From the first pitch on, there was no shortage of tension on Sunday afternoon.
Florida softball hit Texas Tech’s Mia Williams, a transfer who helped the Gators reach the Women’s College World Series last year, for a fifth time in Game 3 of the Super Regional series on May 24.
Whether any were intentional or not, this set the stage for a game that was, if anything, upstaged and will likely be more remembered for the off-field drama rather than Texas Tech’s eventual 16-7 series-deciding victory to punch its ticket back to the Women’s College World Series.
The top storyline entering the weekend was the return of Williams, the daughter of former Florida basketball player Jason Williams, who after the game expressed his displeasure with UF head coach Tim Walton to the Gainesville Sun. The former Gators basketball player, who has attended UF men’s basketball games this past season, later celebrated with the Texas Tech squad on the field after the victory.
“It makes no sense to me at all,” said Florida coach Tim Walton when asked about the drama of the series. “I have no idea where that came from. I don’t think that’s fair to the kids in both dugouts. I have no idea where that pot was being stirred. There’s never been a problem ever. Kids transfer all the time.”
Yet the storyline quickly drew national attention after Williams was hit by the first pitch in the Super Regional opener on Friday. Even after Walton denied allegations of Williams being hit, the second baseman was again hit on the first pitch of the game on Sunday.
In Williams’ next at-bat in the final game of the series, she hit a 2-run home run, one of Texas Tech’s eventual five, which featured a celebration that prompted a warning to the Red Raider dugout.
“She had a great weekend,” Walton said. “She got a hole on the inside corner of the plate. You have to throw it there. If you throw it on the outer plate, it goes over the fence. Nobody was trying to hit her on purpose. I don’t understand the drama that was really uncalled for. I’m very disappointed on that, but that had nothing to do with the softball game.
“Unfortunately, it became a life of its own. I don’t want that to detract from the game that they played and the game that we played.”
Walton’s sentiment about the storyline being overexaggerated was shared by Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco.
“With all the pressure on her and everything that’s been done to create as much as attention as you can – it’s a normal thing in this day and age for athletes to transfer, and we want to make a big deal out of it is uncalled for,” Glasco said. “When they did pitch to her, she took the challenge and hit it out. She won every battle that was thrown in her way today.”
Walton was later ejected from the game just before the run-rule was induced in the fifth inning for arguing balls and strikes.
Mia Williams’ father felt Walton’s ejection may have been pre-meditated.
“He got kicked out because he didn’t want to shake her hand,” Jason Williams told The Sun.
Mia Williams finished the series 3-for-7 at the plate and drove in five runs.
“I don’t really pay attention to any of the things that happen off the field,” Williams said. “I stay very far from social media. I’m not really that type, but mentally coming into this, I knew it was going to be a dog fight playing against my former team. They know me a little, and I know them. It was going to be a dog fight. Good battle. They did really good.”
The peak of the animosity between the two teams was best illustrated after the refusal to shake hands. Following that decision, Texas Tech players began exchanging with Florida players, as the atmosphere spilled into the stands as fans from each side joined in.
“Maybe that was for the better with the anxiety of the series,” Walton said. “On TV, they were saying there might be a bench-clearing brawl. Never seen that in softball in my life. That would have been a first, so there you go, we’re just stirring it up again. I don’t understand. It makes no sense.”
Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at AAbadie@usatodayco.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: How Mia Williams hit-by-pitch saga overshadowed Florida-Texas Tech softball clash
Reporting by Andrew Abadie, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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