Mia Williams has been so busy breaking single-season record after single-season record that the Texas Tech softball standout hasn’t had time to care which mark she’s closing in on next.
Ahead of the Red Raiders hosting the Lubbock Regional this weekend at Tracy Sellers Field, Williams has already set new standards for home runs (22), RBI (73), and runs (81), and has the record for doubles and total bases well within her sights.
“I think just having my plan in the box and sticking to it,” Williams said of what’s led to her career year, “and trusting in my practice and work and stuff.”
Those individual marks are moot to Williams. As is her potential return to Florida for the Super Regionals (if the Gators and Red Raiders win their regionals this weekend.
All Williams cares about is the team, which still has its sights set on the national championship despite a few bumps in the road over the last month before the national tournament.
“I think we have a team that’s full of dogs,” Williams said, “and we’re all really competitive and we just want to win.”
Head coach Gerry Glasco said the team has spent the last few days preparing for the Lubbock Regional, fine-tuning the little things that led to some of those setbacks late in the year, most recently in the Big 12 Conference championship game against Arizona State.
“We want to play our best ball of the year,” Glasco said, “and we had some moments in the Big 12 tournament where we played really well and we had moments where we could play a lot better. We want to be more consistent and we want to play the best ball of the year.”
In a season with expectations higher than ever before, the Red Raiders have spent the majority it being the marquee opponent for each team on their schedule. Glasco said he expects that to be more of the same with Marist, Ole Miss and Boston University in town.
“Marist is a winning team, 16-2 in their conference,” Glasco said. “They’re going to come out and compete hard. It’s a Super Bowl for them, and we’ve got to come out and match their effort and play our best.”
One area Glasco thinks can help Texas Tech is hosting a regional, which isn’t a new experience anymore. Last year was the first time Lubbock hosted postseason softball in program history. This year’s team has plenty of experience in that regard.
“Last year’s team was really excited and hungry,” Glasco said, “and it was a first-time experience. I thought that they were in awe of the moment. This year’s group’s not in awe of anything. They’ve all been there before. So many have already played in the World Series, and they’re more of a just go about it with an approach kind of team. I don’t sense exhilaration or the excitement as much, but I think we’ll see it in play tomorrow.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech softball begins national title pursuit in Lubbock Regional
Reporting by Nathan Giese, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
