Softball On SI

5 Softball Records Set Around the Country During Opening Weekend

Nicole Reitz|
Megan Grant helped lead the Bruins to a new UCLA single-game home run record.
Megan Grant helped lead the Bruins to a new UCLA single-game home run record. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

The start of the Division I college softball season has been nothing short of impressive. 

Major upsets took place, rookies launched their first home runs, aces threw no-hitters and complete games, several transfers found a place to call home, and records were smashed. If this is what the entire season is set to look like, imagine what the postseason will bring. 

Here’s a look at four softball records that were immediately broken during the opening weekend and what players have already triumphed. 

UCLA Bruins Set Single-Game Home Run Record

The Bruins’ bats refused to be stopped. UCLA set a new program single-game record with eight home runs during the 17-0 run-rule victory over UC Riverside on Sunday, to cap off a perfect 5-0 weekend. 

Megan Grant became the second player in program history to hit three homers in a game, while Jordan Wollery went back-to-back twice in the first and fourth innings. Her fourth-inning homer was the record-breaking eighth homer of the game.

Joining Grant and Woolery were freshmen Bri Alejandre and Jolyna Lamar, and sophomore Sofia Mujica. Lamar’s two-run homer was a personal accomplishment, marking her first career hit, homer, and RBI. 

Lyndsey Grein No-Hitter 

At the NFCA Leadoff Classic, senior All-American Lydnsey Grein became the first Duck to throw a no-hitter in a season opener. With a career-high 14 strikeouts and just two walks, she led Oregon to a 3-0 win over Missouri. 

Grein is now the 19th player in program history to throw a no-hitter. 

Alabama Crimson Tide Set Multiple Opening Weekend Records 

Alabama’s bats were hot all weekend, leading them to an undefeated outing. Six players hit home runs across both games on Saturday against Villanova and Georgia Tech, setting an opening weekend program record at 18. 

Salen Hawkins and Ana Roman led the team with three homers apiece, while Alexis Pupillo drove in a team-leading 11 RBIs across five games. 

The strong offense went on to break the opening weekend program records for slugging percentage (.881) and runs batted in (51). 

Arizona State and Texas A&M Smash Attendance Records 

Arizona State’s opening game against the Oklahoma Sooners drew a crowd of 2,373 spectators, setting a new record for the highest-attended home game. This surpassed the previous mark of 2,264 when the Sun Devils hosted rival Arizona on March 30, 2014. 

Sun Devils ace Kenzie Brown certainly gave the Sooners a hard time and made sure the crowd didn’t leave without an action-packed show. Her 13 strikeouts were the most against an OU lineup since March 1, 2020, when the Sooners struck out 10 times at Northwestern. 

As for the Aggies, the last attendance record broken at Davis Diamond was when they faced Texas Tech in March, and it happened again when hosting the Red Raiders on Saturday. 2,880 spectators were in attendance to witness the in-state showdown, but the Aggies fell in a tight 3-2 game. 

Recommended Links

Published | Modified
Nicole Reitz
NICOLE REITZ

Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.

Share on XFollow nicolereitz02
Home/College