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MLB invests in pro softball, Women’s College World Series opens with a bang

May 30, 2025
Yesterday was like Christmas for softball fans, starting with the news that MLB will make a strategic investment in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) ahead of their debut season next week, followed by a high-octane opening day of the Women’s College World Series (WCWS). Let’s unpack all the latest.
Sports NewsSoftball
MLB invests in pro softball, Women’s College World Series opens with a bangMLB invests in pro softball, Women’s College World Series opens with a bang
Source: USA Today Network via Imagn Images

The GIST: Yesterday was like Christmas for softball fans, starting with the news that MLB will make a strategic investment in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) ahead of their debut season next week, followed by a high-octane opening day of the Women’s College World Series (WCWS). Let’s unpack all the latest.

📈 MLB invests in professional softball for the first time: Pro softball has a long and complicated history in the U.S., with many leagues debuting, then folding over the years, never seeing support from the sport’s pro baseball counterpart.

  • But this game-changing investment, which will see AUSL games aired on MLB Network, joint marketing efforts, and more, opens tons of doors for the new league, which is already backed by a superstar lineup including AUSL Commissioner (and former MLB general manager) Kim Ng. Just the beginning.

🎓 Four-time defending champ No. 2 seed Oklahoma survives Day 1 stunner: The seemingly inevitable Sooners pulled off more magic yesterday — down to their final out, sophomore Ella Parker blasted a three-run home run, lifting her squad to a 4–3 walk-off win over No. 7 Tennessee.

  • The five-peat quest continues tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET vs. No. 6 Texas, a rematch of last year’s championship series, headlining the rest of the double-elimination action rolling on throughout the weekend. No pressure, no diamonds.
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