Texas Tech softball crushed Florida 16-7 behind five homers and NiJaree Canady’s 100th career win to return to Oklahoma City.
Texas Tech softball didn’t just beat Florida. The Red Raiders detonated.
With a trip to the Women’s College World Series on the line, Texas Tech blasted No. 6 Florida 16-7 in five innings, turning the Gainesville Super Regional finale into a power-showcase for the ages.
The win sends the Red Raiders back to Oklahoma City for the second straight season and gives NiJaree Canady her 100th career victory.
That’s a monster moment for a monster team.
Texas Tech smashed five home runs, with Jackie Lis and Taylor Pannell each going deep twice. For Pannell, it was the first multi-homer game of her career.
For Lis, the eruption pushed her to 20 home runs on the season. Mia Williams added her school-record 24th homer, continuing a ridiculous year at the plate.
The game started wild and never really calmed down. Williams was hit by a pitch to open the game, her fifth of the series, and Texas Tech quickly jumped ahead 3-0 after Jasmyn Burns ripped a two-run single and Florida made a costly throw.
The Gators answered with four runs in the bottom half before a long weather delay paused the chaos. Once play resumed, the bats got even louder.
Williams and Lis launched two-run homers to put Tech back ahead, but Florida tied it 7-7 with a three-run shot. Then the Red Raiders took over for good.
Pannell hammered the go-ahead homer in the fourth, Lis followed with a three-run blast, and Pannell struck again to stretch the lead to 13-7.
By the fifth, Texas Tech had completely broken the game open.
Canady and Kaitlyn Terry handled the circle, and the Red Raiders’ defense played clean again with zero errors for the second straight game.
In a Super Regional series defined by offense, Texas Tech made the final statement.
Now Mississippi State waits in Oklahoma City.
Texas Tech is back in the WCWS, and it’s arriving with thunder in the bats and swagger in the dugout.
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