McNemar Hits Walk-off Grand Slam, Softball Defeats No. 13 Texas Tech

DENTON, Texas – Down five runs entering the seventh inning, UNT softball pulled off an improbable 6-5 comeback win over No. 13 Texas Tech when junior Riley McNemar hit a walk-off grand slam on Wednesday at Lovelace Stadium.

"I will definitely remember this for the rest of my life," McNemar said of her walk-off grand slam. "It's one of those feelings that I'll crave forever."

The walk-off winner marked the first grand slam of McNemar's career and third home run of her four-year collegiate career.

"Off the bat, I knew it had a chance," head coach Rodney DeLong said. "We had a little bit of side wind that was going to push it a little bit, but I was just hoping the outfielder didn't jump up and rob it."

The Mean Green (13-2) claimed its 21st ranked win in program history, including seven under DeLong, after the Red Raiders (15-4) opened the seventh inning with back-to-back walks by Kailyn Bearpaw and Elizabeth Moffitt.

After Caydance Gaddis entered as a pinch runner, freshman Ausha Moore drove in both runners on a double to the left-center field wall to cut the lead to 5-2. Madison Conley and Blayze McNemar each joined Moore before Riley McNemar's game-winning hit.

"I'm proud of the fight," DeLong said. "We had a chance there at the end and we got it done."

Despite facing reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, NiJaree Canady, North Texas held the line after Texas Tech posted four runs in the second inning. RHP Anneca Anderson entered the circle with one out in the second and promptly held the Red Raiders to one run on three hits over 4 2/3 innings of work.

Sophomore Kayleigh Smith (W, 1-0) tossed the final frame before the offensive explosion in the home half of the inning to set up her first career victory.

"Winning games is big regardless of who you beat," DeLong added. "But when you beat good teams … [it] definitely helps our confidence and gives us a little juice going into the weekend."

UP NEXT

UNT carries an eight-game winning streak into the Baylor Invitational for its final pre-conference tournament of the season. The round-robin portion of the tournament begins on Friday against Sam Houston at 10 a.m. before meeting hosts Baylor at 3 p.m. and CBU on Saturday at 10 a.m. All four teams will be seeded for the semifinal round on Saturday and final round on Sunday. All games will be available on ESPN+ from Getterman Stadium.

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