Women's College World Series: Oklahoma walks it off vs. Tennessee, UCLA does the same vs. Oregon
The 2025 Women's College World Series began with two SEC matchups to open the tournament. Five of the eight teams in Oklahoma City are from the SEC, with two from the Big Ten and one from the Big 12. Oklahoma is pursuing its fifth consecutive national championship and is the favorite after No. 1 seed Texas A&M lost in the regional round.
Texas and Florida matched up in the opener, followed by Tennessee versus Oklahoma in the afternoon. In the evening, Ole Miss faces Texas Tech while Oregon and UCLA close out the day.
Advertisement
Check back as this story will be updated after each of Thursday's four opening games.
Oklahoma 4, Tennessee 3
No. 2 seed Oklahoma began defense of its national championship with a 3-run walk-off home run by Ella Parker, giving the Sooners a 4-3 win in their WCWS opener over No. 7 Tennessee.
The Vols jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning with Gabby Leach scoring on a passed ball by Sooners catcher Isabela Emerling. Sophia Nugent followed up with a sacrifice fly to score Taylor Pennell.
The Sooners came right back in the bottom of the first on a home run from Ella Parker. But that was all the offense that Oklahoma could manage against Tennessee pitcher Karlyn Pickens (24-9, 1.00 ERA). The junior right-hander allowed only that one run with two hits and five walks through six innings, but Oklahoma got a walk and single in the seventh to set up Parker's walk-off heroics.
Tennessee scored its third run when Ella Dodge scored on an error by Sooners left fielder Kasadi Pickering in the third, who couldn't hang onto a line drive from McKenna Gibson.
Advertisement
Oklahoma starter Sam Landry (23-4. 1.92 ERA) allowed three runs (two earned) and five hits and two walks, also going seven innings. She only struck out two Tennessee batters after racking up 170 Ks in 167 2/3 innings coming into Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma faces Texas in the winners bracket on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, while Tennessee has to play Florida on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
Texas 3, Florida 0
The No. 6 seed Texas Longhorns defeated the No. 3 seed Florida Gators, 3-0, to open the Women's College World Series on Thursday in Oklahoma City.
First baseman Joley Mitchell led the way for the Longhorns with two home runs, going back-to-back with left fielder Katie Stewart in the sixth inning. Mitchell opened the scoring with a solo shot in the second.
Advertisement
Leading up to the WCWS, Mitchell hit 14 home runs with 60 RBI, ranking third among Longhorns batters in both categories. Stewart came into Thursday's game with 15 home runs and 76 RBI, in addition to a .370 batting average.
Teagan Kavan allowed only 2 hits over 7 innings with 2 walks and 1 strikeout. She went 24-5 for Texas with 4 shutouts and 14 complete games.
For Florida, Keagan Rothrock (16-7) gave up all 3 runs with 5 hits (including those 3 homers) in 5 innings.
Up next for Texas is Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon and Florida will face Tennessee on Friday evening.
Texas Tech 1, Ole Miss 0
After an hour-long rain delay, No. 12 Texas Tech picked up a narrow win over unseeded Ole Miss in a defensive battle. Texas Tech ace NiJaree Canady had a huge night, earning 10 strikeouts in the shutout victory.
Advertisement
Both teams went hitless through the first three innings, before the Rebels' defense started to break down. Red Raiders first baseman Lauren Allred brought the drought with a single in the bottom of the fourth; a double from right fielder Alana Johnson, boosted by an error in the Ole Miss outfield, sent Allred home to give Texas Tech a 1-0 lead. Two more costly mistakes led to a full-bases opportunity for the Red Raiders, but catcher Lexie Brady pulled Ole Miss out of the inning with a double play.
Canady had a perfect first five innings, going 15 up, 15 down. But in the sixth inning, Ole Miss shortstop Angelina DeLeon spoiled the no-hitter by getting a single. The Red Raiders were able to close out the inning with two Red Raiders stranded on base.
Then, it came down to Canady, who finished the game how she started: with three straight strikeouts. Texas Tech held on to the one-run win.
The Red Raiders will now play UCLA on Saturday. Ole Miss, facing elimination, will square up against Oregon.
UCLA 4, Oregon 2
The rain delay caused the traditional Big Ten clash between No. 9 UCLA and No. 16 Oregon to reach past midnight local time, but Jessica Clements delivered an ending worth the wait.
Advertisement
With the scored tied in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bruins center fielder connected for a walk-off homer to end a night of close games.
The game was only tied after a matter of controversy, as Oregon got its second run in the top of the seventh after a challenge turned an out at home plate into a safe call due to obstruction. You can be the judge if the umpires got it right.
UCLA will get Texas Tech on Saturday while Oregon faces Ole Miss in an elimination game.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
14 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Kyle Hendricks picks up career win No. 100 as Angels beat the Mariners 5-4
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Hendricks earned the 100th win of his career, Ryan Zeferjahn, Reid Detmers and Kenley Jansen combined for three innings of scoreless relief, and the Los Angeles Angels held on for a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. Hendricks (3-6) gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings, striking out two and walking two. The 35-year-old right-hander escaped a jam in the fifth inning. With runners at second and third with two outs, Hendricks got Randy Arozarena to ground out. Zeferjahn retired the side in order in the seventh, Detmers struck out two of four batters in the eighth, and Jansen threw a 1-2-3 ninth for his 13th save. Right-hander Bryce Miller (2-5) gave up five runs and six hits in five innings for the Mariners, who have lost four straight. The Angels scored twice in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead. Jo Adell got hit on the helmet by a 94-mph fastball and stole second. Chris Taylor followed with an RBI double and Nolan Schanuel adding an RBI single. Taylor, the veteran utility man who was signed after the Dodgers released him on May 18, also singled with two outs, stole second and scored on Zach Neto's RBI single for a 1-all tie in the third. Travis d'Arnaud followed Jorge Soler's two-out single with a two-run homer for a 3-3 tie in the fourth. The Mariners scored once in the third on J.P. Crawford's RBI single and twice in the fourth on Rowdy Tellez's sacrifice fly and Leody Taveras' RBI groundout. Key moment Julio Rodriguez jumped high above the wall to rob Taylor of a potential two-run homer to end the sixth. The Seattle center fielder teased Angels fans who thought the ball was gone by taking several steps on the warning track before flipping the ball from his glove to his throwing hand. Key stat Detmers, the converted starter who had a 10.05 ERA through 12 appearances this season, has allowed one earned run in 12 innings of his last 11 games, striking out 17 and walking seven in that span. He has lowered his ERA to 5.81. Up next RHP Luis Castillo (4-3, 3.03 ERA) will start Saturday for the Mariners. RHP Jack Kochanowicz (3-7, 5.34 ERA) will pitch for the Angels. ___ AP MLB:
New York Times
19 minutes ago
- New York Times
Scenes from a Tigers victory: A daunting catch, a daring escape and another unlikely hero
DETROIT — Here was another dilemma. Sweat beat down on Tarik Skubal's head Friday under a strange summer haze. Smoke from Canadian wildfires infiltrated the Detroit sky and lingered as dusk descended on Comerica Park. The best pitcher in baseball was at 94 pitches. He had just surrendered back-to-back singles. There were runners on the corners and two outs. The Tigers were clinging to a 2-1 lead. Advertisement In Skubal's previous outing, manager A.J. Hinch removed him after seven innings and 90 pitches. Reliever Beau Brieske surrendered the lead to the Kansas City Royals in the eighth. Skubal keeps pitching so well that it's creating difficult decisions for his manager. Friday, Hinch again called to the bullpen. Right-hander Will Vest entered to face Seiya Suzuki, who was 0-for-3 against Skubal but entered play with a 1.173 OPS against left-handed pitching. The move made logical sense but still required some gumption. 'Suzuki is the at-bat of the game,' Hinch said. 'It's the most leverage, it's the biggest spot, and we've got to get a righty on him at that moment.' The right-handed Vest has been a dynamic force in his own right this season, the owner of a 1.72 ERA. So in the top of the eighth, Vest threw a 1-2 fastball that caught too much of the plate. Suzuki appeared to swing under the ball. It left his bat at a 39-degree launch angle. At the dais after the game, Hinch mimicked his thought process as the ball traveled through the air. 'OK,' Hinch thought for a moment, 'we got out of it.' But Suzuki's hit hung in the sky like a disco ball, slowly drifting deeper into the hazy twilight. 'I was like: 'Stay here. Stay in the ballpark,'' Hinch said. There at the wall, Kerry Carpenter, the right-fielder whose defense has been an adventure as of late, peeked toward the padding and ran. He always thought he'd make the catch, he said. Finally, the sphere came crashing toward the earth. Carpenter jumped. Extended his glove. And … there it was. Ball met leather. Carpenter made the catch, might have robbed a home run, and certainly kept the Tigers' lead intact. Now watching as a spectator, Skubal pumped his fists and shouted in celebration. 'You're doing everything you can in the dugout to reel it back in,' Skubal said. KERRY CARPENTER IS A BAD MAN.#VoteTigers ⭐️ — Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 7, 2025 That was the peak of another dramatic Tigers victory, 3-1 against the Chicago Cubs, this one a win that encapsulated so much of what has made this team so good all season. The Tigers entered as the best team in the American League. The Cubs entered as the best team in the National League. Detroit was coming off a sleepy series on the South Side, where it split four games with the last-place Chicago White Sox. The Cubs rolled into town having won four out of five. Skubal was on the mound. The park was sold out. The game was flying by. Advertisement The Tigers struck first in the fifth. Gleyber Torres, the second baseman they shrewdly signed on a one-year deal this winter, hit a shrieking line drive over shortstop to bring home a run. The Cubs tied the score when Kyle Tucker doubled home rookie Matt Shaw in the sixth. And then the Tigers did what they have been doing all year. Finding ways. Some way, any way. Spencer Torkelson, entering on a 3-for-27 slump despite a redemptive season that will merit All-Star consideration, got down 0-2. Cubs starter Ben Brown threw three consecutive knuckle curves low, scraping the dirt. Torkelson took all three. Full count. Then he got a fastball. Torkelson smoothed out his swing, found his timing and detonated a blast that sent the ball crescendoing over the left-field fence. It was Torkelson's 15th home run of the year. The Tigers pulled ahead. That set the stage for the drama in the eighth. The Tigers escaped with the lead. Along the way, they benefited from a series of sterling defensive plays. Riley Greene caught a ball and crashed into the left-field wall. Javier Báez played impeccable shortstop, even redirected a throw from left in the fifth to nab Pete Crow-Armstrong, who ran past the base at third on a late stop sign, then was called out floundering back to the bag. Dillon Dingler threw out Shaw for a key out in the eighth. 'That was an absolute clinic by the guys,' Torkelson said. The Tigers have started wearing T-shirts with one of Hinch's mantras printed on the back. Everything matters. 'Everything matters in every game,' Hinch said. 'Everything matters to a greater extent in a close game. And any one of those plays could have changed the whole complexion of the score.' And in the ninth, a little more poetry. Before the game, the Tigers sent down Andy Ibáñez, their longtime right-handed-hitting specialist who has lost all feel in the box. Ibáñez was coming off a lackluster series against the White Sox, slumbering at the plate for much of the past two weeks, and the Tigers needed to infuse their offense, particularly with right-handed help. They brought up Jahmai Jones, a 2015 second-round pick who's on his fifth MLB team at 27 years old. Advertisement Jones has a unique connection to this city. His late father, Andre, was a defensive end for the Detroit Lions in 1992. His older brother, T.J., also played four seasons for the Lions as a wide receiver. In spring, Jones talked of all these connections, of the family legacy, of what it would mean to actually make it to Detroit. He impressed in spring but did not make the team. He lingered in Toledo, where his name was hardly mentioned in the endless roster talks that percolate through the season. But finally the Tigers sent down Ibáñez to find himself. Jones got the chance. He arrived at Comerica Park around 2:30 p.m. and launched straight into game prep. After first pitch, he sat near injured utility player Matt Vierling, talking about the best way to prepare for the possibility of a late-game pinch hit chance. Hinch called Jones' number in the ninth. And what did he do on his first pitch? He got a hanging curveball, then launched a looping torpedo over the left-field fence. This was his first bat, his first pitch, as a Detroit Tiger. And it was his first home run, only the second of his major-league career. He retreated to the dugout, saw Vierling and started laughing. 'I told you how to get ready!' Vierling shouted. 'My guy!' Jones said in response. In the bottom of the ninth, 40,000 people rose to their feet. Vest — once a Rule 5 pick who was returned to the Tigers after a mediocre stint with the Seattle Mariners — closed the door for the 10th time this season. Hinch was asked about the idea of his Tigers meeting the moment. Tough matchup, national broadcast, big crowd, all that. He practically shrugged. 'I appreciate the thought of raising the bar,' Hinch said. 'The bar is pretty high around here.' (Top photo of Will Vest: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
Forbes
19 minutes ago
- Forbes
Amanda Nunes Unretires to Pursue Title, ‘I'm Going To Be Ready'
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 17: A detail shot of the UFC Legacy Championship Belt during the UFC ... More 241 event at the Honda Center on August 17, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) The rumors, teases, and unofficial statements are over. Recently announced UFC Hall-of-Famer Amanda Nunes is returning to the Octagon, and her plan is to challenge the winner of the UFC 316 co-main event to regain her women's bantamweight title. In a Q&A with ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Friday, the eve of UFC 316, Nunes said, "I missed [fighting] so much," Nunes said on Friday. "My baby is big now. She didn't sleep much at night [as a baby] and I was concerned about that because we fighters need sleep. But now, my baby is bigger and I'm ready to go. Kayla [Harrison] or Julianna [Peña], I'm going to be ready." Nunes retired in June 2023 following a successful title defense against Irene Aldana, but many believed she may have been walking away from the sport prematurely. UFC CEO Dana White has made it clear he thought Nunes left too soon. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 10: Amanda Nunes of Brazil announces her retirement after her ... More victory over Irene Aldana of Mexico in their women's bantamweight title fight during the UFC 289 event at Rogers Arena on June 10, 2023 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Nunes is unquestionably the greatest female fighter of all time and one of the best ever regardless of gender. Currently, Nunes has a record of 23-5, and that mark includes an unprecedented run as the UFC's bantamweight and featherweight champion. From March 2015 through 2023, Nunes went 14-1, including a 12-fight win streak. Nunes' lone loss during her dominant stretch came against Peña. The current champion defeated Nunes via second-round submission at UFC 269 to win the title. Nunes regained the title with a unanimous decision victory in their rematch. Peña wanted a trilogy fight and notoriously booed Nunes as the latter placed her gloves in the center of the Octagon back in 2023 when the Lioness walked away from the sport. As it turns out, Peña could get another crack at her rival. She has a massive test on her hands on Saturday in New Jersey. Harrison, an Olympic gold medalist and former Professional Fighters League champion, is vying to become the first woman to win titles with both organizations. Harrison has been pretty dominant in her two fights in the UFC, with a stoppage win over Holly Holm and a unanimous decision victory over Ketlen Vieira to earn the title shot. Harrison's biggest issues have seemingly been just making weight. She's never missed weight, but has looked worse for wear each time. Friday was no exception, as the world-class athlete looked massively depleted on the scales but rejuvenated later that evening during the ceremonial weigh-ins. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 06: (L-R) Opponents Julianna Pena and Kayla Harrison face off during the ... More UFC 316 ceremonial weigh-in at Prudential Center on June 06, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) In any case, Nunes will be in the house at the Prudential Center to likely face off with the winner. It wouldn't be a shock to see Nunes vs. the winner scheduled for the November pay-per-view in New York. Here is a look at the entire UFC 316 card.
