Oklahoma vs. Mississippi State and the best matchups this week in College Softball
The 2024 softball season is off and running, and tournament play from coast-to-coast continues this week.
The Oklahoma Sooners are heading west for the annual Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic for a five-game slate. Additionally, some fantastic matchups are happening in Austin, Raleigh and in Athens.
But what are the best matchups happening this weekend? Here’s a look at eight games we’re looking forward to.
No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 21 Mississippi State
𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐭.
We are officially 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 for our home opener at Love’s Field on March 1!@SeatGeek 🎟️ | https://t.co/wKRK7P8LvN#ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/E69STdcKKS
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) February 21, 2024
The Oklahoma Sooners will open the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a top 25 matchup against a Mississippi State team that arrives in California 8-1 and coming off wins over Clemson and Utah last week.
The Bulldogs haven’t allowed more than three runs in any game this season. Now, they take on an Oklahoma Sooners squad that has been an offensive juggernaut for the last three-plus seasons.
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No. 19 UCLA vs. No. 5 Tennessee - Sunday at 2 p.m. PT
Mark your calendars, we get another @NCAASoftball
broadcast on @MLBNetwork! Sunday’s 2pm game between @UCLASoftball and @Vol_Softball will be aired tape-delayed at 7pm PT (10pm ET) that night! #MNCC pic.twitter.com/GXhqtmiwqS— Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic (@NutterClassic) February 21, 2024
Tennessee is off to a hot start and is ranked fifth in three of the four major rankings. UCLA, on the other hand, is off to a very sluggish start: a 3-4 record in its first seven games.
Nobody’s writing off the Bruins yet, but this is an opportunity for the West Coast powerhouse to reassert itself on the national level.
No. 4 Washington vs. No. 7 Oklahoma State - Thursday at 12:30 p.m. CT
Dawgs get the dub 🐶#MightyAreTheWomen pic.twitter.com/cjLAJOk5BG
— Washington Softball (@UWSoftball) February 21, 2024
The Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic will provide a number of this weekend’s best matchups. Few will be more highly anticipated than the top 10 showdown between the Washington Huskies and Oklahoma State Cowgirls.
The two sides have a combined three losses this season and each came against top-10 teams. This could be the game of the weekend. Here’s hoping the Kenny Gajewski and Heather Tarr grace us with a Ruby Meylan vs. Lexi Kilfoyl matchup.
No. 9 Stanford vs. No. 2 Texas - Saturday 7 p.m. CT
ah, home sweet home 🤘#HookEm | @TexasLonghorns pic.twitter.com/NPp6FlJUyz
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) February 21, 2024
NiJaree Canady is arguably the best pitcher in softball. Stanford’s lineup, unfortunately, has been up and down at the plate this season. Nothing will be easy for the Cardinal when they take on the Texas Longhorns, who have had an impressive start to 2024.
The Longhorns are No. 2 in the nation in scoring at 10.71 runs per game.
No. 11 Missouri vs. Baylor - Saturday at 8 p.m. PT
Milestone moment for Gally.
Congrats to Maddie Gallagher on reaching 💯 career hits!!!#OwnIt #MIZ 🐯🥎 pic.twitter.com/J8Pl9nJb0S
— Mizzou Softball (@MizzouSoftball) February 20, 2024
The Missouri Tigers are off to a 10-0 start to the season with notable wins over Clemson, Liberty, Utah and NC State. They’ll get another challenge when they take on the Baylor Bears, a team ranked in three of the four polls this week.
Baylor started the season losing two to Tennessee before beating McNeese State and taking two of three from Louisiana in a top 25 series.
No. 3 Georgia vs. Virginia Tech - Friday and Saturday in Athens
🤗 how it feels being back at home this weekend #Team28 | #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/8KmqMwCD9x
— Georgia Softball (@UGASoftball) February 21, 2024
Virginia Tech has regularly been an NCAA tournament team, and the Hokies are off to a strong start in 2024. They hold top a 25 win over Auburn and have also beaten BYU, Illinois and Arizona State.
This week they take on the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia is 9-0 with top 15 wins over Florida State, UCLA and Oklahoma State. The Bulldogs put up 20 runs in their win over the Seminoles.
No. 24 Northwestern vs. No. 19 UCLA - Friday at 3 p.m. PT
Past and Present Wildcats 💜
Thankful for the amazing support from our alums in Clearwater! pic.twitter.com/M2qSgNC74X
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) February 18, 2024
Here’s another game that will let us know a little bit more about the UCLA Bruins. UCLA’s start has arguably been the biggest surprise of the start of the season. But it’s still early and they’ll be looking to silence the doubters.
Boston vs. No. 8 Duke - Friday 6:30 p.m. CT
Enjoy a mic’d up with @lilliewalkerrr! 🎙️#Team7 | #GoDuke pic.twitter.com/HWCMfevL15
— Duke Softball (@DukeSOFTBALL) February 21, 2024
Boston is a fringe top 25 team and has been one of the more intriguing stories to start the season. They’re receiving votes in the NFCA USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and the ESPN/USA Softball rankings. They come in at No. 25 in the D1Softball poll. They’re 10-0 on the year but this weekend will face a top 10 Duke Blue Devils team who held the Sooners lineup in check in their 3-0 loss in Puerto Vallarta. If the Terriers can pull off the upset here, they’ll move well inside the top 25.
