![Florida infielder Kendall Grover (12) and Texas Tech shortstop Hailey Toney (32) watch the pass ball at third 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_40,w_2663,h_1497/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/275/01ksdx7vme93kzh4pwvc.jpg "Florida infielder Kendall Grover (12) and Texas Tech shortstop Hailey Toney (32) watch the pass ball at third 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]")
Texas Tech made a statement on Sunday to advance right back to the Women’s College World Series. When you examine how this all played out, this is a game that the Texas Tech Red Raiders proved that they could take over and completely and totally own.
The 11th-seeded Red Raiders managed to hit five home runs and score 16 runs en route to a 16-7 win over the Florida Gators in just five innings. It feels good to get a run-rule win. It feels really good to get a run-rule win in a Super Regional against one of the best college softball programs in the country. Especially for a team that hadn’t made it to a Super Regional until the 2025 season. Now, Texas Tech secured a mercy rule victory to secure a spot in the Women’s College World Series in back-to-back seasons.
Mia Williams and the Texas Tech Red Raiders softball team take down Florida to advance back to the Women’s College World Series
So much of the story in this specific game (and really this specific Super Regional) centered around the way Texas Tech star Mia Williams was hit by a pitch early in the game. Once again, Williams was hit by Keagan Rothrock and that was the fifth time she’d been hit by a pitch in this Super Regional while facing her former team.
Four of those times that Williams was hit by a pitch involved Rothrock.
But in the second inning, Rothrock pitched to Williams and was able to launch a two-run home run to center field. And there’s so much to love about that. The Red Raiders were incensed early on by the way Williams was seemingly routinely getting hit by pitch in a three-game stretch and they turned around and kept hitting home runs.
That includes Jackie Lis, who hit two home runs of her own, and Taylor Pannell, who added a couple of home runs to elevate the Red Raiders as well.
Texas Tech’s lineup was incredibly disciplined when facing the Florida Gators pitching staff
Rothrock, to her credit, did just about everything that she could to put the Gators in position to compete, but neither pitching staff involved in this game was particularly great. Thus, you know, the 16-7 score. It’s not normal to see 23 combined runs scored in a game.
Rothrock struggled through 2.0 innings of work. She gave up a half-dozen hits, allowed the Red Raiders to score eight runs (seven of which were earned), and she walked three Texas Tech batters. Rothrock was also the pitcher who had the distinct pleasure of giving up three home runs to the Red Raiders. Leah Stevens, who stepped in for 1.1 innings of relief pitching, gave up two home runs to the Red Raiders.
As a whole, in 5.0 innings of work, Florida’s pitching staff gave up 10 hits, yielded 16 runs, walked eight batters, gave up five home runs, and struck out a grand total of two batters.
And now Florida’s season is over. The Red Raiders are advancing on. They’ve managed to take two of three from the Gators in Gainesville, which is a remarkably difficult thing to do. And for the second time ever, the Red Raiders will be competing in the Women’s College World Series.
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