Plenty of people are going to have thoughts and weigh in on all of the pitches and emotions that were flying around in Gainesville, Florida over the past few days. And it’s understandable. Mia Williams, a former Florida Gator, returned to Gainesville with the Texas Tech Red Raiders for a Super Regional that would decide who had a shot to make it to Oklahoma City and the Women’s College World Series.
High stakes, two talented teams, and a pretty intense atmosphere. Plus, there’s the whole thing about Williams thriving this season with 24 home runs, 22 doubles, 82 RBI, and 21 stolen bases. She’s hitting .435 on the season and is really, really impressive. And again, she plays for Texas Tech instead of Florida.
So of course, given the current climate of college athletics, people were going to let their emotions get the best of them with this game. And of course, it was far from ideal that Florida’s pitchers ended up hitting Williams five times in just three games.
It also wasn’t ideal that fans and people outside of the game decided to put ridiculous standards on Williams for transferring to play for Texas Tech.
So, following the Red Raiders’ resilient win over Florida in Game 3, Williams’ head coach decided to weigh in on the situation.
Texas Tech softball head coach Gerry Glasco showed support for Mia Williams after the Red Raiders crushed the Florida Gators
“How big for Mia Williams to go up there today and, with all the pressure on here and everything that’s been done, to create as much attention as you can,” Glasco said during his postgame press conference. “You know, it’s a normal thing in this day and age for athletes to transfer. It happens every day and we want to make a big deal out of it, that’s uncalled for.”
Texas Tech’s head coach continued, pointing out how the whole situation is a bit absurd and also not fair towards Williams and other players who transfer.
“Another hit by pitch, I think she got hit five times on the first pitch,” Glasco continued. “And then when they did pitch to her, she took the challenge and hit it out. She won every battle that was thrown her way today and I’m really proud of her.”
As for Glasco’s thoughts on the way the Red Raiders’ supported their teammate?
“I’m proud of my team for having her back,” Glasco stated. “They were protecting her at all cost and they were going to come out of here with the win if at all possible. When you play a great team like Florida, a great team coached by a great coach like Tim Walton, nothing’s guaranteed, but they absolutely made a dominant statement today.”
And I think that’s more than fair to say. Texas Tech hit five home runs (one for every time that Williams was hit by a pitch over the past three days) and scored 16 runs in their run-rule win over the Gators. Now, Texas Tech is headed on to Oklahoma City while the Gators are going to be at home.
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