Super Regional Preview: Texas Tech Heads to Florida With WCWS Spot on the Line
Texas Tech is headed to Florida again this season with a trip to their second-straight (and second ever) Women’s College World Series on the line. This year it will be the Florida Gators standing in their way as No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 6 Florida start up a best two-of-three series on Friday.
Game one is set for 10 a.m. CT Friday on ESPN2 with game two scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CT Saturday on ABC. Game three will be on Sunday if necessary, time TBD.
Florida enters as one of the nation’s most complete teams. The Gators hit .355 as a team, rank seventh nationally in home runs with 102 and fourth in on-base percentage at .456. Center fielder Taylor Shumaker (.446, 18 home runs) headlines an offense loaded with power and production, while Jocelyn Erickson brings another dangerous middle-of-the-order presence with 20 home runs and 71 RBIs.
In the circle, Florida leans heavily on Keagan Rothrock, who carries a 29-6 record and 2.42 ERA into the weekend.
“She throws a rise ball at two different speeds. She can get you to change up,” Glasco said. “She’s a veteran pitcher and has been through this a few times, so she’s very proven and very experienced.”
Florida’s defense has also been among the nation’s best all season, ranking fourth nationally in fielding percentage (.983), something Glasco pointed to immediately when discussing the matchup.
“Extremely well coached, tremendous defensive team every year,” Glasco said.
Texas Tech is doing pretty well themselves both in the circle and at the plate. The Red Raiders rank second nationally in batting average (.388), third in scoring (9.56 runs per game), third in home runs (128) and fourth in team ERA (1.80).
The ace pitching duo NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry leads in the circle. Terry enters at 24-1 with a 1.39 ERA while Canady has posted a 1.42 ERA and 215 strikeouts. This depth could be Tech’s key to winning the series, especially if it goes three games.
“We just keep it really simple in practice and the fundamentals and stuff like that,” junior Mia Williams said about the teams preparation this week. “Just staying grounded, working really hard in practice and watching film.”
The confidence from last weekend’s regional also appears to still be carrying over into this week.
“I think that big comeback was something we really needed as a team,” Jasmyn Burns said when asked about their comeback over Ole Miss on Friday. “I think we’re going into this pretty confident.”
With the team headed away from home, confidence certainly never hurts. Texas Tech enters the weekend at 36-4 away from Lubbock and owns a 12-3 record against Quad 1 opponents. While playing at home is would have been nice, road environments have not been an issue all season and Glasco seemed excited for the challenge.
“Everywhere we go, we’ve sold out. We’ve said everywhere we play, it seems like they set a stadium record for crowds. I think the louder the environment is, the better it is,” Glasco said. “I think the more our kids will get up for the game.”
The games are expected to indeed be sold out as game one gets underway early on Friday at 11am ET / 10 am CT on ESPN2.
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