Tag: 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament

Inconsistency remains the fatal flaw for LSU softball as season ends in Stanford Super Regional

Pressure is mounting on LSU softball as another year passes without a Women’s College World Series appearence.

LSU softball dropped a decisive Game 3 in the Stanford Super Regional on Sunday, bringing the Tigers’ 2024 season to a close. The loss marked a sixth-straight year without a trip to the Women’s College World Series.

The three-game super regional was representative of how this year played out for Beth Torina’s group. LSU looked like one of the best teams in the country on Friday night after opening the series with an 11-1 win. The Tigers looked like the team that began the year 24-0.

But the final two games resembled the back half of the season. Good pitching kept LSU in the game late, but the offense didn’t have the juice to get it done.

LSU began the postseason outscoring opponents 29-2 over its first four games. In the final two losses, LSU didn’t plate a single run and was outscored 11-0. 2024 was a tale of two teams.

At its best, LSU could beat anyone in the country. The offense put up six runs against NiJaree Canady — the nation’s ERA leader — on Friday night. If LSU can score against her, it can score against anyone. Earlier this year, LSU upset Texas, the No. 1 team in America.

I’m not just saying this team had the potential to compete with the best. It did compete with the best. That’s why it’s a shame we won’t get to see this team compete in Oklahoma City, but it was a matter of consistency or lack thereof that got us to this point.

That’s been the story of the last six years for LSU. Following three straight WCWS appearances from 2015-17, LSU has struggled to get back to that point. The super regional win on Friday was LSU’s first since picking up a game against Florida State in 2018, a series it eventually lost. Last year, LSU didn’t make it out of the regional after dropping a Game 7 in Tiger Stadium to in-state rival UL Lafayette.

That’s not the standard Torina set for this program when she took them to back-to-back-to-back WCWS. I’m sure she’d be the first to say that.

Next year, the path won’t get any easier. Softball powerhouses Oklahoma and Texas are joining the conference. LSU, one of the country’s most experienced groups in 2024, will be tasked with replacing some of the program’s most productive players. All of that doesn’t bode for much optimism in 2025.

Torina’s job is safe, and it should be. She’s won 665 career games in 13 years with LSU and the Tigers’ are perennially in the top 25. Her pitching staffs are among the nation’s best year in and year out and she’s responsible for four of LSU’s six WCWS appearances.

But this program needs to find consistency. When Torina’s program was at its peak, 2015-17, it wasn’t just the pitching getting it done. Sahvanna Jaquish, Bianka Bell and Bailey Landry provided the LSU lineup with some serious pop. LSU’s struggled to find the same offensive star power since.

With key veterans on the way out, LSU will hit a reset button. The lineup will be full of new faces next year. That means LSU has a chance to find that offensive slugging it once had. LSU needs more hitters it trusts to come through in big moments against pitchers like Canady, likes the ones it’ll see every week in the SEC.

LSU doesn’t need to make the WCWS every year, but six years is a long time for a program of this level to not play in OKC. There’s no reason it shouldn’t be competing at the top of the SEC, especially when it’s proven it has the talent to do so.

There aren’t many places around the country where fans have the bandwidth to care about football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, gymnastics and softball. Four of those six programs have won national titles in the last five years with men’s basketball and softball the only two without won.

In Baton Rouge, if your program has the relative resources to win a national title, that’s what the fans expect. That can be a blessing and a curse. The pressure is mounting on the program to get back to where it was six years ago.

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LSU falls to Stanford in Game 2 of super regional

LSU couldn’t carry over its offensive performance from Friday as the Tigers dropped Game 2.

After an offensive explosion in Game 1, LSU softball failed to conjure up the same fireworks in Game 2. Stanford’s NiJaree Canady had a season-worst performance on Friday but returned to ace form on Saturday evening.

Canady held LSU hitless through four and when the Tigers got runners on late, the lineup couldn’t cash in. Canady, who led the nation in ERA entering the super regional, made the clutch pitches to preserve the shutout.

For most of the night, LSU’s [autotag]Kelley Lynch[/autotag] went pitch for pitch with Canady. But Stanford got to Lynch in the fourth when Taryn Kern and Kyran Chan notched back-to-back extra base hits. Stanford seized momentum and added two insurance runs in the seventh, but Lynch stuck it out and completed the game.

Lynch allowed seven hits and struck out three on the night.

On offense, LSU threatened Canady a few times. The Tigers’ lineup brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, but the timely hits weren’t there.

[autotag]Ciara Briggs[/autotag] and [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag] were the only Tigers to record hits on Saturday night while Lynch drew a couple of walks.

Torina and LSU will look to win the decisive game three on Sunday to clinch its first Women’s College World Series appearance since 2017. With Canady making back-to-back starts, pitching depth could be on LSU’s side entering Sunday, but the lineup will have to deliver.

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Fantastic photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 4-2 win over Florida State

Look back at the Oklahoma Sooners thrilling win over Florida State with these fantastic photos.

In their 4-2 win over the Florida State Seminoles, the Oklahoma Sooners extended their record NCAA Tournament winning streak to 18 games. It’s a run that dates back two postseasons and doesn’t look like it’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

They’ve had an air of inevitability to them over the last four years that creates a level of anticipation for the viewer. Whether in person or on the television, those who watch Oklahoma Sooners softball come to expect to see something remarkable. In the win over the Seminoles that punched their ticket to the Women’s College World Series, the Sooners once again put together a remarkable performance.

From Jayda Coleman’s robbery of Florida State power hitter Jaysoni Beachum to Cydney Sanders’ full layout in foul territory an inning later and Kierston Deal’s diving attempt earlier in the game, the Sooners put it all on the line to secure the win.

With it, they clinched their eighth consecutive trip to the Women’s College World Series and a chance to make history as the first team ever to win four straight national championships.

The Women’s College World Series will get underway at the newly dubbed Devon Park in Oklahoma City on May 30.

Relive the Sooners huge win over the Florida State Seminoles with these fantastic photos.

Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 11-3 win over the Florida State Seminoles

The Sooners earned a big win over Florida State in game one of the Super Regionals, and here are the best photos from the action.

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a roaring start in their super regional matchup with the Florida State Seminoles. They struck first with a [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] home run and ran away from the Seminoles in an 11-3 win on Thursday evening.

Jennings is now tied with Sooners legend Lauren Chamberlain for third all-time in career home runs.

[autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] had a pair of home runs and [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] added to the power display to give the Sooners four home runs in the win. In total, OU recorded 11 hits, 8 walks, and no strikeouts.

On a night when [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] wasn’t her sharpest, the offense picked her up with a fantastic showing in their first game of the Super Regionals.

“You know what, Kelly fought her rear-end off for this (victory),” Patty Gasso said after the win. “That’s a tough-hitting team. It’s like facing our own team. They swing. One thing they’re so good at, they probably hit 40 foul balls. Their at-bats lasted forever. I credit them for just being tough hitters, but I also credit Kelly for having to bear down and get through it. Holding them to three runs is big-time.”

Brito had a huge night, reaching base in all four plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a walk, two home runs, and three RBIs. The home runs were her first since April 26 against UCF. [autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] also reached base four times in her 2-for-2 night with two walks and an RBI.

Now the pressure shifts to Florida State to try and extend the series to a game three. With the way the schedule sets up, Oklahoma may get an extended break if they were to close out the super regional with a win on Friday night. OU vs. Florida State was just one of two matchups to play on Thursday night, so the Sooners could get an extra day of rest ahead of the Women’s College World Series if they can secure the series tonight.

The Sooners and Seminoles will to Love’s Field at 7 p.m. CT and the game can be seen on ESPN2.

Here are the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 11-3 win over FSU.

Oklahoma Sooners run-rule Seminoles to open Norman Super Regional

Powered by Alyssa Brito’s two home runs, the Oklahoma Sooners beat Florida State 11-3 to take game one of their Super Regional matchup.

The Oklahoma Sooners came to play in their super regional opener against Florida State, earning an 11-3 walk-off run-rule win in five innings on Thursday evening.

[autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] worked around a bases loaded jam in the first inning against the Seminoles and then one of the greatest hitters the game has ever seen stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the first to help the Sooners strike first.

With one out, [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] took the 1-0 offering out of the park for her 22nd home run of the season and third in four NCAA tournament games. Oklahoma led 1-0 after one inning.

Maxwell settled in with a 1-2-3 second and [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] added to the lead with a two-strike double to bring in [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] for a 2-0 advantage through two innings.

In the top of the third, Maxwell’s control got away from her a bit as she hit her second batter of the game and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with just one out. Florida State cashed in with a two-run single from Devyn Flaherty to tie the game at two.

But the Sooners responded as only they know how in the bottom of the inning. [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] hit the first of two home runs to regain the lead for Oklahoma. Then OU took advantage of a FSU error to plate two more and retake control of the game 5-2.

But they weren’t anywhere close to done. In the bottom of the fourth, the Sooners pulled away completely. Brito hit her second home run of the day, this time a two-run shot after [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag]’s one out single.

[autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] singled ahead of Kinzie Hansen, who hit her 10th home run of the season, which made it 9-2. [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] capped off the scoring with an RBI single to give Oklahoma a commanding 10-2 lead and put the run rule in effect heading into the fifth.

Florida State was able to scratch out a run in the top half of the inning. But Seminoles pitching walked four batters in the bottom of the fifth and the Sooners took home the 11-3 win in walk-off fashion.

It was a rough outing for Maxwell, but she battled to give the Sooners offense a chance to take control of the game. She gave up three runs on four hits and six walks in an uncharacteristic performance for the Sooners ace.

Alyssa Brito led the way at the plate with a 3-for-3 day with two home runs and three RBIs. The home runs were her first since April 26 against UCF. She’s now up to 18 homers on the season with 59 RBIs.

Oklahoma and Florida State will play game two of the series on Friday night at 7 p.m. CT. Broadcast information is still to be determined. The Sooners are now one win away from reaching the Women’s College World Series for the eighth time and fourth straight season.

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Coach Beth Torina frustrated LSU softball isn’t hosting a super regional

LSU’s RPI ranks fourth nationally, leading the SEC entering the postseason.

LSU had the benefit of hosting this weekend in the regional round of the NCAA softball tournament, and that proved to be quite an advantage as the Tigers easily went 3-0 to punch their ticket to the super regionals.

Now, coach Beth Torina’s team heads to face No. 8 Stanford on the road in the super regional round, but Torina is a bit frustrated that No. 9-seeded LSU isn’t hosting this coming weekend as a top-eight seed.

She pointed to LSU’s RPI, which leads the SEC at No. 4 nationally, as a metric that indicates the Tigers should have been seeded hire.

“I will say, I’ve been asked a lot about being the ninth seed and I haven’t commented on it,” Torina said, per WAFB’s Jacques Doucet. “I think our team’s resume was really strong, I’m not sure why we’re going to be going on the road. I think we had every number in this season that says that we shouldn’t have been. I think we did all the things we needed to do for this committee.

“I don’t know if we deserved more or didn’t, but it’s disappointing a bit. But I know the team’s excited, I know they’re ready for the next opportunity. We’ve done it the hard way many times, that’s kind of how we like to do it around here.”

Host or not, the Tigers will look to clinch their first berth at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City for the first time since 2017 when they head out west for a three-game series against the Cardinal this coming weekend.

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LSU softball to travel to Stanford for super regional round

The Tigers will head to the West Coast to take on the Cardinal in the Stanford Super Regional.

The LSU softball team punched its ticket to the super regionals on Sunday, winning the Baton Rouge Regional final in one game against Southern Illinois with a 9-0 run-rule victory.

The Tigers then had to wait to find out if they would host a super regional in Baton Rouge or hit the road to face Stanford. Ultimately, it will be a trip to the Stanford Super Regional after the Cardinal survived in Game 7 against Cal State Fullerton, winning 4-2 after falling 8-1 in the first game of the regional.

Stanford is the No. 9 national seed and sits at 45-14 on the year. It beat an SEC team, Mississippi State, in its regional, and it also faced SEC foes Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia earlier in the year, going 2-2 in those contests.

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Best photos from Oklahoma Sooners 9-0 win over Cleveland State in NCAA tournament

Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 9-0 win over the Cleveland State Vikings in the Norman Regional.

It was a rousing start for the Oklahoma Sooners in their NCAA tournament opener, rattling off a 9-0 run-rule win over the Cleveland State Vikings.

[autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] was stellar, with nine strikeouts in five innings. She allowed just three hits and didn’t walk a batter. Oklahoma’s freshmen [autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] and [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] combined for five RBIs in their first NCAA tournament appearance.

[autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] walked it off with a two-run home run to move into a tie for fourth place on the NCAA all-time home run list and fifth place in career RBIs. Jennings is one of the sports all-time greats in the midst of another incredible career.

With 20 home runs on the season, it’s the third time in her career that she’s hit at least 20 home runs in a season.

The Sooners are getting a team effort over the last five games where they’re outscoring their opponents 45-6 dating back to their win over Oklahoma State in the Bedlam series finale.

The Sooners now get set for a big-time showdown with the Oregon Ducks on Saturday. But before that, let’s take a look at the best photos from the Sooners win over Cleveland State.

 

Oklahoma Sooners open NCAA Tournament with 9-0 win over Cleveland State

Nicole May dominated Cleveland State with five shutout innings, nine strikeouts and no walks. Freshman Kasidi Pickering hit two home runs, Ella Parker added three RBIs, and Tiare Jennings ended the game with a walk-off home run to lead the Sooners to a 9-0 win.

In what was a pitchers duel through the first few innings turned into a rout as the Oklahoma Sooners beat the Cleveland State Vikings 9-0 to move to 1-0 in the Norman Regional.

The Sooners received. fantastic performance from senior [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], who recorded nine strikeouts in five innings of shutout ball. She allowed just three hits and didn’t surrender a walk in the win.

[autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] got the scoring started for the Sooners in the second inning with a solo home run, one of two blasts she had in her first NCAA tournament game.

May and Cleveland State starter Melissa Holzopfel battled to a 1-0 game through three innings. Holzopfel even eliminated a Sooners scoring threat in the bottom of the third, escaping a bases loaded jam by striking out [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag].

But the Sooners broke through in the fourth inning to pull away from the Vikings.

Pickering singled and pinch runner [autotag]Hannah Coor[/autotag] advanced to second on [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] sacrifice bunt. After Avery Hodge grounded back to the pitcher for the second out of the inning, the Sooners bats came to life.

[autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] singled to bring in Coor and make it 2-0. [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] followed that with a triple on a diving attempt by Cleveland State’s center fielder. That brought home Boone and put Oklahoma up 3-0. [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] continued her incredible postseason by driving in Coleman, and the Sooners had a commanding 4-0 lead heading into the fifth.

As she had all game, May was electric, getting a 1-2-3 inning to put the red hot Sooners offense back at the plate.

Pickering hit her second home run of the game and ninth of the season in the fifth to put the Sooners up 5-0. In the bottom of the sixth, Parker had a two-run double and [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] hit the 93rd home run of her career to end the game in walk-off, run-rule fashion.

Jennings’ home run was the 93rd of her career and tied her for fourth in NCAA history.

Nicole May’s nine-strikeout performance was a season-high. She was electric from the circle, showing off great location and power, and mixed up her pitches well. She struck out half of the 18 Cleveland State batters she faced to move to 13-2 on the season.

Coleman, Parker, and Jennings were really good, combining to go 5-for-10 with six RBIs. Parker and fellow freshman Pickering were instrumental in the victory, showing that they’re ready for the bright lights of the NCAA tournament.

The win put the Sooners on the winning side of the Norman Regional, where they’ll face the Oregon Ducks on day two. Oregon run ruled Boston earlier in the day Friday to advance in the winners bracket.

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LSU softball shuts out Jackson State to open Baton Rouge Regional

The Tigers opened the 2024 NCAA tournament in impressive fashion on Friday.

LSU is moving on to the winners’ bracket of the Baton Rouge Regional after Raelin Chaffin tossed a complete game shutout in a 5-0 win. Now, the Tigers move on to face three-seeded Southern Illinois, which upset Cal in Game 1 of the regional on Friday.

After Chaffin got out of the first inning allowing just one walk, the Tigers took the early lead on an RBI single from [autotag]Raeleen Gutierrez[/autotag] in the bottom of the first. LSU almost added a second run on a single from [autotag]McKenzie Redoutey[/autotag], but Gutierrez was thrown out trying to make it from second to home as the inning ended.

In the fourth, LSU added to its lead with an RBI groundout from [autotag]Madisyn Manning[/autotag] followed by an RBI single from [autotag]Karli Petty[/autotag]. With two more RBI groundouts in the sixth, LSU jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

Chaffin ultimately allowed just two hits while striking out 7 as the Tigers move on to face the Salukis on Saturday in a game that is currently scheduled for 12 p.m. CT.

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