Cal Wins Its Opener in NCAA Softball Tournament

Cal’s Annabel Teperson pitched a two-hit shutout and the Bears got some revenge on Omaha pitcher Maddia Groff as Cal came away with a 1-0 victory over Omaha on Friday in the first game of the NCAA Softball Regional in Norman, Oklahoma.

On Saturday, Cal (36-19) will probably face Oklahoma, the No. 2overall seed in the 64-team NCAA tournament, assuming the Sooners get past Boston University in Friday second game in Norman. The question is whether Teperson will be the Bears' starting pitcher again on Saturday.

The speed of Elon Butler was ultimately the difference for Ca as she scored from second on an infield single in the fourth inning for the game’s only run.

Teperson (6-4) took care of the rest, as she pitched her second complete-game shutout of the season.   She allowed two hits and one walk while striking out four, and she pitched out of trouble twice.

Teperson gave up a double to Katherine Johnson leading off the second inning, and the Mavericks eventually got runners to second and third with two outs before Teperson struck out Sammy Schmidt to end the threat.

Cal’s defense, which has been a problem all season, got Teperson in trouble in the fifth as two Omaha runners reached base by way of Cal errors with one out.  But Teperson got the next two batters to leave two runners stranded

Omaha’s Groff, the Summit League pitcher of the year, pitched an excellent game as well, allowing just four hits and one run. She was hoping to duplicate the success she had against Cal last year when she virtually eliminated the Golden Bears by herself in the NCAA tournament.

While pitching for Southern Illinois in 2024, Groff pitched a complete-game victory to hand Cal its first loss in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, regional. Then Groff threw 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief to get the save in the Southern Illinois' victory that eliminated the Bears.

After transferring to Omaha this season, Groff (26-6) had an outstanding, holding a 1.62 earned-run average and limiting opposing batters to a .199 average heading into Friday’s game.  And she held the Bears hitless through the first three innings Friday.

Butler got the Bears’ first hit with one out in the fourth when her shot to right-center bounced off the glove of right fielder Schmidt for a double. After Groff recorded the second out, Tianna Bell grounded a ball up the middle that was stopped by Omaha second baseman Johnson. Johnson bobbled the ball momentarily, allowing Bell to reach for the infield single.  Meanwhile, Butler came all the way around from second on the play to score with a headfirst slide to put Cal ahead 1-0.

Teperson got the side out in order in the top of the seventh, although it took a diving catch by center fielder Mika Lee off the bat of Ava Ronisch to get the first out of that inning.

If Cal wins the first game on Saturday, it will advance to Sunday’s championship round.  If the Bears lose their opener on Saturday, they would play an elimination game later on Saturday.