Tag: 2023 NCAA Softball Tournament

Social media stunned after No. 2 UCLA eliminated from NCAA softball tournament

Social media reacts to the stunning elimination of the No. 2 UCLA Bruins from the NCAA Softball tournament.

Upsets happen all the time in the NCAA Tournament. Whether it’s basketball, baseball or lacrosse we see Davids beat Goliaths all the time in collegiate postseason play.

However, what we don’t see all the time is the No. 2 seed in the tournament not making it out of the opening weekend, especially in a double-elimination format.

But that’s what happened to the No. 2 UCLA Bruins this weekend. After losing to Grand Canyon on Friday night, the Bruins were upset by the Liberty Flames on Saturday in a stunning 2-1 loss.

The last time UCLA was eliminated from the regional round of the tournament was 2013. That was the third season in a row in which it failed to qualify for the super regional.

The stunning upset opens the door for San Diego State to advance if it beats Liberty in the regional final on Sunday. The winner would face the winner of the Salt Lake City regional between Utah and Ole Miss.

Social media was buzzing Saturday evening at the elimination of the UCLA Bruins and here are some of the best reactions.

Jordy Bahl preys on the Tigers; Oklahoma beats Missouri 11-0

Jordy Bahl preys on the Missouri Tigers, allowing one hit and recording seven strikeouts in five innings of Oklahoma’s 11-0 win.

Oklahoma beat Missouri 11-0 to stay unbeaten in the Norman Regional. Oklahoma dominated the Tigers from start to finish thanks to a healthy combination of its offense and a strong performance from Jordy Bahl.

The Sooners got the scoring started as Jayda Coleman and Haley Lee reached base to put immediate pressure on the Tigers. After a double-steal, Cydney Sanders then singled, bringing in both baserunners to give Oklahoma a 2-0 lead.

The top of the order struck again in the top of the third. Coleman led off with a walk, and Lee drove her in with a double. Kinzie Hansen stepped up to the plate and launched a two-run home run to make it 5-0 after three.

The only thing notable in the fourth inning was Missouri’s lone hit of the game. Jordy Bahl, who was cruising, worked around the two-on, one-out situation with a fielder’s choice and a strikeout to end the inning.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Sooners got extended their lead thanks to the base running of Haley Lee. Lee advanced to second on Kinzie Hansen’s fielder’s choice and then took third and home on a pair of wild pitches from  Missouri pitcher Megan Shumacher. Cydney Sanders then hit her sixth home run of the season to make it 7-0.

In the sixth inning, Tiare Jennings put the Sooners in run-rule territory with an sacrifice fly, but the Sooners went hunting for more. Quincee Lilio walked with the bases loaded and two outs to make it 9-0. Super senior Grace Green did what she does best, coming through in a pinch-hit situation with a pair of RBIs for an 11-0 lead.

Jordy Bahl got the start for the Sooners and was nothing short of dominant. She retired Missouri’s first nine batters. Bahl recorded seven strikeouts and allowed one hit in five innings pitched. The Big 12 first-team selection allowed just two base runners on the afternoon to improve to 16-1 on the season and lower her ERA to 1.10.

Kierston Deal relieved Bahl in the sixth and struck out two before a popup ended the game.

Jayda Coleman walked three times and scored each time she reached base. Haley Lee was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI. Cydney Sanders had a 2-for-3 day and Kinzie Hansen now has six RBIs in the NCAA tournament.

The Sooners have now outscored their Norman Regional opponents 22-0 and the pitching staff has allowed just two hits.

Now Oklahoma gets to breathe a bit as they wait to see who emerges from the loser’s bracket. Missouri will take on the winner of California vs. Hofstra Saturday night to see who gets to play the Sooners. The Sooners can wrap up the Norman Regional starting at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday.

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Oklahoma Sooners beat Hofstra Pride 11-0

Oklahoma dominates Hofstra 11-0 in the Norman Regional. Kinzie Hansen went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and Nicole May held the Pride to one hit over four innings of work.

Oklahoma softball started its national title defense in run-rule fashion with an 11-0 win over the Hofstra Pride.

Jayda Coleman reached first on an error, and Tiare Jennings smashed a double to the wall to move Coleman to third. Haley Lee beat out an infield single to drive Coleman in to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

In the bottom of the second, Grace Lyons made it 3-0 with her eighth home run of the season, a two-run bomb to score Kinzie Hansen.

With one out in the third, Lee and Alyssa Brito reached with back-to-back singles before Hansen cleared the bases with a double to make it 5-0.

In the fourth inning, Oklahoma put the game in run-rule territory, plating six in the inning and sending 11 Sooners to the plate to make it 11-0. Jayda Coleman hit her team-leading 15th home run of the season to kickstart the scoring in the frame. Cydney Sanders drew a walk, and Lee reached base for the third time in the game with a walk of her own. Jocelyn Erickson, pinch-running for Sanders, scored on a single by Brito, and Hansen added another pair of RBIs with a single to center to make it 10-0.

Oklahoma got their final run of the game when super senior Grace Green reached on an error, which allowed Hansen to score from second to make it 11-0.

Nicole May dominated from the circle, throwing four innings of one-hit ball. May didn’t walk a batter and struck out five to pick up her 17th win of the season and lower her ERA to 0.58 on the season. Alex Storako closed out the win with

Oklahoma now gets ready for Missouri, who beat California 5-1 in game two of the regional. Leadoff hitter Jenna Laird went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI, and two runs scored. Alex Honnold provided the big blast with a three-run home run out of the two-hole

The Sooners and the Tigers will face off at 2 p.m. CT.

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Norman Regional schedule and weekend primer: Oklahoma vs. California set for Sunday afternoon

Norman Regional Softball 2023 Schedule, weekend preview. Can anyone dethrone a loaded Oklahoma team in the regional?

Oklahoma continued their hot start to the NCAA tournament with an 11-0 win over Missouri. The Sooners kept their former Big 12 foe and future SEC league mate at bay with some stellar pitching from Jordy Bahl.

The bats didn’t take long to come to life as Oklahoma scored in the first and the third to jump out to an early 5-0 lead.

Missouri didn’t have an answer, striking out seven times and reaching base twice.

California defeated the Missouri Tigers to advance to Sunday’s matchup with Oklahoma.

Oklahoma No. 1 seed: NCAA softball tournament matchups set, outlook for regional round

A look at who’s playing where and teams to watch in the Regional round of the NCAA Softball Tournament.

The growth of collegiate softball has turned the NCAA tournament into must-see television over the last several years. That growth was felt on selection Sunday as anticipation built for the 64 programs and teams on the bubble that awaited their fate from the selection committee.

This next weekend marks the first step in the march to the Women’s College World Series for the Oklahoma Sooners and the 63 other teams that hope to knock off the reigning, defending undisputed back-to-back NCAA champions.

With tournament play beginning this Friday, here’s a look at each of the 16 regional sites.

Top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners learn opponents for Norman Regional

During the NCAA tournament selection show on ESPN, the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners learned who they’ll be facing in the Norman Regional.

The Oklahoma Sooners begin their quest for a three-peat this week and now know their opponents for the first round of the NCAA tournament.

As revealed in the NCAA Tournament selection show on ESPN, the Sooners will host Cal, Missouri and Hofstra in the regional round of the NCAA tournament.

Not surprisingly, the Sooners are the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. The back-to-back national champions are riding a 43-game winning streak and haven’t lost since February. The Sooners are making their 29th consecutive NCAA appearance and have advanced to the Women’s College World Series in six straight seasons.

Joining them in Norman are the California Golden Bears, who went 33-19-1 in 2023, but just 9-14-1 in Pac-12 play. Notably, they won series over Arizona, Arizona State and Utah and picked up wins over Iowa and Texas Tech in nonconference play.

The Missouri Tigers return to Norman after going 34-24 and 7-17 in SEC play, finishing in last place during the conference’s regular season.

Hofstra joins the field after winning the CAA tournament title. It was 29-25 during the season and went 16-7 in conference play. The Pride went 8-1 in their final nine games, including 5-1 in the CAA double-elimination tournament.

The Sooners are the overwhelming favorite to advance out of the Norman Regional, which will begin play Friday May, 19. The Sooners open the series against Hofstra at 4 p.m. CT on ESPNU followed by Missouri and California. The winners will meet in the first game of Saturday’s triple-header.

The winner of the Norman Regional will face the winner of the Clemson Regional, hosted by the No. 16 Clemson Tigers.

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Ohio State softball team shut out of the NCAA Tournament

Ohio State softball’s season is over. #GoBucks

The Ohio State softball team’s 2023 season is over, thanks to a somewhat surprising snub for the 64-team NCAA Tournament field.

When the Buckeyes lost in extra innings to No. 3 seed Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament, it sure felt like there would still be some game in the NCAA Tournament given the body of work OSU put together. Instead, Nebraska and Notre Dame seemed to take a bid away with similar resumes. The Buckeyes took two out of three on the road from the Cornhuskers during the year.

OSU finished 33-20 overall and 12-10 in conference to end the 2023 campaign. It turns its attention to the offseason and looks to not leave things up to the selection committee next year.

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From the Big Ten, Northwestern received the No. 12 national seed and will host. Indiana and Minnesota received a No. 2 seed in their respective regionals while Nebraska landed a No. 3 seed in its four-team regional.

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NCAA softball selection show: How to watch if Ohio State gets selected in the NCAA field.

See if the OSU softball team did enough to be included in the NCAA field. #GoBucks

There’s no denying the fact that the Ohio State softball team had an up-and-down season in 2023. There were some very quality wins, but also some losses that really needed to go in the win column. It looked good in the Big Ten Tournament but lost a close one to No. 2 Minnesota in the second round.

As a result, The Buckeyes finished sixth in the Big Ten and are squarely on the bubble when it comes to making the field for the 2023 NCAA softball tournament. The prevailing thought is that OSU will squeak into the field, but it is far from a given.

If you’d like to tune in to see if the Scarlet and Gray get a second life and the opportunity to be a part of all the fun that occurs this time of the year on diamonds across college campuses, we have all the information you need to tune in and see the field revealed.

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Basic info

When: Sunday, May 14, at 7:00 p.m. ET

How to watch/stream/listen:

Broadcast: ESPN2

Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)

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