Florida
What to know about Tennessee, Karlyn Pickens vs Florida in Women’s College World Series
OKLAHOMA CITY – Tennessee softball faces elimination in the Women’s College World Series.
The No. 7 seed Lady Vols (45-16) lost their WCWS opener 4-3 to Oklahoma on a walk-off home run at Devon Park on May 29. Tennessee will face No. 3 seed Florida (48-16) on May 30 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
Here’s what you need need to know about the matchup with the Gators.
Buy tickets for Tennessee softball vs. Florida in WCWS
Florida’s offense struggled against Texas in WCWS opener
Florida got shut out by Texas in its WCWS opener, falling 3-0 to the Longhorns. Texas ace Teagan Kavan only threw one strikeout, but she kept the Gators off-balance and only gave up two walks.
Florida has struggled all year against elite pitchers all season. Including the regular-season series against Texas, the Gators faced Kavan for 15⅔ innings this season and had 12 hits, one earned run, nine strikeouts and four walks.
Florida also struggled against LSU pitcher Sydney Berzon and Texas A&M pitcher Emiley Kennedy, and its offensive performance against Kavan doesn’t bode well for facing Tennessee ace Karlyn Pickens.
Tennessee’s offense will likely face Keagan Rothrock
The Lady Vols had one of their better offensive performances against the Sooners despite the loss. They got runners on base in every inning and recorded a hit in every inning except the third and fourth.
Tennessee was aggressive early and it paid off. Oklahoma’s defense stifled UT’s momentum, but the Lady Vols continue to build on their offensive performances each game of the postseason.
Florida will likely start ace Keagan Rothrock (16-7), who pitched the first five innings against Texas. Rothrock owns a 3.24 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 131⅔ innings this season. The sophomore is already a strong pitcher, but if Tennessee logged eight hits against OU pitcher Sam Landry, it should be able to hit off Rothrock, too.
Karlyn Pickens capable of pitching back-to-back
It’s not uncommon for Pickens (24-10) to pitch in back-to-back games for Tennessee, and it would be shocking if she didn’t start with the season on the line.
Pickens pitched complete games in two straight days in Tennessee’s road series win against Texas in the regular season and she did it against Nebraska in the super regional. Pickens only got better as the super regional wore on, and she threw 21 strikeouts and gave up seven hits and two walks in two straight elimination games.
Pickens had a strong outing against Oklahoma outside of the two home runs from Ella Parker. She held the Sooners to five hits with eight strikeouts and four walks.
Tennessee softball vs Florida WCWS prediction
Tennessee 4, Florida 1: The Gators’ offense won’t have any answers for Pickens, and they haven’t won a single game this season when they scored fewer than three runs. Tennessee will beat Florida and live to see another day in Oklahoma City.
Tennessee softball vs Florida: Series history
Tennessee is 35-54 all time against Florida, but the Lady Vols are 7-3 in the last 10 matchups with the Gators.
Tennessee has played Florida in the WCWS twice. The Lady Vols won 9-2 in 2013 and lost 7-2 in 2015. The last time Tennessee and Florida played was a three-game series in 2023, and UT swept UF. The Lady Vols won 11-0 in Game 1, 10-6 in Game 2 and 4-0 in Game 3.
Watch Tennessee softball vs. Florida on Fubo (free trial)
What time does Tennessee softball vs Florida start?
- Date: Friday, May 30
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Devon Park in Oklahoma City
What TV channel is Tennessee softball vs Florida on?
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
Florida
‘She was smashed’: Florida woman accused of driving onto golf course while intoxicated
A Florida woman was arrested after she drove onto a golf course while intoxicated, crashed her car, and found with dozens of miniature bottles of Fireball whiskey, according to authorities.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office identified her as 34-year-old Erika Mayer, of Palmetto.
“She was smashed,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a video shared on X earlier this week. “She was drunk — capital DRUNK. Wrecked her car. She said, ‘But I haven’t been drinking.’
The sheriff’s office said deputies responded to a single-car crash near Streamsong Golf Resort on May 14 shortly before 7 p.m. When deputies arrived, they found a red 2018 Hyundai resting on a sidewalk and a woman sitting beside the car.
Investigators said Mayer appeared impaired, displayed slurred speech, poor balance, and incoherent behavior. Deputies also detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath, the sheriff’s office said.
A witness told deputies they saw Mayer driving across one of the golf courses in the area before the crash.
Judd said deputies searched Mayer’s car, where they found 21 open mini bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, two empty 50 milliliter bottles of 99 Brand liqueurs, and an unopened 10-pack of Fireball.
“And she had empty Fireball bottles in her pants,” Judd said, adding that she was “drunker than Cooter Brown” and “had no idea where she was.”
Deputies said they asked Mayer to perform field sobriety exercises and provide breath samples, but she refused both requests.
According to Judd, Mayer told deputies she declined the tests because she heard it was a bad idea to participate in field sobriety exercises.
Mayer was arrested and charged with DUI, DUI with property damage, and refusing to submit to a DUI test. She was also cited for failure to drive within a single lane and possessing an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.
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No one was hurt in connection with the crash, authorities said.
Florida
Florida cities rank among best and worst places to raise a family
Port St. Lucie ranked No. 147 among 182 cities in the United States for places to raise a family in 2026, according to a WalletHub study.
Port St. Lucie ranked among the best places in the United States to raise a family in 2026, according to a WalletHub study.
The free personal finance website compared 182 cities in the United States to find the best and worst places to raise a family in 2026.
The website scored cities based on these criteria:
- Family fun
- Health and safety
- Education and child care
- Affordability
- Socio-economics
Port St. Lucie ranks for best places to raise a family
The rankings range from 1 to 182, with 1 being the best.
- Family fun rank: 179
- Health and safety rank: 40
- Education and child care rank: 160
- Affordability rank: 135
- Socioeconomics rank: 70
- Playgrounds per capita: 101
- Violent-crime per capita: 4
- Overall rank: 147
Top-ranked Florida cities to raise a family
- 49. Orlando
- 59. Tampa
- 60. Pembroke Pines
- 63. St. Petersburg
- 117. Jacksonville
- 123. Tallahassee
- 133. Cape Coral
- 147. Port St. Lucie
- 163. Miami
- 166. Fort Lauderdale
- 173. Hialeah
Best places to raise a family in 2026
- 1. Fremont, California
- 2. Overland Park, Kansas
- 3. Irvine, California
- 4. Plano, Texas
- 5. Columbia, Maryland
- 6. Bismarck, North Dakota
- 7. South Burlington, Vermont
- 8. Charleston, South Carolina
- 9. Seattle, Washington
- 10. Boise, Idaho
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
Florida
As Florida debates property tax relief, a local official analyzed the potential impact on South Florida
Florida homeowners who have been lobbying for property tax relief may be closer to receiving it with a newly filed bill in Tallahassee.
Joseph Zamb, who works in real estate, said the ultimate goal should be to eliminate property taxes entirely for homesteaded properties. He believes this step would benefit both investors and homeowners.
“I think that the next step for South Florida, all of Florida, is to completely eliminate property taxes,” Zamb said. “You need to get the American dream back, buy a house, and not have to constantly be paying, paying, paying”.
The official bill calls for a $150,000 homestead exemption in 2027, followed by a $250,000 exemption in 2028. The legislature would then be tasked with creating a long-term plan for the following years.
Broward Property Appraiser Marty Kiar analyzed the potential impact based on 2025 property values. Kiar found that with the $150,000 exemption, the 425,000 homesteaded property owners in Broward would save about $2,100. However, this exemption would mean the county loses $195 million, and schools are down by $294 million. Kiar noted that the current version of the bill does not include a carve-out for schools.
“Whatever city you live in will depend on the loss of revenue to your city, based on how many homesteaded properties there are, how many commercial properties there are,” Kiar said.
The legislature is scheduled to hash out the details next week during a special session. If the bill passes, it would be presented to voters as a constitutional amendment for approval or rejection.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be the most consequential vote that anybody is going to make if anything’s on the ballot in November, because it could potentially change the way things are done,” Kiar said.
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