After tying its series with No. 1 Oklahoma at one game apiece in dramatic fashion last night, No. 5 Texas beat OU again this afternoon to claim the series, two games to one. Both Longhorn wins were by a 2-1 score, after the Sooners had taken the opener, 5-2. According to this article, "The series loss in the Red River Rivalry was OU’s first conference series defeat since losing to Missouri in 2011, and the first series the Sooners dropped to Texas since 2009." The key hit of today's game was a two-run blast by UT's Katie Stewart in the bottom of the fourth to make it 2-1 (video). In the top of ..read more

No. 1 Oklahoma, which rarely loses (one loss all of last season and one loss so far this season), will now be batting in the top of the seventh, trailing No. 5 Texas, 2-1, on ESPN. It looked like the Longhorns had scored a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 4-1 but, as described below, a Texas baserunning error negated the two runs. Longhorns' center-fielder Kayden Henry makes an amazing catch (video), rushing in on a hard, but rapidly sinking, liner for the first out of the seventh inning... Ground-out to third for second out... 0-2 count on Kinzie Hansen... Hansen s ..read more

The Pacific 12's motto "Conference of Champions" has applied particularly well to softball. Member schools have captured 24 (UCLA 12, Arizona 8, ASU 2, Cal 1, Washington 1) of the 40 NCAA titles awarded in the sport.  However, the 2024 Pac 12 season, which begins this weekend, will be the last.* UCLA, Washington, Oregon, and (non-softball) USC will be leaving for the Big Ten; Arizona, ASU, Utah, and (non-softball) Colorado will head to the Big 12; and Stanford and Cal will join the Atlantic Coast Conference. Oregon State will be the only remaining softball school, as Washington State does ..read more

Oklahoma's enormously long winning streak had to end sometime. However, it seemed unlikely that an opponent with a losing record would be the one to knock off the Sooners. So is the mystery of sports that Louisiana-Lafayette, which brought a 9-12 record into today's game with OU, would do the unthinkable. The final score was 7-5 Ragin' Cajuns, in eight innings, ending the Sooners' win streak at 71 games (box score). ULL led 4-2 as OU came up in the bottom of the seventh. The Sooners quickly found themselves with two out and a runner on second. Oklahoma had been in precarious spots before duri ..read more

Oklahoma-transfer Jordy Bahl announced that she injured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her first game pitching for Nebraska and will redshirt this season. Best wishes to her for a full recovery ..read more

It didn't take long for a major upset to occur, as Charlotte defeated No. 4 Florida State 6-5 in 10 innings last night ..read more

The 2024 college softball season begins tomorrow, Thursday, February 8 (see ESPN.com preview). Much of the action during the opening weeks of the season occurs via tournaments, the most prominent of which are listed below in charts I created. The charts also show the leading teams appearing in each tournament, with teams' rankings (if any) from the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Poll appearing in parentheses. You can click on the charts to enlarge them. Three-time defending Women's College World Series winner Oklahoma begins the season as the No. 1-ranked team, with Tennessee (2), Stanford (3 ..read more

The college softball world has thrown us a "Curve Bahl," if you will. Such is the unexpected news that Oklahoma ace Jordy Bahl has announced that she will transfer to the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Bahl is from the Omaha suburb of Papillion, Nebraska. Three thoughts jump out at me: Bahl was absolutely indispensable to the Sooners' 61-1 national championship season, coming up with numerous clutch strikeouts in tight tournament games against Clemson (super-regionals, Game 2) and Stanford (WCWS semifinals).    OU benefited greatly this season via the transfer portal, bringing in ..read more

Game 2 will be getting underway shortly... The Sooners are one game away from not only winning their third straight NCAA championship but also from setting a record for fewest losses in a championship season (a potential 61-1 record), which would replace the 1992 UCLA squad's mark of 54-2... Kathryn Sandercock, who was held out last night, is starting for the Seminoles... Top 1 -- OU goes down 1-2-3... Bottom 1 -- Sooners start Michigan transfer Alex Storako in the circle... Storako greeted by single from FSU's Kaley Mudge... Second batter bunts, OU 3B-person throws ball into center field tr ..read more

Game 1 of the championship round between Oklahoma and Florida State is in a weather delay... There was an estimate of a half-hour delay, which would have the game start around 7:30 Central... An updated starting time is around 8:10 Central... It will be Mack Leonard pitching for FSU and Jordy Bahl for OU... ESPN.com had an interesting article this morning about how Seminoles star Kathryn Sandercock has been pitching fewer innings this season to avoid burning her out... Top 1 -- Florida State will be the visitors for this game... The Noles go down 1-2-3. Bottom 1 -- After OU's leadoff hitter fl ..read more