Texas won two out of three games against Texas during their highly contentious college softball series last weekend. However, the biggest storyline to come out of Austin involved a collision at first base.
It sounds like both of the involved players have decided to move from the incident, with the perceived victim actually taking accountability as the perpetrator.
All of this drama (or, now, a lack thereof) stems from Game 1 of the three-game college softball series. Tigers slugger Maddox McKee ran directly into Longhorns first baseman Joley Mitchell. The impact was pretty rough, which knocked Mitchell down onto the dirt below.
A massive debate proceeded to unfold amongst the softball community on social media. Some people thought McKee intentionally targeted Mitchell with violent intent. Some people though Mitchell was to blame because she obstructed the base path. LSU fans obviously sided with McKee. Texas with Mitchell.
It got way out of hand.
To make matters worse, Maddox McKee tried to apologize to Joley Mitchell at her next opportunity. Mitchell waved her off as if to reject the apology but McKee was being sincere!
The tension between the two players has been dissolved. They are all good.
Mitchell responded to the outrage on TikTok. She actually took full responsibility for the collision because she was standing in the base path. It was entirely her fault. McKee was not trying to run her over.
Both players also reached out to each other after the series and apologized. They have since moved on.
Mitchell goes on to contradict herself. She claims that she was just doing her job by playing well in each of the next few games and that she was not out for revenge. And yet, she added that Texas was inspired to win the series at all costs because of the incident. Which is it?
Either way, Joley Mitchell and Maddox McKee have since cleared the air. Any outstanding beef has been squashed. They are both willing to take some of the blame for what happened. They are moving on…
… for now! I would imagine that this whole thing will inspire a heated rematch if these two teams end up facing each other in the postseason. Bad blood is bad blood even after it has been “resolved.”