Stanford hosts St. Mary’s in NCAAs; Cal goes to Louisiana

Stanford will host a fourteam regional that includes St. Mary’s, and Cal will travel to Louisiana as the 64-team NCAA softball postseason begins Friday at 16 sites throughout the country.

Stanford (43-13), the national No. 8 seed, opens against St. Mary’s (30-22) at 7 p.m. Friday on the Cardinal campus.

The Gaels secured their first postseason berth since 2010 by beating Loyola Marymount 8-0 on Saturday to win their first West Coast Conference championship.

Stanford reached the semifinals of last year’s Women’s College World Series, losing to eventual national champion Oklahoma 4-2 in nine innings.

The other half of the Stanford Regional will pit Mississippi State (33-18) against Fullerton State (36-17).

Cal (36-17) opens play in the Baton Rouge Regional against Southern Illinois (42-9).

The Salukis are the two-time defending Missouri Valley Conference champions and carry a nine-game winning streak during which they have outscored the opposition 48-8.

In the other half of the bracket, regional host LSU (40-15), the No. 9 seed, will play Jackson State (33-17).

Texas (47-7) claimed the No. 1 overall seed despite losing 5-1 to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game Saturday.

The Longhorns open regional play Friday at home against Siena.

Oklahoma (49-6), the threetime defending national champion, is the No. 2 seed.

The Sooners will start their path toward what would be an unprecedented fourth straight national title when they open at home against Cleveland State on Friday.

Oklahoma defeated Texas in the best-of-three championship series in 2022 to claim the national title.

The opening weekend of the postseason follows a doubleelimination format.

Winners of the 16 regionals advance to the best-of-three super regionals, May 23-26.

The eight-team Women’s College World Series begins May 30 in Oklahoma City.