Oklahoma State’s men’s golf team carded a 285 during the second round of action at the NCAA Championship on Saturday to grab sole possession of seventh place at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa.

The second-ranked Cowboys rose seven spots in the team standings with their 3-under tally at the par-72, 7,480-yard layout. OSU stands at 2-over 578, two shots behind Texas and three shots behind Florida State for fifth place.

Sophomore Gaven Lane posted the squad’s round of the day, firing a 3-under 69 to rise 54 spots into a tie for 25th place at 144. Lane was bogey free on his outward nine, posting birdies at the second and the ninth.

He would tack on a birdie at the 12th to get to 3-under par for the day. After carding his lone bogey of the round at the 17th, he bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 18th hole to wrap up his day.

Preston Stout worked his way into the top 10, using a 70 to move into a share of eighth place at 141. The sophomore stood at 2-over through seven holes before carding three birdies over his next six holes to move under par. He would add his fifth birdie of the day at the 18th.

Sophomore Eric Lee used a 1-under 71 to climb 30 spots into a share of 33rd place at 145.

Sophomore Ethan Fang’s 75 tied him for 64th place at 148, while freshman Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson also signed for a 75 and is tied for 89th place at 150.

Of note, four Cowboys were named NCAA Division I PING All-Region honorees by the Golf Coaches Association of America on Saturday as well. Fang, Lane, Lee and Stout all garnered the recognition.

The Mark Pope interview with Matt Jones is a gift that keeps on giving. There are so many small nuggets embedded in the 45-minute conversation that you can find a new hidden gem on every re-listen. One such chunk of gold came when Pope was talking about the high expectations of Kentucky. He knows Kentucky should be the best at everything and win championships. He then dropped a quote from a conversation he had with John Calipari:

“[Winning championships] is what all our former players, former coaches…you know what, you know, that’s what Cal expects! I mean, Cal is at Arkansas, and he’s like, ‘Don’t you ruin my program, man. That’s the best program in all of basketball.‘”

Mark Pope | Kentucky Sports Radio

As Matt Jones is wont to do on occasion, he cut Pope off and diverged to a different subject, but I couldn’t help but smash the rewind button and listen to that again. Pope seemingly revealed a conversation he and Calipari had where Cal jokingly (and this was clearly said in a joking manner by Calipari; don’t go claiming I am trying to start a war here) gave Pope a big-brother type of warning.

What I found revealing is that Calipari clearly feels pride in what he accomplished as Kentucky’s head coach for 15 years. His last few years were sloppy, and his exit wasn’t exactly the storybook ending he dreamed of, but referring to Kentucky as “my program” shows he still loves this university. And his big-brother-like protective warning of, “Don’t ruin it,” shows that he wants to see it remain on top of the college basketball hilltop.

Big Blue Nation got a sense of Cal’s love and respect when he made his return to Rupp Arena as the Razorback head coach holding a rolled-up program in honor of Joe B. Hall. It was a nice nod to the respect he has for the history of the program, a history that he is now part of.

It is easy to project the bitterness of the separation onto Calipari, effectively assuming he feels the same frustration we do. While I’m sure he feels a certain level of resentment about how everything went down, if what he said to Mark Pope is any indication, Cal still loves Kentucky.

Following a riveting round of Super Regional action on Saturday, a few contests are going to a decisive game on Sunday. There will be at least three such matchups.

A handful of programs forced a Game 3 with a win on Saturday, starting with Georgia sneaking a 2-1 win over Florida to push to a decisive meeting. Tennessee did the same to Nebraska in an equally intense second game of the series.

We’ll include some summaries of the games on Saturday that resulted in a winner-take-all game on Sunday below. But first, the schedule for Sunday’s Super Regional action.

Super Regional Games – Sunday, May 25

TBD – Arkansas vs. Ole Miss (if necessary)
2 p.m. – Tennessee vs. Nebraska (ESPN/ESPN2)
3 p.m. – South Carolina vs. UCLA (ESPN2)
4 p.m. – Florida vs. Georgia (ESPN)

All times Eastern

Georgia def. Florida, 2-1

Facing elimination, Georgia held Florida scoreless through the first four innings of play. The Gators cut the lead in half on a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded from Korbe Otis in the fifth. The Bulldogs would take a one run lead into the seventh inning. Florida put two runners on base, forcing Georgia starting pitcher Lillie Backes out of the game with two outs remaining. Randi Roelling would relieve her and would shut down the Gators in four pitches to end the game. The Super Regional series is tied at one a piece, forcing a Game 3 on Sunday.

Tennessee def. Nebraska, 3-2

It was a nervy game, with nobody able to break free and clear through the heart of the game. Tennessee did just enough to survive and advance to a winner-take-all game in the Knoxville Super Regional. Second baseman Ella Dodge hit a two-run homer in the first inning, then the Volunteers took the 3-2 lead on a McKenna Gibson sacrifice fly in the top of third. Pitcher Karlyn Pickens did the rest, going the complete game and allowing only five hits in the contest. She struck out 11.

UCLA def. South Carolina, 5-4

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and facing elimination in Super Regional play, UCLA’s Jordan Woolery took the first pitch she saw deep to left field for a two-run, walk-off home run against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Bruins never led during the matchup until the final out, forcing a pivotal Game 3 to decide one of the eight spots in the Women’s College World Series.

The field of the Women’s College World Series is beginning to assemble, with the first tickets officially punched on Saturday and more to come on Sunday as teams play out the NCAA softball super regionals.

Three teams have already completed sweeps to finish the job, including the defending champs and an underdog. Here is every team that has qualified so far and how they got there.

Texas Tech

Texas Tech, a 12-seed, took down No. 5 Florida State on Friday.

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NiJaree Canady, who transferred to Texas Tech from Stanford for the largest-ever softball NIL deal, led the way for the Red Raiders, pitching seven innings each in Games 1 and 2, allowing just one total run. Canady added a hit, RBI and a walk in Game 1.

It will be Texas Tech’s first appearance in the WCWS.

Oklahoma

No. 2 Oklahoma, the seven-time NCAA champs, joined Texas Tech on Saturday with a mercy-rule sweep over Alabama.

After a 3-0 win over the Crimson Tide on Friday, the Sooners punched their ticket with a 13-2 win on Saturday, with the matchup ending after five innings due to the mercy rule. Freshman shortstop Gabbie Garcia hit two two-run homers, including one that began a nine-run third inning for Oklahoma.