Three Big Challenges Facing Cal Softball at NCAA Tourney

Cal begins play in the NCAA softball tournament for the 36th time on Friday when it takes on Omaha at Love’s Field in Norman, Oklahoma. First pitch is 12:30 p.m. and the game will be shown on ESPN+.

The Bears (35-19) and Mavericks (39-11) are joined in the four-team bracket by host and top seed Oklahoma (45-7) and Boston U (39-17).

Cal is hoping to advance to the Super Regional round for the first time since 2012, which also was the last time the Bears made it to the Women’s College World Series.

That quest faces at least three significant obstacles:

OMAHA’S ACE LEFTY: Omaha features one of the nation’s most impressive pitchers in Maddie Groff, the Pitcher of the Year in the Summit League.

The sophomore left-hander is 26-5 with a 1.62 earned run average that ranks 13th in the NCAA and an 0.85 WHIP. Her 238 strikeouts are eight-most in the country and with just 24 walks over 190.2 innings, her strikeouts-to-walks ration of 9.92 is second-best in the NCAA.

The Bears will be facing a pitcher whose opponents have batted just .199 this season. She pitched a perfect game against North Dakota and combined with a teammate for another one.

Raised in Omaha, Groff returned to her hometown team this season after one year at Southern Illinois, where she was 30-5 with a 1.11 ERA and 224 strikeouts and just 31 walks as a freshman. She threw a perfect game for the Salukis against Creighton in 2024.

SOONERS CAN CRUSH IT: It’s not enough that Oklahoma is the four-time reigning national champion and has won six NCAA titles since 2016. The Sooners are hosting the Norman Regional for the 14th straight season and have advanced to the Super Regionals every season back to 2010.

Oh yeah, the Sooners are 22-2 at home this season.

This Oklahoma team doesn’t have anyone with the credentials of former star Jocelyn Alo, who hit an NCAA-record 122 home runs over four seasons through 2022.

But the Sooners can muscle up at the plate with the best of them. Their 102 home runs are fourth-most in the country — just one shy of tied for second. Their lineup boasts six players with at least 11 home runs: Gabbie Garcia (16), Nelly McEnroe-Marinas (14), Kasidi Pickering (14), Isabele Emerling (11), Ella Parker (11), Cyndey Saunders (11).

Among a record 14 Southeastern Conference teams in the NCAA field, no one can match OU’s 194 extra-base hits or .633 slugging percentage. The Sooners hit .363 with runners on base and an impressive .400 with the bases loaded.

TIGHTENING DEFENSE: The Bears’ Achilles heel at times this season has been defense and that shortcoming was evident in their 8-0, five-inning loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament when two errors led to four unearned runs.

Defense is paramount in high-level games and the Bears will need to be sharper this week. Omaha ranks fifth in the nation with a sparkling .980 fielding percentage and Oklahoma — known for its offense — is 11th in fielding at .978.

Cal is just 143rd nationally with a .962 fielding percentage and its 54 errors are nearly as many as Omaha (26) and Oklahoma (31) combined.

Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky

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