A tradition unlike any other...college softball in April.
The chaos found its way back to the diamond this past weekend with grand slam walk-offs, no hitters and big-time rivalry wins.
To catch you up, here's five moments you might've missed.
1. Addyson Sheppard goes grand for the walk-off win
Freshman Addyson Sheppard played like a veteran in No. 23 Stanford's win over No. 9 Florida State on Friday, delivering in a opportunity that players dream about for years.
The Cardinal found itself trailing after FSU plated six runs in the top of the seventh to put the Seminoles up 8-5. Cue Sheppard.
Walk-off grand slam for the freshman.
— D1Softball (@D1Softball)
After Florida State scored six in the top of the seventh, loaded the bases for Addyson Sheppard, who delivered a walk-off grand slam in a 9-8 win.
🔗
🎥 ESPN2 /
With the bases loaded and two outs, the rookie launched the second pitch over the left field fence for the walk-off.
Her grand slam sealed Stanford's 9-8 win, propelling the Cardinal to earn the series sweep over the highest-ranked team in the ACC.
2. SEC pitchers display dominance in no-hitters
Two hurlers across the SEC put on a clinic in their weekend showings.
No. 7 Florida took down No. 23 South Carolina 5-0 on Friday thanks to Keagan Rothrock's performance. The righty walked five Gamecocks and hurled eight strikeouts for her third career no-hitter on Friday. But she was so locked in, she did not even know it.
As she walked off the mound, her team surrounded her with excitement as Madison Walker informed Rothrock of her feat.
NO HITTER!!! KEAGAN ROTHROCK!!!
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB)
🎥SEC Network
Then on Saturday, No. 10 Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens followed suit. Her 12 strikeouts and one walk complete game left Kentucky scoreless, giving the Vols a 5-0 series-opening win.
Pickens became the third Lady Vol to record four or more career no-hitters, joining the likes of Monica Abbott and Ivy Renfroe while increasing Tennessee's season count to five.
karlyn carved ’em up!
— Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball)
her 4th career no-hitter 🔥
3. Sooners earn series win in Austin, first time since 2022
All eyes were on Austin this weekend as No. 2 Oklahoma travelled to No. 4 Texas in the diamond edition of the Red River Rivalry.
The Sooners struck first on Friday, shutting out the Longhorns 3-0 to become the first team to blank Texas since March 30, 2024. Oklahoma carried that momentum into Saturday.
Down 2-1 in the fifth, Kendall Wells blasted a 3-run homer for her 31st of the season. Her 258-feet, go-ahead knock gave Wells the NCAA freshman single-season home run record, passing Jocelyn Alo and two others.
🤔 WANT MORE? Here are the all-time DI softball single-season home run leaders
Oklahoma clinched the 4-3 victory to secure its first series win in Austin since 2022.
No. 2 Oklahoma takes down No. 4 Texas‼️
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork)
It's the Sooners' first series win in Austin since 2022 😳
But the Longhorns wouldn't go down without a fight in the finale on Sunday.
The two were tied 6-6 after 7, sending the game into extras before Katie Stewart delivered a walk-off bomb in the bottom of the eighth to give the Longhorns the 8-6 hard-fought victory.
4. Utah's Hailey Maestretti shutouts No. 1 Texas Tech
Hailey Mestretti showed a master class performance as Utah found lightning the win over No. 1 Texas Tech. Literally.
Lightning struck the Utes' field in the middle of their game on Sunday.
Yet, it didn't phase the sophomore, who hurled a complete-game shutout on five hits and three strikeouts, becoming the first pitcher to blank the Red Raiders in 2026. Maestretti's career day gave the Utes their first win over a No. 1 ranked team since 2017.
But Texas Tech avenged its loss in the rubber match on Sunday, handing Utah a 7-1 defeat at the hands of Nijaree Canady's 11 strikeouts in the circle.
5. UCLA tallies 18 home runs in Illinois series
The Bruin bats were on fire this weekend, notching 17-0, 10-1 and 18-0 victories over Illinois.
No. 10 UCLA knocked 18 home runs in its dominating series against the Illini, powering them to 134 on the season. The Bruins stand at second in the nation in total bombs this season, trailing Oklahoma's 148 blasts. The next closest? North Carolina with 90.
She is unstoppable. blasts her 29th (!!!) homer of the year 👩🍳💣
— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball)
📺: B1G+
Megan Grant was one of the major reasons for UCLA's success this past weekend, grabbing her 29th homer of the year and third of the series on Sunday. Meanwhile, teammate Jordan Woolery added a pair of her own in Champaign. The duo now ranks No. 2 and No. 3 in the NCAA in homers this season.
