep a doubleheader against them to move on.

Fans interested in attending the game can find tickets on through AXS NCAA.com here. Games will be broadcast on ESPN.

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