Hempstead, NY – Making its 18th appearance in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship, the Hofstra softball team takes on back-to-back national champions and No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma Friday afternoon. First pitch from OU Softball Complex is 5 p.m. EDT with the game being aired live on ESPNU, and an WRHU will provide an audio-only broadcast via the Hofstra Alternative Web Channel. Tickets are available on this page and on the softball schedule page at GoHofstra.com.
 
In addition to Hofstra and Oklahoma, the Norman Regional also includes California and Missouri, who will play Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The winning teams from Friday's games will face one another on Saturday at 3 p.m., while the losing teams from Friday's games will meet in an elimination game at 5:30 p.m., and the winner of the elimination game will play the loser of the winning teams at 8 p.m.
 
Hofstra (29-25) enters the Norman Regional on the heels of winning the 2023 Colonial Athletic Association Softball Championship. The Pride defeated Towson twice on the final day of the CAA Championship, winning the first game 6-4 before defeating the Tigers 5-4 on a two-run, walk-off single by Angelina Ioppolo. Hofstra, the hosts of the NCAA Championship and third seed in the tournament, went 4-1 en route to lifting the CAA trophy for the 13th time in program history.
 
The CAA Championship's Most Outstanding Performer, Meghan Giordano leads Hofstra with a .352 batting average and has 56 hits, 11 doubles, a CAA-leading 15 home runs and 48 RBIs, and 41 runs. Kasey Collins carries a .333 batting average into the NCAA Championship with a team-high 59 hits, six doubles, 20 RBIs, and 40 runs. Julia Apsel went 3-1 during the CAA Championship with a 2.51 ERA and 11 strikeouts, earning a spot on the CAA All-Tournament team, while putting her at 10-8 with a 3.98 ERA. Nikki Mullin leads the conference with four saves on the season, and has seven wins in 2023 with a 3.20 ERA.
 
Right out of the gate, the Pride will face a stiff test in their first opponent – two-time defending National Champion and No. 1 seed Oklahoma (51-1). Winners of 43 consecutive games, the Sooners lead the nation in nearly every major statistical category, including team batting average (.368), scoring (8.13 runs/game), and ERA (0.86). Oklahoma's offense is led by a pair of .400 hitters in Jayla Coleman (.434) and Tiare Jennings (.429), while the two also lead the team with 63 hits each, and Jennings ranks 25th in Division I with 53 RBIs. Pitchers Nicole May and Alex Storako both rank among the top five in the country in ERA with sub-1.00 earned runs allowed per game, and Jordyn Bahl leads the way with 143 strikeouts.
 
The Pride has previously faced each of its opponents in the proud history of Hofstra softball. Hofstra is 1-1 all-time against Oklahoma, while the Pride is 1-3 against Missouri, and Hofstra's all-time record against California is 0-3.
 
The winner of the Norman Regional will face the winner of the Clemson Regional (Clemson, Auburn, Cal State Fullerton, UNC Greensboro) in the Super Regional round for the right to advance to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.