Latest news with #softball
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Women's College World Series: Texas stuns defending champ Oklahoma, Texas Tech beats UCLA
The Women's College World Series continued on Saturday with a matchup between Oklahoma and Texas. (Brett Rojo-Imagn Images) A busy Women's College World Series continued on Saturday with two thrilling games. A pair of narrow wins, both upsets, kept Texas and Texas Tech flying high, while UCLA and Oklahoma find themselves in some hot water. Texas 4, Oklahoma 2 Suddenly, the road to a fifth straight NCAA softball title for Oklahoma got steeper. The No. 2-seeded Sooners were defeated 4-2 by No. 6 Texas on Saturday in a matchup of two of the top teams in the country. Advertisement It was the first time Texas had beaten the Sooners in the state of Oklahoma since 2011 — and its first victory over OU in the women's CWS. The Sooners beat the Longhorns in the 2022 and 2024 CWS finals. The Longhorns struck first with two runs in the first inning. Sophomore outfielder Kayden Henry got the first run by stealing second and later stealing home. Oklahoma came alive in the second inning, scoring two of its own and capitalizing on a Texas error. That changed in the fifth inning, when Texas took a 3-2 lead on a solo homer from Henry. Texas added to its lead with another solo homer in the sixth inning, this time from first baseman Joley Mitchell. Advertisement Oklahoma had one more chance to rally, but Longhorns ace Teagan Kavan struck out the final two batters to close out the complete game and finish with eight strikeouts. Texas Tech 3, UCLA 1 It was another defense-heavy win for No. 12 Texas Tech, which defeated No. 9 UCLA with a victory that came down to the final innings. After four scoreless frames, the Red Raiders finally broke the drought in wild fashion: by stealing home plate. Pinch runner Makayla Garcia pulled off the steal to give Texas Tech the lead in the fifth inning. The Bruins quickly hit back, with shortstop Kaniya Bragg hitting a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth. But another solo homer, this time from Red Raiders shortstop Hailey Toney, gave Texas Tech the lead in the sixth. Advertisement The Red Raiders iced the win in the seventh with another run. The victory was buoyed by Texas Tech ace Nijaree Canady, who notched seven strikeouts — including one in the final inning — while pitching the complete seven innings. UCLA and Oklahoma will have one more chance to stay alive, playing Tennessee and Oregon, respectively, in win-or-go-home elimination games. Texas and Texas Tech, meanwhile, advanced to the semifinals where they will play the winners of those games.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Prep softball: Norco wins its seventh Southern Section championship
From the beginning of the season, Norco was considered the team to beat in Southern Section Division 1 softball. There were a few blips along the way, but the Cougars proved Saturday night they are No. 1. Norco (29-3) won its seventh Southern Section softball title with a 3-0 victory over El Modena at Bill Barber Park in Irvine. Advertisement A three-run fifth inning was all the Cougars needed to support sophomore pitcher Coral Williams, who limited hot-hitting El Modena to one hit while striking out nine. Read more: Prep softball: Marina wins Southern Section Division 3 championship Big hits in the inning were delivered by Dillyn Eckenrod, who had an RBI double, and Savannah Gonzalez, who had an RBI single. Coach Richard Robinson earned his eighth section championship as a coach (he also won at Corona Centennial). Long Beach Poly 6, Warren 2: The Jackrabbits won the Division 4 title, their first in softball. Ki'ele Ho-Ching had a double, triple and three RBIs. Tegan Breaux threw a complete game with four strikeouts and no walks. Advertisement Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Byrnes softball wins 5A DI state title; BHP falls in 3A softball; Seneca loses to Airport in 4A baseball
Byrnes scores 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to walk-off Summerville 5-4 in 5A DI softball state championship. It's the Rebels 1st state title since 2001 & 6th overall. Aynor wins at BHP 5-1 to claim second 3A softball state title in 3 years. Seneca falls to Airport 10-0 in 6 innings of 4A baseball state championship series. It's the Eagles first ever state title in baseball. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Rothrock out
Follow our coverage of the WCWS from Oklahoma City as the six remaining teams chase the softball national title Imagn Images Imagn Images Keagan Rothrock is out after five innings, 105 pitches and three runs given up. Ava Brown is now in the circle for the Gators. Imagn Images I say it every year, but every year I really mean it: the tradition of giving the home run balls to the players' parents in the stands gives me chills EVERY time. One of the things that makes these players and personalities in the WCWS so special. BACK-TO-BACK!! The Longhorns are all over Keagan Rothrock now, as Katie Stewart absolutely launches one into the right field bleachers. She drove that outside curve the other way, her first oppo taco of the season. That one got out of here FAST. Again, and again! Back-to-back homers for Texas from Joley Mitchell and Katie Stewart give Texas the three-run lead. Kendra Falby, otherwise known as Kendra Wall-by, is infamous for her home run robberies. But her attempt on Joley Mitchell's second homer of the day was just out of reach. Mitchell is now the first-ever Texas player to have multiple homers in a game at the WCWS. Imagn Images T6 - Texas 2, Florida 0 Joley Mitchell strikes again with a solo home run, and it's 2-0 Longhorns in the top of the sixth. Mitchell has provided all the offense in this game. I love Mia Scott's game. She had some killer defensive plays during the regional and Super Regional, too. I would not feel good hitting a ball toward her. Imagn Images Mia Scott is putting on a defensive showcase at third for Texas. Teagan Kavan is forcing these Gators hitters to swing out of the zone, and somehow, they're still making decent contact, but Scott is gobbling up every hop that comes her way. For as much love as offense gets in Oklahoma City, it's looking like defense may be what wins this first game of the weekend. Imagn Images T6 - Texas 1, Florida 0 Teagan Kavan has her second 1-2-3 inning and continues to keep Florida scoreless. She has limited the Gators to one hit and two walks and has recorded two strikeouts. B5 - Texas 1, Florida 0 Huge strikeout for Keagan Rothrock, who gets Reese Atwood to end the top of the fifth with two runners on. Rothrockhas four strikeouts and has kept the Longhorns in check. Now would be a great time for Reese Atwood to get going for the Longhorns, as both teams have struggled with runners on base. ... But the Longhorns come up short yet again with a runner in scoring position. That's a tough pitch to go down looking on if you're Atwood, but maybe that will give the Gators some momentum heading to the plate. Imagn Images I'm sorry … Did I just hear that right? Florida's Korbe Otis is a competitive go-kart driver?? I'm going to need the broadcast to elaborate more on that. Also cool, Otis is working on her personal statement to apply to medical school — She was the SEC Scholar of the Year. T5 - Texas 1, Florida 0 Gators have their first hit on a single from Korbe Otis, but Teagan Kavan keeps them off the board for the fourth straight inning. She has been impressive through the first four. Imagn Images It's the fourth inning, and Teagan Kavan has picked up her first strikeout of the 2025 WCWS. On the broadcast, Michelle Smith and Jessica Mendoza said the Longhorns ace looked nervous to start this game, but she only looks like she's getting more locked in as this game gets deeper. Texas' Teagan Kavan gets her first strikeout of the day against her 12th batter, Reagan Walsh. Imagn Images With all the players using sliding mitts these days, you don't see many feet-first slides anymore in softball. That slide from Joley Mitchell right there, which now puts runners on third and first for Texas, was a rare exception this tournament. B4 - Texas 1, Florida 0 Somewhat of a risky move by Joley Mitchell heading to third on that ball to Rylee Holtorf at short, as you never want to make the third out of an inning (or the first, for that matter) at third base. Would have been key for Holtorf to get out of the inning by throwing to first there, but Mitchell's confident read on the ball is what got her there. It ends up not mattering, but aggressiveness on the basepaths would come into play in this tight matchup so far. It's back to the circle for Keagan Rothrock in the top of the fourth. On the ESPN broadcast, Florida coach Tim Walton said she's 'thrown a really good game' thus far. 'Defensively, (we're) playing well behind her. I think she's setting a really good tone for us.' Texas still leads 1-0. T4 - Texas 1, Florida Teagan Kavan has been in control through the first three innings. She has held the Gators hitless and has worked around two walks.
New York Times
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A key to that play
Follow our coverage of the WCWS from Oklahoma City as the six remaining teams chase the softball national title Imagn Images A key to that play, also, is that Victoria Valdez, the batter up at the plate for that steal of home, was a righty. Valdez did a great job of blocking Alexis Ramirez's sightline to third from behind the plate, so by the time she was throwing the ball back to Tinsley after the pitch, it was far too late. Needless to say, all of the momentum and energy is swinging Texas Tech's way now after that. What a way to spark an offense, and a total shock for UCLA. In a game where runs are hard to come by, Glasco and Garcia said, time to make our own magic. Texas Tech pinch-runner Makayla Garcia just STOLE HOME to get the first run of this game on the board. Holy cow what a gutsy call by Gerry Glasco to send Garcia on the pitch, and Taylor Tinsley and Alexis Ramirez had no clue it was happening. This kind of move DOES NOT happen very often, if at all. But wow was that well-executed, as Garcia just dove through the wickets of Ramirez at home plate to give Texas Tech a 1-0 lead. UCLA challenged the call to see if Garcia left early on the pitch, but upon review, she actually got a pretty late lead off of third. Seeing that that's actually Texas Tech's THIRD steal of home this season. That has to be a Glasco secret weapon because MAN that is rare. What an awesome, awesome moment. T5 - Texas Tech 1, UCLA 0 Makayla Garcia steals home and Texas Tech has the lead. What a gamble, and it pays off! Now I really wish Texas Tech decided to send Lauren Allred home on Nijaree Canady's double, as she just got thrown out at home on a soft grounder to first by Demi Elder. Things you LOVE to see: a pitcher helping herself on offense. NiJa Canady just drove an outside changeup all the way to the wall the opposite way to give the Red Raiders runners on second and third with one out after struggling to get a big inning going so far in this game. Lauren Allred got this inning started with a single to left, Texas Tech's first leadoff batter to reach base so far in this game. Coach Gerry Glasco played things a little safe on Canady's double by deciding not to send Allred home as the throw from right field hit the cut. I think she could have made it, and in a scoreless game, why not push it at this point? It wasn't a great throw. But there's still time to make something happen. Nijaree Canady comes through at the plate and rips a double down the right-field line. That ball was fair by about 2 feet. And here come the Red Raiders in the fifth inning. Runners on second and third with one out. Lauren Allred has Texas Tech's first hit here in the top of the fifth. She was hit by a pitch earlier in the game and is the only Texas Tech batter to reach against Taylor Tinsley. T5 - Texas Tech 0, UCLA 0 Still nothing across as Nijaree Canady mows through the Red Raiders in the fourth inning, and we go to the fifth inning with no score. This looks like it could be another long game. Imagn Images Some Texas Tech players have made some decent contact against UCLA's co-ace Taylor Tinsley, such as that deep foul out by Hailey Toney, who did a good job of getting under Tinsley's tough drop ball to get it up in the air. But it's fair for Red Raiders fans to start to get a little bit concerned, as this offense has been pretty quiet in OKC across a game and a half so far. Make no mistake, NiJa Canady is comfortable throwing in pressure situations and close games, as we already saw. But run support certainly helps, and so far Tinsley has allowed just one baserunner via hit-by-pitch. The Red Raiders have to start making adjustments in the box, or this one will be over quickly. Imagn Images UCLA has a tradition this season to throw "parties" in the dugout to spark things on offense, with streamers and a disco ball decorating the dugout, bubbles in the air and players and coaches alike donning party hats. Never in my life did I think I'd see the stoic Kelly Inouye-Perez wearing a sparkly gold party hat while coaching, but here we are. That's the WCWS, and it's the best. T4 - Texas Tech 0, UCLA 0 Nijaree Canady and Taylor Tinsley have been in control through three innings. Canady has allowed one hit and has struck out two, while Tinsley has held the Red Raiders without a hit. All these close-up camera angles, allowing us to see dirt flying to spit flying, are part of why softball is such a fun product is the number of cameras that give us a front-row seat, even from our coaches. Did you know when ESPN first started broadcasting the WCWS in 1982 it did so with just four cameras? Now, there are more than 40 cameras. Imagn Images Seeing Gerry Glasco get so hyped for his team after escaping that jam (and almost getting ejected) is so great to see. This program is reaching new heights with every game it remains in OKC, and that kind of energy is necessary if you're trying to make history by advancing to a first-ever WCWS semifinal. T3 - Texas Tech 0, UCLA 0 The Texas Tech bullpen is getting warm, as a very, very rare occurrence is taking place in OKC: NiJa Canady is struggling. That's her second walk today, and the ace does not take those lightly. But the changeup she just pulled the string on against Taylor Stephens may have just gotten her back in the groove, as she strikes her out on three pitches. Now THAT is grace under pressure. Canady just stranded the bases loaded to erase the Bruins' threat. B2 - Texas Tech 0, UCLA 0 The Bruins are making Nijaree Canady and the Red Raiders' defense work, as Rylee Slimp just beat out Canady's throw for a bunt base hit to give UCLA two runners on with one out. That, on top of some frustration with the strike zone, can send things southward for a defense really quickly, but we'll see if Canady can calm things down here for her team. Things are getting spicy as Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco appears to have just received a warning from the umpire crew after mouthing off about the iffy strike zone so far. T2 - Texas Tech 0, UCLA 0 And while Nijaree Canady is known for her signature 70-mph rise ball, she's already leaning on her changeup early against these Bruins batters. She's leaned on that pitch slightly more this year than she has in the past, and it's making its presence known at the WCWS. Joley Mitchell on her three home runs in the past two games.
