The marquee game of the Mary Nutter Classic, featuring No. 1 and undefeated UCLA against No. 2 and once-defeated Oklahoma, figured to be a tight, back-and-forth battle, or so I thought. The Sooners laid waste to that forecast, routing the Bruins 14-0 in run-rule fashion. With Michigan transfer Alex Storako pitching five innings of shutout ball for OU (5 K, 3 hits, 0 BB), the Sooners began their offensive onslaught scoring 6 in the second inning, 2 each in the third and fourth, and 4 in the fifth. Perhaps the most amazing stat of the day was that OU amassed 20 hits in just five innings! UCLA starter Megan Faraimo was driven from the game after just 1  2/3 innings, having allowed 7 hits and 4 runs. 

Softball America has a new article on how all the head softball coaches in the Pac 12 (with nine softball-playing schools) are women. As the article notes, in no other Power Five conference is this true.

This weekend's major tournament is the annual Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, California, near Palm Springs. The 30-team field includes the Top 3 teams in this week's ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, namely No. 1 UCLA (12-0), No. 2 Oklahoma (8-1), and No. 3 Florida (10-0). I'm personally a little skeptical regarding the Gators being ranked so high, as they haven't played any top opponents yet (UF game log ). The two best match-ups, in my view, are UCLA vs. Florida tonight at 7:30 pm Pacific and UCLA vs. Oklahoma at 9:30 am Sunday morning. UPDATE: UCLA crushes Florida 10-0 via run-rule, Gators get no hits.

Baylor scored a 4-3 victory over Oklahoma earlier today in the Getterman Classic, hosted by the Bears. I must that this game flew under my radar screen. For one thing, two teams in the same conference (the Big 12 in this instance) typically don't play in the nonconference part of the schedule, so I didn't know Baylor and Oklahoma would even be playing at this point of the season. The Bears led 4-1 until the Sooners scored two in the top of the sixth to close within 4-3. OU had the tying run at third in that inning, but couldn't bring her home. The Sooners were retired in order in the seventh to end the game.

We're down to the final three games of this year's Clearwater Invitational, in one of which Florida State is taking on Alabama... Crimson Tide pitcher Montana Fouts gets a two-out, bases-loaded strikeout to end an FSU threat in the top of the first... Bama goes quietly in the bottom of the first... Still scoreless with the Tide batting in the bottom of the third... Alabama leading 2-1 after four and a half... All three runs in the game are via solo homers (two from the Tide in the bottom of the fourth and one from FSU in the top of the fifth)... Seminoles coming up in the top of the seventh for their final opportunity to stay alive, still trailing 2-1... First two FSU batters retired. Jahni Kerr, whose earlier homer provided the Seminoles' only run, gets an infield single on a deep grounder that the shortstop fields but has no play on... Pinch-runner for Kerr steals second and advances to third on bad throw... Josie Muffley, a veteran of FSU's 2021 national runner-up sq...

It's 3:20 pm Central and UCLA is off to a quick 3-0 lead over Virginia Tech in the bottom of the first. The first five UCLA batters have singled! Bruins finish the inning up 6-0... VT rallies a bit, but 8-4 UCLA is your final. The Bruins knocked off Florida State 6-4 early this morning, whereas this is the Hokies' first game of the day. Virginia Tech lost narrowly to Oklahoma State and beat Nebraska yesterday (VT game log ).

Two-run shot by Ashley Prange ( video ) gives Alabama a 2-0 lead over UCLA in the top of the first... Single, double, and walk load the bases for UCLA in the bottom half... Frosh Jordan Woolery goes opposite field for grand-slam, putting Bruins on top 4-2... Prange with solo shot for her second homer of the game, but UCLA answers with one, making it 5-3 UCLA... No further scoring, as the Bruins win 5-3 . UCLA's Megan Faraimo (complete game, 13 strikeouts) outduels Bama's Montana Fouts (4 2/3 innings, 9 strikeouts) in this battle of star pitchers.