Santa Clara set to make NCAA softball tournament debut, joins postseason regulars Stanford, Cal

The Bay Area will be well-represented when the NCAA Division I softball tournament opens Friday the first step in the quest to reach the College World Series Santa Clara is set to make its first-ever tournament appearance while postseason regulars Cal and Stanford who earlier this month set an NCAA attendance record by playing before fans at Stanford Stadium look to pick up where they left off a year ago and make breakthroughs of their own The Broncos - just missed making the -team field last season but over the weekend earned the first tournament berth in the -year history of the effort by winning the West Coast Conference tournament SCU plays in the Tucson Regional and faces No Arizona at p m The winner will face either Mississippi or Grand Canyon Santa Clara pitcher Cari Ferguson pitches during an NCAA softball championship against Sacramento State on Saturday March in Sacramento Calif AP Photo Lachlan Cunningham Sixth-year coach Gina Carbonatto has already guided the Broncos to a single-season school record for wins The Broncos sparked by leadoff hitter and WCC player of the year Cairah Curran led the league in runs scored and batting average SCU also led the league with a ERA paced by three first-team all-WCC pitchers Cari Ferguson the WCC pitcher and freshman of the year Hannah Edwards and Hazyl Gray No ranked Stanford - is making its sixth straight tournament appearance and nd in the past years The Cardinal is looking to reach the CWS for the third straight year Stanford reached the semifinals each of the past two seasons The Cardinal lost - to top-seeded Texas last season and lost - to eventual national champion Oklahoma in Stanford which played its home games in the football stadium while the softball complex is being renovated is playing in the Eugene Regional hosted by Oregon The Cardinal will play Binghamton of New York in its first championship at p m with the winner playing either Oregon or Weber State A record emerging number of fans watches a encounter between Stanford and the California Golden Bears at Stanford Stadium in Stanford Calif on Saturday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group The Cardinal has one of the the majority potent offenses in the nation setting single-season records for home runs and runs scored They are averaging runs per competition and their crew batting average which is second in the nation also would establish a new school record Kyra Chan and Jade Berry are tied for the group lead with RBIs and River Mahler is batting a team-high with RBIs Base runner River Mahler of Stanford rounds third base during an NCAA softball battle against Seattle on Saturday Feb in Stanford Calif AP Photo Lachlan Cunningham The Cardinal would not face NiJaree Canady their former ace who signed a million NIL deal to transfer to Texas Tech after last season unless both teams are among the eight to advance to the CWS in Oklahoma City The Red Raiders - are the No national seed Stanford is No Cal - is making its third straight appearance th overall and looking to reach the Super Regionals for the first time since the Bears reached the semifinals of the CWS The Bears were eliminated in the second round a year ago losing - to Southern Illinois First-team All-ACC catcher Lagi Quiroga is hitting and leads the organization in hits and runs scored Five of the sophomore s home runs were to lead off a event including the Bears season opener against Minnesota Cal s Miranda De Nava celebrates with her teammates after they won against Stanford at Stanford Stadium in Stanford Calif on Saturday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group The Bears are in the Norman Regional and face Omaha at p m with the winner playing either four-time defending national champion Oklahoma or Boston University Related Articles NFL schedule process offers a model for college football in transfer portal era How NCAA vs House settlement could benefit Oregon s NIL with Nike deals Big Ten power rankings Penn State OSU Oregon atop after spring football Harry Edwards continues his life s work of social activism with another major recognition coming Stanford beats USC in water polo NCAA softball brackets broadcasted