Florida softball delivered a valiant effort, but fell just short Thursday night in a series opening loss to Oklahoma. The performance, though, gives UF hope.

All the pressure stood on the shoulders of Mia Williams when she approached the plate in the sixth inning.

Florida softball relinquished a lead in the top half of the inning and needed a furious comeback.

On the first pitch, she belted one to center, and the game was tied.

One of the most anticipated games at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium lived up to the hype as No. 7/9 UF (41-13, 13-10 SEC) and No. 1 Oklahoma (43-5, 17-5 SEC) battled for three more innings before the Sooners eventually prevailed 6-5 in the ninth to win the first game of the three-game series.

Even though the Gators fell short of their first home win over a No. 1 team in 12 years, it was an impressive fight shown, and it was needed after an embarrassing loss Monday to LSU.

“This is the Gator softball. What we did just now, so it's nothing new,” Williams said. “We know we're good, but obviously it's nice to see results.”

Two top-notch defensive put outs defined the early part of the game.

In the bottom of the first, coach Tim Walton sent Shumaker home after first baseman Sydney Barker couldn’t handle the ball. Barker quickly recovered, though, and fired it home to easily get Shumaker out.

In the top of the fourth, the Gators delivered a perfect play – emblematic of the defense Walton coaches. Oklahoma attempted a double steal, but Mia Williams read it well and fired it to Jocelyn Erickson, who tagged Aliana Agbayani out at home.

Williams said she didn’t realize it was a big play until after it happened.

“I was going to tag the runner out that was going to second, and I heard everybody four,” Williams said. “Going back to the communication, just like having each other's backs and knowing that my teammates have my back, and I have theirs.”

Other than that, both teams played a near-flawless game. The Sooners got the scoring started with back-to-back runs in the second and third innings.

In the bottom of the third, Florida made OU pay for an error and a wild pitch. The Gators plated two unearned runs but still led 3-2.

That lead stood until the sixth inning, when the Sooners finally got into Rothrock. Ella Parker homered to tie it, and OU added another two off singles.

With one swing, Mia Williams got Florida back into the thick of things. The sophomore belted home run No. 18 to tie it at five.

“I did it for my team,” Williams said. We want to win so bad, so just doing that, I think, gave us energy and pump.”

The Gators carried that energy into the seventh, and for the next two innings, both teams generated attacks. OU put two runners on in the seventh and loaded the bases in the eighth, but another phenomenal defensive double play from Williams kept it tied.

Meanwhile, Florida stranded two runners on base in the two innings. Eventually, the Sooners loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth. Florida reliever Ava Brown escaped only allowing one run, but that proved to be the final nail in the coffin.

Senior Reagan Walsh, who had three hits on OU ace Sam Landry, said she appreciates the tough schedule, and the challenge the Sooners bring.

“We are in the SEC, and we're the best of the best, and we're right up there with them,” Walsh said. “I don't think that they're better than us. We're going to come out and we're going to do the best that we can.”

First pitch Friday is set for 6 p.m. and will be shown on the SEC Network.

Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.