Mia Williams gets similar treatment at WCWS after last week's testy clash with Florida

It didn't take long for Mia Williams to get hit again and this time I don't think it was an accident.

Williams, the former Florida Gator-turned-Texas Tech Red Raider, who was the focal point of last weekend's spicy Super Regional in Gainesville between her current team and her former team, was hit in the back by Mississippi State in her first at-bat during the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

It's a familiar feeling for Williams, who was hit five times last week by the Gators in what some felt was an intentional act, while others believe that the daughter of former Florida and NBA star point guard Jason Williams, leaned into many pitches as the Gators pitchers were trying to work her inside.

Either way, Mississippi State didn't have time for the nuance. They went right after Williams and hit her high and in the back. Was it a message? It sure seems like it, and maybe it was one that Tim Walton could've sent early last weekend to stop the barrage of runs that the Red Raiders put up at Pressly Stadium. When Williams wasn't taking a base after getting beaned last weekend, she went 3-for-7 with two home runs, a double and five RBIs in the three-game set. 

Mississippi State wastes no time in sending a message to Mia Williams

Last week things got ugly quickly. And the way things finished wasn't Walton's finest moment. He got himself ejected in the fifth inning and the Gators refused to shake hands with the Red Raiders after getting run-ruled in Game 3. Walton looked bad. The Gators looked bad. They looked like a team that got beat on the field, but more importantly, they were mentally beaten. The Florida women and coaches let the bad blood with Williams and her departure from Gainesville get into their collective heads and that's a big reason why they're sitting at home watching and wondering what could've been. 

I'm not an advocate for hurting another player. I think you can send a message that this game is not going to be easy without headhunting. But Mississippi State is doing what Florida should've done. The Bulldogs are letting Williams know they aren't scared of her, and they aren't going to let her get comfortable at the plate. Williams has proven she deserves that respect after being named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's All-American team for the second consecutive season. 

We'll see if this move is something that will work for the Bulldogs in the long run or get Williams off her game (UPDATE: Williams hit an RBI double in her next at-bat, so maybe not), but the tone has been set immediately, and we'll see how both sides respond. As for Walton, he has to do a lot of soul-searching about what happened last week and if he did his best to put the Gators in a situation to win and why, in defeat, they came out of it looking like sore losers.

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