The No. 17 Arizona softball team is set to face No. 5 Oklahoma State University in the second round of the NCAA Softball Tournament May 24-26.
The three-game series will be hosted by OSU in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The series will start on Friday, May 24 at 5 p.m.
Arizona softball made it to the second round of the tournament after sweeping the Arkansas regional, where the Wildcats defeated the University of Villanova, University of Arkansas and Villanova again in the regional final.
OSU has had home-field advantage throughout the tournament so far, hosting its regional in Stillwater and now hosting Super Regionals. OSU, like Arizona, also swept its regional, beating the University of Northern Colorado, the University of Kentucky and the University of Michigan in the regional final.
The last time OSU and Arizona met was in 2022 during the Women’s College World Series, the third round of the softball tournament. Arizona lost 2-4 to OSU and was later eliminated from the tournament by the University of Texas.
Arizona holds an 8-2 record over Oklahoma in the last 10 meetings; however, they have lost two of the last three games.
Wildcats to watch during the series include Allie Skaggs, as she leads the team in home runs with 14 on the season, closely followed by Dakota Kennedy, Carlie Scupin and Olivia DiNardo, who all have 13.
Regan Shockey is another player to watch during the series. Shockey, a freshman center fielder, leads the team in batting average, currently holding a .411 average with 79 hits on the season.
Arizona’s ace pitcher Aissa Silva will also be critical to the Wildcats in this series. Silva holds a 3.03 ERA and has a pitching record of 22-5. Silva also has the most strikeouts for the Wildcats with 109.
The biggest threat for the Wildcats is OSU’s Caroline Wang’s bat. Wang has 17 home runs and 66 hits this season. She is also tied with Karli Godwin in lead RBIs and runs.
OSU’s pitching will also be a threat for the Wildcats, as the Cowgirls’ top two pitchers both have an ERA under two. Lexi Kilfoyl has been the workhorse for OSU, pitching in 27 games and winning 24. She leads the team in strikeouts with 140 this season. Kilfoyl has only allowed 98 hits and 36 runs on the season. Ivy Rosenberry is Oklahoma’s second-best pitcher, with a win record of 13-4 and 90 strikeouts on the season. She has allowed 88 hits and 31 runs on the season.
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