Florida swept Gainesville with a 25-2 run differential — 12-0 over Florida A&M, 8-0 over Georgia Tech, 5-2 over Tech in the title. Texas Tech needed seven innings against Ole Miss in Game 2 (10-9 nailbiter) but closed Lubbock on a 14-2 run-rule with Canady fully rested for the trip east. Tim Walton's Gators have seven All-SEC selections and a 1,000-plus-win coach — but NiJaree Canady is the best pitcher in the country two years running. The series boils down to whether Florida's lineup can lay off Canady's spin across two starts in three days.
Canady. Period. If she throws 14+ innings across two starts, this is Tech's series on the road. Florida's only hope is a Game 1 split that forces Canady into a 3-game workload Walton's bats can finally exploit.
Series Schedule
Best of 3 · All times Eastern
Game
Date
Time
Matchup
Result
TV
Game 1
Fri, May 22
11:00 AM ET
Texas Tech at Florida
Texas Tech10–8
ESPN2
Game 2
Sat, May 23
12:35 PM CT
Texas Tech at Florida
Florida10–2
ESPN2
Game 3 (if necessary)
Sun, May 24
12:00 PM ET
Texas Tech at Florida
Texas Tech16–7
ESPN
Hosted at Florida. Game 3 only played if the series is split 1-1.
Game Recaps
3 games in the books
Game 1·Fri, May 22·11:00 AM ET·ESPN2Final
Texas Tech
10
▲ Winner
vs
Gainesville
Florida
8
Hero of the Gamein the box
Mia Williams
Texas Tech · Batter
2-for-3 · HR · 1 R · 3 RBI
“A go-ahead HR in the 7th — against the program she transferred out of — puts the 11-seed Red Raiders one win from Oklahoma City.”
Key Moments
Slugfest brewing: TTU 3 HR, UF 4 HR through six
Game tied late into the 7th
Top 7 — Williams HR off Canady gives Tech the lead for good
TTU bullpen closes out the upset of the 6-seed
Pitchers
WN. Canady2.0 IP 3 H 3 R 3 ER 0 BB 3 K
K. Terry5.0 IP 6 H 5 R 2 ER 3 BB 4 K
K. Rothrock4.0 IP 5 H 3 R 0 ER 2 BB 1 K
LK. Oxley1.1 IP 3 H 3 R 3 ER 1 BB 0 K
L. Stevens1.0 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 0 K
O. Miller0.2 IP 4 H 4 R 4 ER 0 BB 0 K
Top Batters
L. Allred (RF)3-for-4 · HR · 1 R · 4 RBI
M. Williams (2B)2-for-3 · HR · 1 R · 3 RBI
L. Quiroga (C)2-for-2 · HR · 3 R · 2 RBI
A. Brown (UF)3-for-4 · 2 HR · 2 R · 5 RBI
K. Grover (UF)3-for-4 · 1 RBI
Game 2·Sat, May 23·12:35 PM CT·ESPN2Final
Florida
10
▲ Winner
vs
Gainesville
Texas Tech
2
Hero of the Gamein the circle
Keagan Rothrock
Florida · Pitcher
7.0 IP · 5 H · 2 ER · 2 BB · 5 K (CG W)
“Season on the line, Rothrock went the distance — Erickson and Walker added HRs as Florida hung 10 on Texas Tech to force a winner-take-all Game 3.”
Key Moments
Erickson — 3-for-5 with a HR and 3 RBI from the catcher spot
Walker added a 2nd Florida HR with 3 RBI of her own
Cahalan scored 3 runs, going 3-for-4
Rothrock answered Canady with a complete-game 5-K performance
Series tied 1-1 — winner-take-all Sunday in Gainesville
Pitchers
WK. Rothrock7.0 IP 5 H 2 ER 2 BB 5 K (CG)
LN. Canady3.2 IP 5 H 5 ER 1 BB 5 K
S. Lincoln3.1 IP 9 H 5 ER 3 BB 1 K
Top Batters
J. Erickson (C/1B)3-for-5 · HR · 3 RBI · 2 R
M. Walker (1B)2-for-3 · HR · 3 RBI · 1 R
K. Cahalan (SS)3-for-4 · 2 RBI · 3 R
G. Comia (2B)2-for-3 · 1 RBI · 1 BB
M. Davis (TT, CF)2-for-4 · 1 R
Game 3·Sun, May 24·12:00 PM ET·ESPNFinal / 5 · Run-rule
Texas Tech
16
▲ Winner
vs
Gainesville
Florida
7
Hero of the Gamein the box
Jackie Lis
Texas Tech · Batter
3-for-3 · 2 HR · 5 RBI · 4 R
“Lis was 3-for-3 with two home runs and 5 RBI as Texas Tech erupted for 16 runs in a 5-inning run-rule. Pannell added 2 more HRs (4 RBI) and Williams went deep against her former team — again.”
Key Moments
Lis went 3-for-3 with 2 HRs and 5 RBI — perfect day
Pannell crushed 2 HRs for 4 RBI from the hot corner
Williams' solo HR — her 2nd of the series against former team Florida
Rothrock pulled after 2 IP, 6 H, 8 R (7 ER) — Florida used 4 pitchers
Texas Tech run-rules Florida 16-7, wins series 2-1 — back to OKC
The winner of this best-of-three series advances to the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, May 28 – June 5. The WCWS is double-elimination through the semifinals, followed by a best-of-three Championship Series.
Texas Tech