Arkansas baseball entered a series against Texas this week reeling and in desperate need of a series win. The Razorbacks had lost three straight series in SEC play and faced a tall task to break out of that slump against the No. 1 Longhorns.

Arkansas was not to be deterred however, winning the first two games on Thursday and Friday to clinch the series victory. It wouldn’t stop there, though, as it also went on to a dominant 13-8 victory on Saturday to complete the sweep. It marked the first time all season that a team had beaten Texas in a three-game series.

The Razorbacks pulled away with a big lead in the bottom of the seventh after a three-run homer from Charles Davalan. That made it a 12-7 advantage heading into the eighth inning.

Texas looked as if it could potentially chip into the lead after loading the bases in the top of the eighth. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, however, Arkansas tightened up on defense as Texas left all three runners stranded and did not come away with a run in the inning.

Arkansas added another run in the bottom of the eighth on a groundout from Reese Robinett to take a 13-7 lead into the final frame. Texas chipped into it a little bit with a solo home run from Jalin Flores, but that would be the only run it could muster as it went on to lose.

Landon Beidelschies got the start at pitcher for the Razorbacks and allowed four runs with four strikeouts in four innings of work. Dylan Carter picked up the win with 2.2 innings of work as he struck out two and allowed only one hit.

The series win for Arkansas is its first since a sweep of Missouri in early April. The Razorbacks now sit at 40-9 (17-7 SEC) on the season and in second place in the conference standing behind the Longhorns.

Both teams went scoreless across the first two innings before Texas opened up a 3-0 lead after the top of the third. Arkansas answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 3-2 heading into the fourth.

After Texas added another run in the top of the fourth, the Razorbacks answered with four more to take its first lead, 6-4 going into the fifth. Texas refused to go away, though, retaking a 7-6 lead after scoring three runs in the top of the seventh. That’s when Arkansas answered with three runs of its own to take the lead for good.

Arkansas will hope to use the momentum from this series win against Texas to close out the regular season strong. The Razorbacks have the weekend to celebrate before they get back to work preparing for a three-game series against LSU beginning on Friday.

» Michigan earned a 3-0 win — its second straight shutout — to claim the series rubber match at Minnesota.

» Lauren Derkowski faced just one above the minimum, posting five strikeouts and allowing one hit and one walk.

» Lauren Putz drove in all three Michigan runs with a two-run homer in the first and an RBI single in the fifth.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Senior right-handed pitcher Lauren Derkowski tossed a one-hit shutout, facing just one above the minimum, as the University of Michigan softball team closed out the regular season with a 3-0 win in the rubber game at Minnesota on Sunday afternoon (May 4) at the Golden Gophers’ Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.

It was the second straight complete game for Derkowski (14-12), who allowed a third-inning single and seventh-inning walk and posted five strikeouts on just 75 total pitches over seven innings.

Freshman designated player Lauren Putz drove in all three Michigan runs, going 2-for-3 with a first-inning home run to provide the Wolverines an early lead for the second straight game. Putz followed sophomore center fielder Jenissa Conway‘s walk with a two-run shot to center field on the next pitch. It was her 13th homer of the season and second in four games.

The Gophers earned their first baserunner with a two-out single in the third, but junior/sophomore catcher Lilly Vallimont promptly threw her out attempting to steal second just four pitches later to end the inning and keep Derkowski at the minimum faced. It was the fifth runner thrown out by Vallimont this season.

Derkowski retired the next nine Gopher batters through the sixth inning on just 23 pitches, including five to set down the side in the fourth.

Michigan (34-19, 11-11 Big Ten) loaded the bases with three consecutive infield singles in the fifth, including back-to-back bunts, and Putz delivered with two outs, yanking a single to right field for her third RBI of the game.

Minnesota (20-30, 5-17 Big Ten) put the leadoff batter on base on a seventh-inning walk, but Derkowski came back with a swinging strikeout when back-to-back popouts to junior shortstop Avery Fantucci — first to the pitcher’s circle then to shallow left — to end the game.

The Wolverines will be the No. 8 seed for the Big Ten Tournament this week at Bittinger Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. The Wolverines will open play against Wisconsin in the first round at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday (May 7).

The postseason is almost here for college baseball, with just two weeks now remaining in the regular season. The last week brought a ton of upsets and ranked matchups, leading to a ton of movement in D1Baseball’s updated top 25 rankings.

This week was heavily impacted by weather, with a lot of midweek games canceled and more games over the weekend being canceled, in addition to a few doubleheaders and weather suspensions. Still, the action was very meaningful, as 12 ranked teams entered their series finales deadlocked in a 1-1 tie. Five others were already 0-2 on the weekend, with seven 2-0. Ultimately, 11 ranked teams lost their weekend series.

It was a loaded slate over the weekend, with five matchups between teams ranked. They were No. 1 Texas at No. 11 Arkansas, No. 3 Clemson at No. 5 Florida State, No. 10 Auburn at No. 12 Tennessee, No. 18 Alabama at No. 15 Vanderbilt, and No. 23 Ole Miss at No. 21 Oklahoma.

In one of the wildest weeks we’ve seen in a pretty chaotic season, each of the three top ranked teams lost their weekend series. That will lead to a massive shakeup in D1Baseball’s top 25. Here’s how we are predicting the rankings to look.

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+4)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 33-10 (14-7 in ACC)

Florida State was idle during the midweek slate, but was one of the top headlines over the weekend hosting No. 3 Clemson in a big series for the D1Baseball top 25. The Seminoles took Friday’s opener 6-5 in extras, but fell 6-3 in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader to set up a rubber game. With the series on the line, FSU exploded offensively with a 20-9 win to take the series.

Previous Ranking: No. 11 (+9)
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 40-9 (17-7 in SEC)

Nobody in the country made a louder statement than Arkansas this week. Entering the weekend with three straight series losses, the Razorbacks cruised their way to a series sweep against No. 1 Texas. Arkansas won 9-0 on Thursday, 6-1 on Friday and 13-8 on Saturday, and are poised for a skyrocket in D1Baseball’s top 25.

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-0
Overall Record: 35-10 (15-9 in ACC)

North Carolina’s only games of the week came during the midweek slate, as they were off over the weekend. The Tar Heels began with a dominating 13-4 win against George Mason, and saw similar results on Wednesday with a 14-3 win against Queens.

Previous Ranking: No. 1 (-3)
Weekly Record: 1-3
Overall Record: 38-8 (19-5 in SEC)

Texas has been sitting atop D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings for a while now, but they stumbled this week. After an 11-2 midweek win over Prairie View to kick it off, the Longhorns traveled to No. 11 Arkansas and struggled throughout. Texas lost 9-0 on Thursday before dropping the final two games 6-1 and 13-8 to suffer a sweep.

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 33-13 (16-8 in Big Ten)

Oregon began its week at No. 7 Oregon State on Tuesday, wrapping up the fourth straight game against the Beavers. The Ducks earned their fourth win, 8-4, to finish off the sweep. They then took a trip to Michigan State, and fell 2-0 on Friday before rebounding with a 13-5 win on Saturday to tie the series. That set up a rubber game on Sunday, where Oregon won 3-1 to take the series and likely move up in Monday’s D1Baseball top 25 rankings.

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-0*
Overall Record: 34-11*

After falling 8-4 against Oregon on Tuesday, Oregon State’s fourth straight loss against the Ducks, the Beavers went to Hawaii for a four-game series that will wrap up on Monday. Oregon State won 11-4 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday to kick things off, and secure at worst a split series. The third game is on Sunday night, with the finale set for late on Monday.

Previous Ranking: No. 9 (+2)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 39-11 (15-9 in SEC)

Georgia kicked off the week with a 9-2 midweek win against Kennesaw State, before hitting the road for a series at Missouri over the weekend. After winning 9-2 in Friday’s opener, the Bulldogs were in a much tighter game on Saturday, still winning 5-2 to clinch the series. Aiming for a sweep on Sunday, Georgia did exactly that with a 4-2 win.

Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+2)
Weekly Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 33-15 (13-11 in SEC)

After defeating Samford 3-0 on Tuesday, Auburn’s attention turned to Knoxville with a pivotal series at No. 12 Tennessee over the weekend. The Tigers won the opener on Friday, 6-1, before Saturday’s game was suspended in the late innings deadlocked. It was resumed on Sunday, where the Tigers fell short in a 5-4, 11-inning loss. Then, in the finale, Auburn won 8-1 to clinch the series win.

Previous Ranking: No. 3 (-6)
Weekly Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 37-12 (14-10 in ACC)

Clemson’s first action of the week came over the weekend, and it was a big series between them and No. 5 Florida State in Tallahassee. The Tigers fell 6-5 in extra innings in Friday’s series opener, but responded in the second game with a 6-3 win on Sunday. In the finale with the series on the line, Clemson fell in stunning fashion, by a dominating 20-9 score, and they’ll likely drop in D1Baseball’s top 25.

Previous Ranking: No. 2 (-8)
Weekly Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 38-11 (15-9 in SEC)

LSU earned a dominating midweek victory over Southeastern Louisiana to begin its week, and they then traveled west to take on Texas A&M over the weekend. The Tigers fell in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader 3-1, but responded in the second game to win 2-1 and even the series. That set up a rubber game on Sunday, where LSU lost again, this time 6-4, to lose the series.

D1Baseball Top 25 Predictions: 11-25

11. Vanderbilt (+4)
12. Coastal Carolina (+7)
13. Oklahoma (+8)
14. Tennessee (-2)
15. UC Irvine (-7)
16. West Virginia
17. Troy (+3)
18. UCLA (-4)
19. Southern Miss (+3)
20. Arizona (+4)
21. Alabama (-3)
22. NC State (-9)
23. Louisville (-6)
24. Ole Miss (-1)
25. UTSA (NR)

UTSA is the only new team to join the rankings in our predictions for D1Baseball’s new top 25. They replace Kansas, who was at No. 25 last week.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Washington softball ended the series with an 8-0 run-rule win over Penn State on Sunday afternoon at Nittany Lion Softball Park.
 
Washington closes out the regular season with a record of 34-16 and 12-9 in Big Ten action.
 
Morgan Reimer (15-8) had her third complete game shutout to pick up her 15th win of the season. She struck out three batters and allowed just two hits with no walks.
 
Alexis DeBoer became the seventh Husky to hit 20 or more home runs in a season, and the eighth time overall it has happend. She is the second freshman to do so. The game marked DeBoer’s fourth multi-home run and 12th multi-RBI game of the season.
 
With two runners on in the second, Riley Peschek sent her second home run of the season out to center to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead.

The force was strong with this one ??

Riley’s second home run of the season gives Washington the lead!

T2 | ?? 3 ?? 0
?? B1G+
?? https://t.co/ILknqiCPVf
?? https://t.co/hi45aaz12Y pic.twitter.com/GphL3STcwJ

— Washington Softball (@UWSoftball) May 4, 2025

 
DeBoer’s home runs in the third and fourth made it a five run advantage.

OVER THE SCOREBOARD FOR NO. 20 OF THE SEASON ??

T4 | ?? 5 ?? 0
?? B1G+
?? https://t.co/ILknqiCPVf
?? https://t.co/hi45aaz12Y pic.twitter.com/CYnTPEAw50

— Washington Softball (@UWSoftball) May 4, 2025

 
Three doubles from Giselle Alvarez, Jade Bubke and Jadyn Glab added three more runs to put the game into run-rule territory in the fifth.
 
The Huskies will be the seven-seed in the Big Ten Tournament when it starts on Wednesday. Opponent and time have yet to be determined. Check GoHuskies.com and Washington softball social channels for the latest information.
 
For more information on the UW softball team, follow @UWSoftball on X and Instagram.
 

College athletes have used Name, Image and Likeness funds in a variety of ways since they’ve been allowed to make money playing sports.

South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers is the latest to use at least some of those funds to give back to his community.

According to a report in The State, Sellers — who was last year’s starting quarterback for the Gamecocks — recently went back to Florence, S.C, and donated $16,000 to the South Florence football program. The donation was part of a meet-and-greet with fans.

While Sellers was quarterback at South Florence he led the program to its first state championship.

“I’m just really giving back to the school,” Sellers he said to The State. “Just for everything they’ve done for me, my brothers, all the other players, who went to colleges, the development, the relationships.”

Before he joined the Gamecocks, he had an incredible senior season at South Florence, where he gained close to 4,300 total yards and was responsible for 62 touchdowns. In the state title game, he threw for 260 yards, rushed for 192 and was responsible for six touchdowns.

Now that he’s a starting quarterback for an SEC program, the opportunities in the NIL space keep coming. Most recently, he partnered with Collegiate Legends on a custom action figure.

The action figure features Sellers wearing a white Gamecocks helmet, a garnet jersey with Carolina across the front along with his No. 16, and white pants with garnet and black trim. The deal also allows him to donate some action figures to local children in Columbia, S.C.

Norris had an impressive redshirt freshman season for the Gamecocks, as he was named the national freshman offensive player of the year and freshman all-America by the Football Writers Association of America. He was also named SEC freshman of the year and the Gamecocks’ MVP, as he received the Steve Wadiak award.

Last season he played in 12 of South Carolina’s 13 games, as he threw for 2,534 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also completed 65.6% of his passes, which was seventh in a single season in school history. He also rushed for 674 yards, which was second on the team, with seven touchdowns.

By season’s end he was in the Top 10 in the SEC in total offense (seventh), total touchdowns (seventh), passing yards per game (ninth), pass efficiency (third), passing yards per completion (eighth), pass attempts (10th), pass completions (10th), pass completion percentage (third), and passing touchdowns (eighth).

His breakthrough game was against Texas A&M, where he threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns and added 106 rushing yards in the Gamecocks’ 44-20 win over then-No. 10 Texas A&M. For that performance, he was named the Manning Award “Star of Stars,” SEC freshman of the week and Davey O’Brien co-national quarterback of the week honors.