Mia Williams turned a tied game into a lead for Texas Tech on May 22, when her two-run home run at 12:24 p.m. put the No. 11 seed ahead 10-8 in Game 1 of the Gainesville Super Regional against No. 6 Florida.
The back-and-forth began before the seventh. Williams was hit by the first pitch of the game from Keagan Rothrock at 10:06 a.m., Florida took a 1-0 lead at 10:24 a.m., and Texas Tech answered with a three-run swing at 11:12 a.m. — three straight two-out doubles from Hailey Toney, Lagi Quiroga and Williams that made it 3-1. Lauren Allred then crushed a three-run shot at 11:30 a.m. to make it 6-1, and Lagi Quiroga followed with a solo homer at 11:35 a.m. to stretch the lead to 7-1.
Florida chipped away with back-to-back homers at 11:49 a.m., pulling within 7-4, before Allred drove in another run at 11:59 a.m. to make it 8-4. Ava Brown’s three-run homer at 12:15 p.m. tied the game 8-8 and set the stage for Williams’ answer nine minutes later.
The sequence mattered because both programs carry serious résumés into the series: Texas Tech was 55-6 entering the matchup, Florida 51-10, and both teams reached the Women’s College World Series in 2025. Texas Tech’s offense has been a force — a.388 team batting average, four players over.400 and seven hitting.360 or better — and Williams is a central figure. She hit.435 with 83 runs, 22 homers and 77 RBI for Texas Tech this season and is expected to start at second base; she previously hit.335 with 19 homers and 44 RBI as a sophomore at Florida after two seasons in Gainesville.
“Two really good teams playing softball,” Williams said. “That's what we're focusing on. We're prepared and we're ready and I'm sure they are too, so it's going to be two good softball games.” She added a personal note on returning close to home: “It's fun that we get to come back close to home and yeah a lot of my family will be here so it will definitely be fun,” and praised her support: “Yeah they've definitely supported me, always.”
Florida coach Tim Walton, speaking before the series, put the matchup in a national frame: “A big, bright light on the game,” he said, and reminded his team of the stakes tied to the ABC broadcast of Game 2. “We have to go out there and take care of business, not just for Florida, but for the brand of softball and the NCAA, and show ABC what they're getting,” Walton said. “They're getting two great teams who are going to fight to go to the [Women's] College World Series.” ABC selected Game 2 as its national game Saturday afternoon, with Beth Mowins, Michelle Smith, Jessica Mendoza and Holly Rowe scheduled to call the action.
The pitching matchups that followed a slugfest like this one are worth watching. Texas Tech’s staff includes NiJaree Canady, who entered the series 23-5 with a 1.42 ERA and 215 strikeouts; Florida counters with Kaitlyn Terry, 24-1 with a 1.39 ERA and 152 strikeouts. The contrast — a potent, deep Red Raiders lineup against one of the country’s stingiest rotations — is the core tension of the Super Regional.
Texas Tech left runners stranded in each of the first two innings, a reminder the offense can still be inefficient, and Florida’s late homers exposed the margin for error. Cassidy McLellan, speaking for her team’s focus, said simply: “We're just focusing on the Gators” and “Controlling what we can control and playing Gator softball.”
The practical takeaway is immediate: the winner of the best-of-three Gainesville Super Regional advances to the Women’s College World Series. With Game 1 swinging late on Williams’ homer, Game 2 — nationally televised — now becomes the decisive platform for both programs to seize control of a series that will decide who returns to Oklahoma City.
