Champions Night at Dell Diamond needed one run and eight innings of nerve. NiJaree Canady supplied the nerve. Rylie Boone supplied the run.
The Texas Volts beat the Carolina Blaze 1-0 in eight innings Friday night, snapping an eight-game losing streak with the franchise’s first shutout and first walk-off of the season. Canady went the distance for her first AUSL win — eight scoreless innings, five hits, six strikeouts, four walks, 131 pitches — and then sat in the press box still sounding like she was flushing the next mistake.
Before any of that, the night already belonged to Texas softball royalty.
Champions Night — and a Longhorn homecoming
The promotion was Austin Champions Night, and the guest of honor on the field before first pitch made the theme literal. Teagan Kavan — two-time Women’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player, ESPY-nominated ace, and the pitcher who closed out back-to-back national titles for Texas — threw the ceremonial first pitch. Waiting for her in Carolina’s catcher’s gear was her best friend and college classmate: Reese Atwood.
They won the WCWS together. They grew up in the same dugout culture at McCombs. On Friday they met again as professionals — Kavan in white, Atwood in Blaze pink — and after the pitch they found each other in a hug that said more about this series than any box score would.
Atwood’s return to Central Texas as a pro was the emotional center of the weekend even before a pitch was thrown for real. Selected seventh overall in the 2026 AUSL College Draft and signed by Carolina on June 7, she has already made her mark against these Volts — including a two-homer night off Canady in Durham on June 14. Friday was different. This was home turf, a packed Champions Night crowd, and a first pitch from the friend who shared every late BP and every October memory with her.
Carolina head coach Kara Dill has watched that roar follow Atwood all season.
“Anytime Carlin or Reese go in the game, no matter where we are, the crowd goes bananas,” Dill said. “It’s nothing new. Our team manages it really well. They celebrate that. Reese is just a phenomenal teammate and a phenomenal human, so it’s really easy to be happy for her. That has definitely been the case everywhere we’ve gone — the cheering and the excitement for her, whether she goes in the game or she starts.”
Eight innings, no runs
Canady and Carolina’s arms traded zeroes. Blaze starter Aleshia Ocasio and relievers Keilani Ricketts and Karlyn Pickens kept Texas off the board through seven. Canady kept answering.
Her biggest escape came in the sixth: bases loaded, one out. She retired Baylee Klingler on a foul out, then struck out Jenna Laird swinging to leave nine Carolina runners stranded for the night.
Volts head coach Ricci Woodard did not hesitate when the bullpen conversation came up afterward — whether to bring in Aliyah Binford or leave Canady in.
“There was no discussion,” Woodard said. “It was her game.”
Woodard pointed to a play by shortstop Tiare Jennings up the middle as the play of the night, then circled back to the pitcher who made every other play matter.
“We’ve been pushing, pushing, pushing the envelope to try to get a win, and today we just had a really great performance by NiJaree,” Woodard said. “The offense just kept going, going, going until we could finally push the run across … It was nice to watch all her hard work pay off tonight.”
The switch that clicked
Canady’s first AUSL appearances did not go the way she wanted. Friday did.
“I’ve just been chipping away, just trying to get better,” Canady said of her first professional win. “Obviously my debut and first couple of games didn’t go the way I wanted, but I’ve been working really hard with Coach Josh, too. He’s put a lot of time with me — watching film. So I have to give him credit.”
The defense behind her, she said, let her attack.
“It’s amazing — I’m wanting to just pound the zone, knowing they have my back,” Canady said. “They made some amazing plays, especially late in the game — plays up the middle — just keeping the score, especially at the end of the game.”
When Carolina put runners on, she treated each one like a closed chapter.
“Just trying to flush whatever mistake I made before — whenever it’s a walk or a hit — just knowing I could control that,” Canady said. “So just going up and getting better.”
Catcher Michaela Edenfield was the other half of that conversation. Canady said Edenfield’s cues between pitches — where the last one was, what to adjust — kept her locked in. Woodard made sure Edenfield got named before the night ended.
“I think Michaela needs to get a lot of credit, too, because that game doesn’t happen without her,” Woodard said. “She was amazing.”
Calm in the circle, fireworks after
Anyone who has watched Canady finish an inning knows the contrast: quiet between pitches, then an explosion when the set is closed. That was the question in the press box — and it got at who she is on the mound.
“When I’m in the circle, it’s just a different energy,” Canady said. “I feel like everything starts in the circle, too — just knowing the team’s going to carry off of me and Michaela.”
From the other dugout, Dill saw a pitcher who had grown since Carolina first saw her.
“NiJaree has definitely settled in, and she’s gotten more comfortable,” Dill said. “She was a better pitcher today than she was at the beginning of the year … She was commanding her stuff really well on both sides of the plate. She was tough for righties. She was tough for lefties. You could see that in the contact we were making.”
The center fielder who would not quit
Woodard used the podium to make sure another Volts player got her flowers — center fielder Jalia Lassiter, who has spent the season making plays that disappear into losses.
“I think you guys have the best center fielder in the league sitting up here,” Woodard said. “Some of the plays that she’s made for us this year go underrated because we’re not winning games, but some of those plays that she’s made in the outfield for us have been unbelievable.”
Lassiter has been diving, climbing fences, taking chances. The recovery plan is less glamorous.
“Mel, our strength coach, she does a lot for us,” Lassiter said. “I literally get in a cold tub every day after the game. I just know myself and know what I need to recover — but just keep going, having fun with it, and take those chances in the game.”
The grind, she said, starts before first pitch.
“Early BP. Literally every day,” Lassiter said. “Our team has been grinding during early BP, and I think that’s just been our routine. Tonight really showed — aggressive in the box, base running, and defense having each other’s backs.”
Lassiter and Canady are both still finding the league. The veterans, she said, set the tone.
“At the end of the day, it’s just the game,” Lassiter said. “Just learning from Tia and Romo and the positions they’ve been in — continue to apply our game as well. We bring the energy and the fun side of softball, and Romo and Tia bring the serious side.”
One run, finally
The breakthrough waited until the international tiebreaker in the eighth. Ally Carda was placed as the runner. She moved to third on a groundout by Leighann Goode — another former Longhorn, now in Volts purple, on the same dirt as Atwood. Boone lifted a sacrifice fly to left. Carda scored. Dell Diamond emptied in purple.
Carolina left nine on base. Dill said the Blaze offense has been pressing through a dry spell — “everybody wants to be the one to get it done” — while pitching and defense have held up. On Friday, Texas’s pitching and defense held up longer. The homecoming had the noise. Canady had the last word.
Handle it like pros
The win mattered. The streak mattered. Woodard kept pointing at something quieter.
“Early on, a couple of weeks ago when nothing was going our way, we just talked about doing things like pros — you’re in a pro league, be pros,” Woodard said. “Win or lose, handle the game like pros. And I think we’ve done a really good job of that.
“I watch these young ladies — the results have not gone our way in the last few games — and they still sign autographs and they still treat the fans like that’s the people that they are. Good character usually finds us. They’ve been handling their business like pros. They’ve been going at it. They’ve been working at it. It’s nice to see it finally pay off.”
Lassiter already had the next day framed.
“One game at a time,” she said. “We have nothing to lose, and that’s kind of our motto right now — just keep going. Today was just an awesome game of us not giving up. We’re just gonna keep going from here.”
Saturday was Family Day. The Volts had finally given their fans a Friday night worth staying for.
Anthony Rivera, Dell Diamond press box. Stats from the official AUSL game release and box reporting; Woodard, Canady, and Lassiter quotes from the July 10 AUSL postgame press conference. Dill quotes from the same session.