Bruce and Katherine Canady have grown accustomed to sways of nerve-wracking emotions throughout their daughter's playing career.

That nail-biting anxiety returned at the climax of Sunday night's Women's College World Series game between UCLA and Stanford. With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Cardinal sophomore pitcher NiJaree Canady stood in the circle with two runners on base.

The Canady family's unwavering support for NiJaree has become a postseason tradition. No matter the circumstance, they remain a beacon of optimism.

There's been plenty of optimism for the Cardinal with Canady in the circle. Sunday night at Devon Park was no exception.

Canady capped her complete-game gem with a ground out to send eighth-seeded Stanford to a 3-1 victory over sixth-seeded UCLA.

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"We never have a shadow of a doubt," said Bruce Canady, a former college football player at Washburn University. "It's really been a blessing to watch her perform like this on this stage. She's been preparing for moments like this all her life — it's her time now."

Stanford moved on to the WCWS semifinals, where they will face top-seeded Texas at 6 p.m. Monday. The Cardinal must defeat the Longhorns twice to reach the best-of-three championship series.

Canady, who improved to 5-0 in elimination games this postseason, earned the win in the final game between two Pac-12 softball teams before the conference loses all but two members this summer.

"I think what made it even more special was it just being a really good game on both sides, just to show again the power that Pac-12 softball has," NiJaree Canady said. "It was really cool for it to be a really good game."

A graduate of Topeka High School in Kansas, Canady has quickly become one of the key faces of college softball. She was recently awarded the 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.

"She always played with boys growing up, and now she's just playing against girls and dominating the same way," Katherine Canady said of her daughter.

"When you look back at her freshman year, you look and say, 'Can she repeat what she did then?' Then she gets up here, and she actually does it. We make sure to pour into her all the time and tell her to continue to believe."

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Canady has been electric for the Cardinal throughout the Women's College World Series.

She entered the tournament as the national leader in strikeouts with 310 and an earned-run average of 0.65. Canady has pitched in all three of Stanford's WCWS games, allowing just 12 hits and five runs over 19 innings.

As the Cardinal prepares for a first-round rematch with No. 1 Texas on Monday, the Canady family said they'll continue to put faith into their "golden girl."

"All we can do is continue to rally behind her and the girls like we have all season long," Bruce Canady said. "She and her teammates said they would get back here, and they did. That's just a testament to all their hard work and belief throughout the year. As long as they have belief, we will too."

Jordan Davis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached at jdavis@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jdavis34_. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Jordan’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Stanford softball ace NiJaree Canady's family embracing WCWS run