Michigan softball advances to NCAA Regional finals after surviving two elimination games.

Michigan softball staved off elimination twice on Saturday to advance to its NCAA Tournament regional final against host Oklahoma State. The Wolverines will need to win twice on Sunday afternoon in order to advance to the Super Regional for the first time since 2016.

First pitch against Oklahoma State is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT on ESPN. If U-M wins, the two teams would play again at approximately 4:30 p.m. CT.

The Wolverines earned a pair of 4-2 victories on Saturday to keep their season alive for at least one more day. The first victory came on a two-out walk-off home run off the back of Maddie Erickson to beat Northern Colorado, setting up a rematch with a Kentucky team that had topped Michigan earlier in the weekend.

U-M won the rematch with the Wildcats thanks to a pair of two-run home runs from Lilly Vallimont and Keke Tholl. RHP Hannah George recorded the final nine outs to earn the save and help send her team to the regional final.

Awaiting Michigan is a heavily favored Oklahoma State team beat Northern Colorado, 6-0, and Kentucky, 6-2, to reach the regional final. They only need one win against the Wolverines to advance to the Super Regional, which they would host.

A preview of Oklahoma State, from Zach Shaw’s pre-NCAA Tournament story:

 Though not immune from a surprise loss (including a first-round exit to BYU in its first Big 12 Tournament game last week), Oklahoma State has the look of a team that can make a fifth straight Women’s College World Series. The Cowgirls are 13th nationally with a 2.05 team earned-run average, 22nd with a .975 fielding percentage and ninth with a .551 slugging percentage. Oklahoma State averages 1.50 home runs per game (seventh nationally), but is also top-40 in batting average (.307) and on-base percentage. 

he Cowgirls are 19-1 at home this season (lone loss to No. 1 Texas), won their season series against the Longhorns and No. 2 Oklahoma and also sport wins over No. 4 Florida and No. 6 UCLA. It would take a pretty significant upset for Oklahoma State to lose twice in one weekend on its home field.

Player to watch: Lexi Kilfoyl. It says quite a bit that, in a conference with the top two teams in the country, Kilfoyl was named the Big 12’s unanimous pitcher of the year. The senior right-hander and Alabama transfer ranks fourth nationally with a 1.13 ERA, and her 21-3 record in the pitcher’s circle is eighth nationally. Though not high-ranking as a strikeout pitcher, she is ninth among power-conference pitchers in allowing just 4.3 hits per seven innings, with a WHIP of just 0.81.

U-M had made 27 consecutive NCAA Tournaments before their streak was snapped in 2023. For much of this season, it seemed likely the drought would extend another year — but a strong second half of the season pulled Michigan onto the right side of the bubble, and winning the Big Ten Tournament clinched an automatic bid. The Wolverines didn’t arrive to their NCAA Tournament Regional as favorites, but they have reached Sunday’s games with a chance to advance.