GAINESVILLE — Former Gator Mia Williams returned to Florida and pushed her old team to the brink of softball elimination while positioning Texas Tech a step closer to another Women’s College World Series berth.
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Williams’ two-run home run off sophomore reliever Katelynn Oxley broke a seventh-inning tie to carry the Red Raiders to a dramatic 10-8 win Friday during the NCAA Super Regionals.
The junior second baseman, who transferred from UF after last season, drove a 1-0 pitch over the left-field wall with the score 8-8 to halt a gritty Gators’ comeback from a 7-1 deficit.
“Super satisfying,” Williams said of her heroics. “But the job’s not done yet.”
Tim Walton’s Gators (51-11) need consecutive wins during the best-of-three series, beginning Saturday on ABC, to return to the WCWS for the third straight year. With a win, the Red Raiders (56-6) will advance to the WCWS for the second time. They reached the 2025 finals before losing to Texas.
To stay alive, the Gators will need sharper pitching and cleaner defense against a deep Texas Tech lineup.
“We hit the ball well,” Walton said. “But we played terrible. I’m not gonna hide from that. It’s on me to get our team ready to play in a big game.
“But it’s a series, not a game. I’m not going to push the panic button.”
The Gators used three pitchers, committed two critical errors and repeatedly struggled to prevent extra-base hits as Texas Tech built its lead.
Still, designated hitter and Texas native Ava Brown nearly carried the Gators back. Brown blasted two home runs and drove in five runs during the fifth and sixth innings.
“That was legit,” Walton said. “She’s as hot as anybody we have in the lineup. Out of everything I’ve ever seen out of Ava Brown in a big game, she’s going to be there.”
Brown’s three-run homer off Texas Tech All-American pitcher NiJaree Canady nearly unraveled coach Gerry Glasco’s strategy to save his ace early in the game. Glasco started left-hander Kaitlyn Terry before turning to Canady in the sixth inning after Madison Walker’s solo homer cut the deficit to 8-5.
Brown then tied the game with a three-run shot.
“It was a slugfest and a battle,” Glasco said.
Williams answered in the seventh, restoring Texas Tech’s lead and setting up Canady to close the game. After Kendall Glover singled to open the bottom of the seventh, Canady retired the next three batters to secure the win.
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“I thought NiJaree made a statement in the bottom of the seventh to hold that lead and fight through the adversity of the sixth inning,” Gasco said. “I thought it was good for her to work through it, so that she can be at her best tomorrow.”
Florida is expected to face Canady (24-5) again Sunday, while ace Keagan Rothrock likely will return to the circle for the Gators after allowing three runs over four innings Friday.
Texas Tech seized momentum early after trailing 1-0. The Red Raiders strung together three consecutive doubles with two out in the third inning, aided by shaky Florida defense.
Terry reached on an error by shortstop Kenleigh Cahalan to start the inning. Rothrock retired the next two hitters before Haile Toney’s double skipped under Cahalan’s glove to score Terry. Cahalan also got a glove on doubles by Lagi Quiroga and Williams, but both balls rolled into left field.
Florida reliever Olivia Miller recorded just two outs while allowing four runs, including homers by Lauren Allred and Quiroga. Oxley (4-2) took the loss after surrendering Williams’ game-winning homer.
Williams, the daughter of former Florida basketball star Jason Williams, has flourished in Lubbock. Entering the Super Regionals, she was batting .435 with a team-best 22 home runs and 77 RBIs. Rothrock, her former teammate in Florida’s 2023 recruiting class, hit Williams with the game’s first pitch.
Emotions also flared in the stands at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, where a fan was ejected following an altercation involving Williams’ younger sister and father. Campus police initially escorted Jason Williams toward the exit before allowing him to return after determining a fan had struck his daughter with a handheld fan.
“I knew that it would be a series where some athletes would let the emotions get to them,” Gasco said of Williams. “But I feel like she’s made for the moment.”
Despite the loss, Walton praised his team’s resilience after erasing a six-run deficit.
“The fight and the resiliency was awesome to see and is everything you could ever ask for, but obviously wasn’t enough,” Walton said. “We talked postgame, just working hard tomorrow, get back at it, and do what we do — and do what we do better.”
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Edgar Thompson can be reached at [email protected]
Up next …
Texas Tech (56-6) at Florida (51-11)
When: 12:30 p.m., Saturday; Sunday, if necessary
Where: Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, Gainesville
TV: ABC (Saturday)