Women's College World Series 2025 live updates: Oregon, Oklahoma tied in elimination game

New York Times

2 days ago

Follow our coverage of the WCWS from Oklahoma City as the five remaining teams chase the softball national title Imagn Images
And to Lindsay's point, there are plenty of home run hitters in the Gators' lineup, and the fact that Korbe Otis and Kendra Falby are also among those power bats makes this team even more dangerous. The perfect mix of speed and power can truly cause some chaos. Imagn Images
ESPN talking about how many HR hitters Florida has reminds me of former UCLA coach Sue Enquist's point that softball is special and unique because the No. 8 hitter can change the complexion of a game. The Gators are a perfect example of that.
That's one reason this game is so fun and rising in popularity across the country: There's no such thing as a boring part of the lineup.
M1, Texas O, Florida 0
It's still incredibly early, but that was an impressive first inning by Keagan Rothrock for Florida. Her riseball to strike out Reese Atwood looked NASTY.
My early analysis: I love these yellow flowers in the Florida players' hair
Ah, the best time of the year is back! That intro video gave me chills.
But to be honest, it's always a shock to hear that it's been a decade since the SEC won a natty. For as dominant as the conference has been in the sport for so long, it's crazy to think that the addition of Oklahoma and Texas to the group could be what puts the conference back on top. Imagn Images
The Women's College World Series opener between Florida and Texas is upon us. Let's go!
When Sue Enquist played softball at UCLA in the late 1970s, the program followed a simple motto: The game doesn't know who's supposed to win.
The Bruins were not yet the powerhouse they'd become. The players wore T-shirts from the men's track team as game uniforms and saw themselves as underdogs. Guided by Sharron Backus, the program's head coach and architect, they wielded their doormat status like a weapon.
Enquist stayed with the program for the next three decades, first as an assistant, then a co-head coach with Backus, and finally as the head coach from 1997 to 2006. Part of 11 national championships, she won more than 83 percent of her games. When the Bruins became a national juggernaut, the perspective behind the motto flipped: UCLA could never overlook anyone because the game still did not know.
'The beautiful thing about sport,' Enquist said, 'is you must go out there every single day, remembering you must meet those one-pitch moments, because the game doesn't know who is supposed to win.'
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Even inside the opulent owner's suite at Covenant Health Park, there is only so much to do before a rain-delayed minor league baseball game on a Tuesday night.
The Tennessee softball team already has discussed the ceremonial first pitch — someone suggested a pickoff throw — and rehearsed how record-breaking ace Karlyn Pickens can avoid an awkward hug with the Knoxville Smokies' mascot. They annihilated a food spread featuring sliders, hot dogs and chocolate chip cookies in about eight minutes. They took a group photo with team owner Randy Boyd, who's also the president of the University of Tennessee system. He was not, however, their most entertaining visitor.
At one point, a clubhouse attendant arrived with a delivery: A Columbus Clingstones player wrote his phone number on a baseball and sent it up to Lady Vols pitcher Charli Orsini. (She has a boyfriend and the Clingstone is hitting .160. It's a strikeout.)
After all this, it's only 7:38 p.m., and the actual first pitch remains a distant hope. Boredom looms. So two Lady Vols decide to record a TikTok. And they invite their head coach to join.
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For Texas Tech, a national championship is a million-dollar pursuit.
Last summer, the school made a pricey name-image-and-likeness move in hopes of reaching its first Women's College World Series. Last week, that investment paid off.
No. 12 Texas Tech swept No. 5 Florida State in the Tallahassee super regionals behind Canady, who threw every pitch for the Red Raiders in the historic back-to-back wins and held Florida State to 5-of-49 hitting (.102) in the series.
Canady — a 6-foot junior ace — transferred from Stanford after accepting a $1,050,024 NIL offer from Texas Tech. After leading the Cardinal to the WCWS in 2023 and 2024, she's back again.
Canady, who leads the nation with an .89 ERA, also became the first to repeat as the NFCA Pitcher of the Year.
GO FURTHER
Women's College World Series storylines to watch: Can Oklahoma 5-peat? Will SEC's numbers win out?
How Texas advanced to the WCWS:
Regional Defeated Eastern Illinois 10-2
Defeated Michigan 16-4
Defeated UCF 9-0
Super Regional Lost to Clemson 7-4
Defeated Clemson 7-5
Defeated Clemson 6-5
Tennessee junior ace Karlyn Pickens set the record for the fastest pitch in college softball history on March 24. She broke her record two months later.
Pickens threw a 79.4 mph flamer against Nebraska star Jordy Bahl in the super regionals, something we 'wouldn't see in MLB,' ESPN analyst Jessica Mendoza said.
'(That's) upwards of 108 to 110 mph when you're thinking about reaction time. So put yourself in the batter's box, crank up the machine to 108, 109, that's what it's like at 43 feet at 79 mph. It's incredible.'
Throughout the three games against Nebraska, Pickens posted 28 strikeouts and allowed 11 hits in just over 17 innings. She shut out the Cornhuskers in Game 3 to secure the trip to Oklahoma City. There, she now faces one of the deepest lineups in the country: Oklahoma.
'I think it'll be exciting to watch Pickens pitch to Oklahoma, because I think she is absolutely an elite pitcher and they are absolutely an elite offensive team, so that will be super fun to watch,' Heard said.
Pickens also has the nation's second-best ERA behind Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady.
GO FURTHER
Women's College World Series storylines to watch: Can Oklahoma 5-peat? Will SEC's numbers win out?
Oklahoma has won the past four softball national titles, something no other program has accomplished.
UCLA won three straight from 1988-90 and won a fourth in five years in 1992. Arizona won four out of five years from 1993-97.
But no program has matched the Sooners' dominance. They went 235-15 in the previous four seasons, and they are 50-7 this season.
If Oklahoma wins the title this year, it will move into solo second with nine national titles (it's currently tied with Arizona). UCLA has the most titles with 13. Imagn Images
How Florida advanced to the WCWS:
Regional Defeated Mercer 8-0
Defeated Florida Atlantic 14-6
Defeated Mercer 8-0
Super Regional Defeated Georgia 6-1
Lost to Georgia 2-1
Defeated Georgia 5-2
*In a row.
Despite welcoming 14 newcomers, Oklahoma has shown no signs of a reset or rebuild, thanks in large part to Sam Landry, a Louisiana transfer ace and SEC Newcomer of the Year.
The Sooners have cruised up to this point in the playoffs, advancing out of the regional round in three games and out of the super regionals — against No. 15 Alabama — in two. With Landry, they're led by Gabbie Garcia, Kasidi Pickering, Ella Parker, Ailana Agbayani and Nelly McEnroe-Marinas on offense.
The Sooners walk into their ninth straight WCWS having outscored opponents 47-5. Their plus-42 run differential is an NCAA tournament all-time seventh-best, with five of the previous six teams reaching that mark going on to win the title, according to ESPN.
'It doesn't matter how much you prepare for them. You need to play your best version of softball against them because they know how to win,' Waters said.
GO FURTHER
Women's College World Series storylines to watch: Can Oklahoma 5-peat? Will SEC's numbers win out?
When she goes to baseball games, Virginia Tech's Cori McMillan sometimes has no idea what's going on.
That's not because McMillan, an outfielder for the Hokies and this season's home run leader (31) in Division I softball, doesn't know the rules of baseball. It's because the white ball is much harder to see when hit into the clouds. When a bat makes contact and launches the ball skyward, she frequently loses sight of it.
She laughed, recalling this, the absurdity of one of the best softball players in the country getting momentarily confused while watching her brother's sport. But can you blame her?
The ball that McMillan plays with is hard to miss — a highlighter colored ball, offset with raised red seams that is so bright, it's easy for batters to see and make contact. The yellow ball has made softball a hitters' sport, with players throughout the lineup regularly smashing home runs.
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How did college softball become a hitter's game?
Texas was the No. 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament:
Coach: Mike White
Record: 51-11, 16-8 in the SEC
Players to watch: Mia Scott, .438 average, 8 HR, 35 RBIs
Ashton Maloney, .436, 23 RBIs
Reese Atwood, .416, 21 HR, 85 RBIs
Kayden Henry, .410, 30 SB
Joley Mitchell, .385, 14 HR, 60 RBIs
Katie Stewart, 370, 15 HR, 76 RBIs
Teagan Kavan, 24-5, 2.56 ERA, 212 K
Citlaly Gutierrez, 10-1, 2.75 ERA
We're almost there. Eight teams for one trophy.
Florida was the No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament:
Coach: Tim Walton
Record: 48-15, 14-10 in the SEC
Players to watch: Kendra Falby, .433 average, 34 RBIs, 36 SB
Taylor Shumaker, .389, 22 HR, 86 RBIs
Reagan Walsh, .348, 14 HR, 60 RBIs
Mia Williams, .343, 19 HR, 44 RBIs
Oxley, Katelynn, 8-5, 2.59 ERA
Ava Brown, 11-3, 2.59
Keagan Rothrock, 16-6
Kara Hammock, 9-1