The Pearland High School Lady Oilers are ranked No. 2 in the state in softball. They have been playing together since they were young and now have reached the A Division I regional championship after eliminating Cy Ridge 2-0 in their best-of-three regional semifinal series.
They are a serious group on the field focused on winning. But after the game, during the postgame interviews, well, they like to have fun with each other.
The Lady Oilers are stacking wins like they stack sombreros, gloves, and other things on their teammates' heads during postgame interviews.
"How do you talk with everything else going on here?" ABC13 sports producer Joe Gleason asked.
"It's a little much, but I think I look cut still," senior Madelyn Guzman said.
There's a time for fun and a time to be serious. On the field, they are all business.
"The second you look at us, you see, we always pick up one another, someone's helping someone else on the field," senior shortstop Elaina Njus said.
"How far do you feel this team can go?" ABC13 asked.
"Oh, we're winning it all. We already made our decision. And that's it. We're winning it," senior Payton Shugart said.
The last time Pearland won state was in 2023; three freshmen were on that team, including Guzman.
"It means everything to me because it's my senior year and I really want to go out with a bang," Guzzman said. "We won our first year, and I want to win this year, too."
Madeline doesn't joke around when she's inside the circle, pitching. She's coming off an 11-strikeout, no-hitter in game one of the regional semifinals, and followed that performance up with 15 strikeouts in the series clincher against Cy Ridge.
"I love this team we all play for each other, and we all have really good chemistry," she said.
The Lady Oilers want to cherish every moment, every post-game interview together, and hope the season ends with laughter and more sombreros stacked after lifting the state championship trophy in Austin.
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Season Pass episode 34 is underway with a huge playoff episode coming at you. High school softball and baseball are down to the final five teams. While Angelo State officially sees all teams enter post-season play for their spring sports. And we wrap todays local sports as well with four college signings totaling over a half dozen players.
This week’s episode includes: – High school softball and baseball playoff action for 3A-2A – Other local sports stories | gymnastics, Wall softball news, four high schools with college signings – Angelo State Athletics spring sports update, including our ASU weekly recap | ASU Baseball | ASU Softball | ASU Tennis | ASU track & field | Post-season play – National sports story including a bat dog named Omaha
Week 34 | Local Softball & Baseball | Class 3A:
Week 34 | Local Softball & Baseball | Class 2A | More local stories:
Week 34 | More local stories:
Week 34 | Angelo State Athletics w/ Griff McClellan:
Week 34 | National sports stories: Omaha the bat dog | Five Star Sports Podcast:
Season Pass airs every Sunday night following the 10pm news. Next Sunday is the final Season Pass until August.
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SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — KLST Season Pass returns for Week 34 and as always, Griff McClellan provides coverage of everything Angelo State Athletics.
The second-to-last episode of the 2025-26 academic year includes the following headlines:
-No. 12 Rams baseball wraps up competition at the Lone Star Conference Tournament in Tyler, Texas and now shifts its focus to NCAA South Central Regionals.
-No. 18 Rambelles softball wins its first LSC title in eight seasons and eighth in program history.
-Rambelles tennis’ historic season comes to an end at NCAA South Central Regionals.
-Rambelles golf concludes play at the NCAA West Regionals in Pueblo, Colorado.
KLST Season Pass airs Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m. Central Standard Time. The show recaps the week of Concho Valley athletics, ranging from the high school level to Angelo State and more.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (FOX 44) — It’s Selection Sunday for NCAA Division I softball, and Baylor and Texas A&M are among the teams gearing up for postseason action.
Baylor earned a No. 3 seed in the Austin Regional, marking the Bears’ 17th NCAA Tournament appearance and third in four years. Baylor opens Friday at 12:30 p.m. against Wisconsin at Red and Charline McCombs Field. The winner faces the victor of No. 2 overall seed Texas and No. 4 Wagner, while the losers meet in an elimination game.
“There was a huge sense of relief in that room,” head coach Glenn Moore said. “This team is very close. The culture here is one of the best I’ve been a part of. Seeing these kids achieve what they set out to do was pretty emotional for me.”
Meanwhile, Texas A&M earned the No. 15 national seed and will host the College Station Regional starting Friday at Davis Diamond. The Aggies face Big East champion UConn at 1 p.m., followed by Big 12 Tournament champion Arizona State against Southland champion McNeese at 3:30 p.m.
Texas A&M makes its 36th NCAA Tournament appearance and 24th straight, ranking as the seventh-longest active streak nationally. The Aggies are hosting an NCAA Regional for the 18th time and for the third straight season.
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CLEMSON (Clemson SID) – For the sixth-straight year, the Clemson Softball team has made an NCAA postseason appearance with the latest selection to the Athens Regional hosted by the No. 3 seeded Georgia. The Tigers were named the No. 6 seed in the NCAA’s first year of seeding teams 1-8 in each quad.
Clemson (32-20) will open the double-elimination regional on Friday against UNC Greensboro (42-17). First pitch is currently slated for 4:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network. Earning the No. 10 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and No. 3 seed in the quadrant, Georgia (38-18) hosts Charleston (30-28) at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
The winner of the Athens Regional will advance to a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional against the winner of the Knoxville Regional.
In only the seventh season, the Tigers have been selected to the NCAA Tournament every year eligible making its first appearance in 2021 at the Tuscaloosa Regional before returning to Tuscaloosa in 2024. Clemson has been a top 16 seed the other three years and hosted in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
Clemson is one of eight ACC schools selected to the NCAA Tournament, joining No. 3 Florida State, No. 3 Duke, No. 5 Virginia Tech, No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Virginia, No. 8 Louisville and Georgia Tech.
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After defeating No. 9 Georgia with a walkoff Friday the Longhorns now play No. 2 Alabama on Saturday. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Trouanment, though the loser will likely also make the field and host a regional.
The Crimson Tide run-ruled Florida to make the title game. Texas, seeded fourth, beat Ole Miss before its clutch win over the Bulldogs. Alabama won two of three when the teams met in the regular season.
Texas Longhorns infielder Vivianna Martinez (23) celebrates a hit for a single during the game against Arkansas at Red & Charline McCombs Field on Thursday, April 30, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Here is how to watch Texas play Alabama in the SEC Tournament.
Texas Longhorns utility Reese Atwood (14) waits for her turn to bat in the first inning as the Texas Longhorns take on the Oklahoma State Cowgirls at McCombs Field in Austin, April 22, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
Byron Nelson celebrates with their trophy a victory over Flower Mound Marcus, 15-3 in Game 2 of a 6A Division II Region I semifinal series, Friday, May 8, 2026 played at Flower Mound Marcus High School in Flower Mound. (Steve Nurenberg/The Dallas Morning News)
COPPELL — Lilly Pirrello went 4 for 4 with a pair of home runs and drove in all five runs to lead Hebron to a 5-1 victory over Keller Timber Creek in Game 2 to even the Class 6A Division I Region I semifinal best-of-3 playoff series Friday night at Cowgirl Field.
“We were not ready to see the season end,’’ said Pirrello, a junior shortstop and the Hawks’ leadoff batter. In addition to accounting for all of her team’s RBIs she also had all four of its hits and a pair of stolen bases.
Her home runs were her seventh and eighth of the season, and on each she made a point of going back to touch first base a second time.
“My sophomore year I jumped over first base on my first home run so now I go back to make sure,” she said.
She had a pair of singles to go with the home runs.
Game 3 is scheduled for noon Saturday in Coppell. The winner will advance to the Region I final against Flower Mound.
Hebron (27-12) kept alive its hopes of reaching the fourth playoff round for the first time since 2012 thanks to Pirrello’s slugging and a gritty pitching performance from Kate Buesing. The senior allowed no walks, struck out eight and retired the last eight Timber Creek batters in order.
“It was us or them with everything on the line,’’ said Hebron coach Chelsea Bunjovac, “and we brought the fight to them.’’
Keller Timber Creek (28-8-1), which won the series opener 6-3 on Thursday, outhit Hebron 6-4 but committed three errors and stranded three runners in scoring position when it had a chance to add to its early lead.
Ava Thomas staked Timber Creek to a 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI double on the left-field line that scored Addy McFarland from second base. McFarland reached on an infield single and stole second base. Shortstop Thomas led the Falcons with two hits.
Hebron went ahead for the first time in the series on Pirrello’s two-run homer over the wall in left-center in the third inning. EK Hagedorn was on base with a walk.
Pirrello did it again in almost the same spot in the fifth inning, this time with two teammates on board to increase the Hebron lead to 5-1. Hagedorn reached on an infield error and Kinsely Huckabee worked a walk ahead of the homer.
Both teams have faced a Game 3 in the first two playoff rounds, Timber Creek defeated Mansfield Lake Ridge in bi-district and Hebron advanced over South Grand Prairie last week in the area round.
— Randy Jennings
Flower Mound 3, Northwest Eaton 2:Audra Kruk finished off an eight-inning complete game by getting a fielder’s choice grounder to end it with the bases loaded as Flower Mound completed a two-game sweep of the Class 6A Division I Region I semifinal series.
Flower Mound took a 3-1 lead with two runs in the top of the eighth as Avery Brock broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI double, and another run scored on an error. Eaton cut it to 3-2 on a two-out RBI single by Adriana Cantu in the bottom of the eighth, and a single and walk followed to load the bases before Kruk escaped the jam to give Flower Mound the win.
An RBI single by Eaton’s Jordan Jameson in the bottom of the sixth tied it 1-1 and ended up forcing extra innings. With its 11th straight win, Flower Mound (27-8-1) advanced to a regional final for the second straight year after reaching the state semifinals last season.
Grand Oaks 9-8, Waxahachie 5-2:Waxahachie sophomore Michaela Landers hit her 25th home run of the season, giving her the Dallas-area record for most home runs in a season. But it wasn’t enough as Hannah Forman allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings and Jaz Leveston homered to lead Grand Oaks to an 8-2 win in Game 3 of the best-of-3 Class 6A Division I Region II semifinal series.
Landers finished the season with 105 RBIs, a new state record. Waxahachie (37-3) had won 31 games in a row before losing twice Friday.
Grand Oaks won 9-5 in Game 2 earlier Friday as Amira Abukhzam, Kiley Milligan and Myah Aranda homered. Jayla Hernandez went 3 for 3 for Waxahachie.
Trophy Club Byron Nelson 15, Flower Mound Marcus 3:An eight-run top of the third propelled Byron Nelson to a two-game sweep in the 6A Division II Region I semifinal series. Brooklyn Hanson, Bryson Farco, Elle Dearing and Kaylee Vien homered for Byron Nelson (36-5-1), which won for the 11th time in 13 games.
Farco gave Byron Nelson the lead for good with a two-run single in the third that made it 3-1, and four batters later Dearing hit a grand slam to make it 8-1. Farco added a two-run home run in the fourth to extend the lead to 10-2, and she finished 3 for 4 with five RBIs.
Forney 5, Conroe Oak Ridge 0:Emmie Santos pitched a four-hit shutout as Forney swept the 6A Division II Region II semifinal series and extended its winning streak to 20 games.
Carlee Rabal and Mylee Salas each went 3 for 4 with an RBI for Forney (33-3), and Santos gave Forney its ninth shutout in the last 11 games. Oak Ridge loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but a groundout ended the game.
Midlothian Heritage 5, Lovejoy 0: Trinity Chittamai pitched a three-hit shutout and struck out seven as Midlothian Heritage wrapped up a two-game sweep in the 5A Division II Region II semifinal series. Lovejoy loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Chittamai got a fielder’s choice grounder to end the game.
Chittamai and Ava Robinson homered, and Robinson went 3 for 4 with three runs and two RBIs. Chittamai provided all the offense that Heritage would need with a two-run home run in the top of the first, and Robinson and Amiya Vanmeter hit RBI singles in the third.
Prosper Walnut Grove 2, Lake Belton 1: Two outs from seeing its season end, Walnut Grove rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh to tie the best-of-3 5A Division I Region II semifinal series at one win apiece. It ended a 16-game winning streak for Lake Belton.
Darcy Lovland tied the score 1-1 with a one-out RBI single in the seventh, and Lily Bergstrand followed with an RBI double to give Walnut Grove a 2-1 lead. Maddie Sabedra pitched a four-hitter as Walnut Grove forced a decisive Game 3 that is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Red Oak.
Abilene 3-9, Richland 0-1: Kaylee Gonzales doubled, homered and drove in two runs and Avah Reyes and Gonzales combined on a two-hitter as Abilene won Game 3 of the best-of-3 regional semifinal series 9-1 in 5A Division I.
Abilene won Game 2 of the series 3-0 earlier Friday as Reyes pitched a two-hit shutout and Mariah Estrada homered.
PEORIA, Ill. (WCIA) – Eastern Illinois softball cruised to a postseason win on Friday, punching a spot in the tournament finals.
The Panthers beat SIUE 8-0 on Friday, boosted by a five-run third innings.
Abbi Hatton drove in half of the Panthers’ runs.
EIU will play for a second-straight OVC Tournament title on Saturday, set to take on the winner of Friday night’s Lindenwood vs SIUE game.
The Panthers need just one win on Saturday to secure the tournament crown, while their opponent would need to beat them twice in order to hoist the conference tournament trophy.
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May 8—SALEM, S.D. — McCook Central/Montrose is on the rise in the Class B softball standings.
It's been a steady climb for the Fighting Cougars, who are now in their third year as a program and own the best win percentage of any Class B squad with an 11-2 start to the season.
MCM's progress was tested Thursday with a road game at Hanson, another top team in Class B. Though the Fighting Cougars fell behind 10-5 entering the sixth inning, a massive rally catapulted them to a 17-10 victory.
It was the first time in the program's brief history that MCM beat Hanson, having lost each of the first two seasons by a combined score of 27-8. The result also vaulted MCM into the No. 2 slot in the Class B seed-point standings, behind only perennial power Castlewood.
"This is an amazing win for us, and it gives us a lot of confidence going forward," said senior infielder Ashtyn DeKnikker. "This whole season so far has been very rewarding."
"Winning that game was huge for us, especially coming from behind," added coach Nick Morrison. "We're moving up (the standings), and that's a good thing. We've been trying to make the leap, so hopefully we can take this and go forward. It's a confidence builder, 100%."
MCM didn't field a team in 2022-23, the first year the South Dakota High School Activities Association offered softball under its purview. A year behind many of their peer programs to start, the Fighting Cougars went 6-9 during their first season in 2023-24, then improved to 13-10 last year.
Clearly making another huge stride, their only setbacks so far this season came by one run each, first against Baltic in the season opener and more recently against a Sioux Valley squad that is 13-3 and No. 4 in Class A.
"Coming from where we started two years ago to now is crazy," said senior pitcher/outfielder Zaidee Huls. "It just feels great."
Key to the program's rapid growth has been a high degree of roster continuity. MCM had four seniors during its first season as a program, but last year the Fighting Cougars didn't have a single one. All but one player from the 2025 varsity roster is back in the fold for 2026, including six upperclassmen. Those circumstances have created a strong bond between the Fighting Cougars, one that they feel shows up on game days.
"We're always having fun, but then when it's time to get ready and play, we're serious about it," Huls said. "We just need to keep with what we're doing right now, staying consistent and always being there for each other, even when we're down."
Leaning on their experience, the Fighting Cougars are solid in all phases. Offensively, they score 12.6 runs per game, the second-most in Class B. On Thursday against the Beavers, MCM racked up 16 hits during its 17-run outburst. Meanwhile, MCM limits opponents to a class-low 3.4 runs per game. Six times this season, the Fighting Cougars have allowed two or fewer runs.
"We just want to go out and play, have some fun and focus on helping each other out," Morrison said.
MCM's primary aim is to qualify for the Class B state tournament for the first time. Last season, they were the No. 12 seed and fell 4-1 to Florence/Henry in the SoDak 16. In line for a top seed this time around, the Fighting Cougars feel this team is the one poised to make that breakthrough.
"Our No. 1 goal is to go to state, and winning games one at a time is all it's about," DeKnikker said. "We know we can do it because of games like (Hanson). We know how to pick each other up and stay confident when we get down and face those tough situations."
EMPORIA, Kan. — Three Lions logged home runs as the top-seeded Missouri Southern State University Lions softball team (47-7) earned a spot in the MIAA championship finals with a 6-1 win over the host team fourth-seeded Emporia State University Hornets (29-18) on Friday at Emporia’s Trusler Sports Complex.
Southern senior Katie Gray sparked the Lions offense in the bottom of the third inning with a two-run homer just inside the foul pole in left field. That homer plated Bailey Dillon and broke Gray’s single-season MSSU home run record with her 16th home run of the year. Emily Perry gave the Lions a 3-0 lead when she doubled to right center and drove in Carsen Tinkler.
The Hornets put a run across in the top of the fifth when Taryn Burkhard plated Kinsey Perine with a single up the middle.
MSSU answered with a trio of runs, all via the long ball, in the bottom of the frame. Maddie Rolfs scored Micah Snider after she busted one over left center field that sent Emporia State’s center fielder Burkhardt crashing into the fence.
Freshman Avery Sue Davis went back-to-back with Rolfs, sending one over the left field fence for a solo shot that made it a 6-1 Lions lead.
That score held as the Lions secured their spot in the finals, set for noon Saturday.
Three Lions logged multiple hits in the game. Tinkler was 2 for 3 with a run, Rolfs went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run, and Davis finished 2 for 3 with one RBI and one run.
Starter Kiki Pickens (20-3) earned her 20th win of the season. She gave up one run on five hits, while striking out four and walking two in four innings of work. Freshman Emily Davis earned the save after giving up no runs on two hits in three innings of relief. Davis fanned five and walked none.
“Kiki early on helping keep us composed was really big for us,” MSSU head coach Halie Blackney said. “I feel that paid off early in the game, and then we kind of settled in and were ourselves. Pitching and defense is what we hang our hat on. Kiki did her thing, and then Emily Davis came in and did her thing too.”
Burkhardt led Emporia State after going 2 for 4 with one RBI.
Hornets starter Hannah Butterbaugh was tagged with the loss after surrendering three runs on six hits. She struck out none and walked none in 2 2/3 innings.
Blackney shared her thoughts on the win.
“We knew playing the Hornets here in Emporia, there was going to be a lot of energy,” Blackney said. “They are an energetic bunch, and we knew we would have to weather the storm. I felt like the maturity and experience of our upperclassmen really carried us through that. It was a team win. I love our team, just because of how we pay, which is together always.”
The MIAA regular season champions Lions will look to win the MIAA Tournament title as well when they face Rogers State University on Saturday. Rogers State beat the University of Central Oklahoma by a score of 7-5 in the second semifinal Friday.
Tinkler talked abut what it would be like to capture both the regular-season and the tourney titles — something that hasn’t happened since 2001.
“We couldn’t end any better,” Tinkler said. “That’s the goal and that would be awesome.”
Tinkler shared what she believes it will take to win the MIAA tourney.
“I think we just stay who we are, stay consistent, and it will take care of itself,” Tinkler said.
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