![Florida infielder Madison Walker (24) looks for the throw while Texas Tech second baseman Mia Williams (1) contemplates a steal during game 3 of the super regional of the NCAA Division 1 softball championship at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Sunday, May 24, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_115,w_2754,h_1549/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/275/01ksenjkwt3ktz9k4jsz.jpg "Florida infielder Madison Walker (24) looks for the throw while Texas Tech second baseman Mia Williams (1) contemplates a steal during game 3 of the super regional of the NCAA Division 1 softball championship at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Sunday, May 24, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Run-rule wins are difficult to get. That’s a statement that could stand all alone on its own and be true. Generally speaking, it’s tough to beat a team by eight or more runs in roughly five or so innings. It’s not exactly the easiest thing ever to score enough and then also simultaneously limit the opposing offense in a condensed timeframe.
And then when you’re trying to do that in their ballpark? Well, you better be a pretty good team if you’re aiming to do that. Especially if you’re trying to pull that off against a team that is assembled to compete for a national championship.
Like, say, the Florida Gators, for example.
Thankfully, Texas Tech proved it was just a bit better than Florida as the Red Raiders eliminated the Gators with a blowout, run-rule win in Game 3. 16-7 over Florida on their own turf. That’s impressive stuff. And there’s a ton of numbers from this game that are worth exploring and celebrating.
Texas Tech’s fielding was flawless while the Gators had a trio of errors
So many things went right for the Red Raiders in this game. Pitching was far from perfect, sure, but Texas Tech was unstoppable while at the plate when facing a Florida pitching staff that happened to be pretty impressive. And then there’s everything that Texas Tech did while in the field.
The biggest thing there? Texas Tech didn’t make any mistakes. No errors. Zero of them. Against Florida in a hostile environment while emotions were charged with elimination staring at both of these teams and a trip to the Women’s College World Series on the line.
Texas Tech didn’t let its emotions get the best of it. The Red Raiders didn’t stumble.
The same can’t really be said for Florida, who had three errors against the Red Raiders. As a result, of the 16 runs that Texas Tech scored against the Gators on Sunday, only nine of them were earned. Now, that’s still more than enough to have beaten Florida, but this game was so lopsided in part because Florida couldn’t field cleanly.
Drawing eight walks is never a bad thing, so let’s celebrate that (especially the ones that brought runs home)
Another thing that Texas Tech did particularly well? The Red Raiders managed to draw eight walks against basically the entirety of the Florida pitching staff. Texas Tech’s batters were able to become baserunners pretty effortlessly and that put all sorts of pressure on Florida to keep being aggressive at the plate while things started to spiral for the Gators.
Keagan Rothrock, in 2.0 innings of work, faced 16 batters and walked three of them. Later down the stretch, Allison Sparkman struggled and ended up walking five of the 10 batters that she faced.
Texas Tech was patient. The Red Raiders took advantage of missed pitches and mishaps from Florida’s staff. And a couple of those walks even turned into RBI walks for the Red Raiders. Combine that with the fact that Texas Tech struck out just twice and there’s a lot to be proud of from the Red Raiders’ at-bats that goes beyond just the number of home runs that Texas Tech hit.
Texas Tech managed to hammer five home runs in a single game, which is just part of why this game got so lopsided
Speaking of all those home runs that the Red Raiders managed to hit, let’s talk about them. Because that’s another huge part of how Texas Tech managed to get through this game in such dominant fashion. The Red Raiders hit five home runs, which is a lot of home runs (and is far more than what Florida produced in this game).
Mia Williams hit one in the top of the second inning (a two-run shot to center field that got Logan Halleman across home plate). Jackie Lis hit a two-run shot of her own in the top of the second inning as well just a couple of at-bats later, scoring Mihyia Davis in the process.
In the top of the third inning, Taylor Pannell launched a solo shot home run that got Rothrock out of the game for Florida. Then a few batters later, Lis hit her second home run of the game, scoring Davis and Halleman along as well.
The final home run of the day for Texas Tech came in the top of the fourth inning when Pannell put another home run over the left field wall, bringing Allred home.
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