The SLU women’s softball team celebrates being officially announced as participants in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. (Photo courtesy: SLU Athletics)
Nora Nichols
Staff Writer
ST. LOUIS, MO — Another historic day in Saint Louis University women’s softball came on Sunday, when the Billikens were announced as official participants in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Saint Louis already knew it was in. They earned that honor when they won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament championship on Saturday.
But it was still a special moment when the Billikens heard their names called on the NCAA Women’s Softball Tournament Selection Show, which was airing on ESPN2.
SLU (34-22) will play No. 4 national seed Arkansas (40-12) in its first round game in the Fayetteville Regional. The game will be played at Arkansas’ Bogle Field on Friday, May 16, at 5:30 p.m., and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The other teams in the Fayetteville Regional are Oklahoma State and Indiana. Those two teams will play in the first game on Friday at 3 p.m.
The winners of the two games and the losers of the two games will play each other on Saturday. The regional championship will be decided on Sunday, with the winner advancing to the Super-Regionals, which will be played next weekend.
The SLU Billikens take a team selfie after winning the A-10 Tournament championship on Saturday. (Photo courtesy: SLU Athletics)
This is Saint Louis’ first trip to the NCAA Tournament, after winning its first ever Atlantic 10 Tournament title.
The Billikens lost their first game in the A-10 Tournament, but then won four straight elimination games — all by one run and two in extra innings — to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The final victory came in a 4-3 win over Fordham. The Rams led early in that game, but SLU rallied to take the lead. Fordham then tied the score late, before Saint Louis scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the game.
The Billikens are led by junior catcher Abby Mallo, the A-10 co-Player of the Year and A-10 Championship Most Outstanding Player. Mallo has school records of 19 home runs (one shy of the A-10 record) and 80 RBIs (tying the A-10 record).
Arkansas tied for fifth (14-10) in the powerful Southeastern Conference, which placed nine teams among the 16 national seeds. The Razorbacks reached the SEC Tournament semifinals, where they fell 8-6 to Oklahoma. Arkansas is led by senior first baseman Bri Ellis, the SEC Player of the Year.
Arkansas has won all eight previous meetings with Saint Louis; the teams last faced each other in 2018. The Billikens are 3-5 vs. Indiana (last meeting in 2015) and have never played Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State finished fourth (13-9) in the Big 12 Conference regular-season race. The Cowgirls dropped a 2-1 decision to Arizona State in the Big 12 Championship opening round.
Indiana posted a 10-12 mark in the Big Ten Conference, tying for 10th place. The Hoosiers upset Washington 2-0 before falling 5-4 to UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament is a 64-team event that begins with 16 four-team, double-elimination regionals. The 16 regional winners advance to one of eight super-regionals, also double-elimination, and the eight super-regional champions advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
2025 SLU BILLIKENS SOFTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | Tournament | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 6, 2025 (Thursday) | 7:30 pm | Neutral | Southern Indiana | Honolulu, Hawaii | Paradise Classic | L, 3-4 |
| February 7, 2025 (Friday) | 4 pm | Neutral | Santa Clara | Honolulu, Hawaii | Paradise Classic | W, 4-3 |
| February 7, 2025 (Friday) | 9 pm | Away | Hawaii | Honolulu, Hawaii | Paradise Classic | L, 2-5 |
| February 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Neutral | Santa Clara | Honolulu, Hawaii | Paradise Classic | L, 4-6 |
| February 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Neutral | Southern Indiana | Honolulu, Hawaii | Paradise Classic | W, 2-1 |
| February 20, 2025 (Thursday) | 9 am | Neutral | Evansville | Peoria, Ill. | W, 12-2 (5) | |
| February 20, 2025 (Thursday) | 11 am | Neutral | Evansville | Peoria, Ill. | L, 1-11 (6) | |
| February 23, 2025 (Sunday) | 3 pm | Neutral | Northern Illinois | St. Charles, Mo. (Lindenwood) | W, 6-0 | |
| February 24, 2025 (Monday) | 10 am | Neutral | Green Bay | St. Charles, Mo. (Lindenwood) | W, 7-3 | |
| February 24, 2025 (Monday) | Noon | Neutral | Green Bay | St. Charles, Mo. (Lindenwood) | L, 3-4 | |
| February 28, 2025 (Friday) | 9 am | Neutral | St. John’s | Kennesaw, Ga. | Kennesaw State Tournament | L, 3-4 (8) |
| February 28, 2025 (Friday) | Noon | Neutral | East Tennessee State | Kennesaw, Ga. | Kennesaw State Tournament | L, 3-5 |
| March 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Neutral | Rider | Kennesaw, Ga. | Kennesaw State Tournament | W, 13-1 (5) |
| March 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 6 pm | Away | Kennesaw State | Kennesaw, Ga. | Kennesaw State Tournament | L, 6-7 (8) |
| March 2, 2025 (Sunday) | 9 am | Neutral | Rider | Kennesaw, Ga. | Kennesaw State Tournament | W, 5-4 (8) |
| March 7, 2025 (Friday) | 2 pm | Away | Illinois | Urbana-Champaign, Ill. | L, 0-5 | |
| March 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 am | Away | Purdue | West Lafayette, Ind. | Boilermaker Classic | W, 8-5 |
| March 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 4 pm | Neutral | Bradley | West Lafayette, Ind. | Boilermaker Classic | L, 4-5 |
| March 9, 2025 (Sunday) | 11 am | Neutral | Bradley | West Lafayette, Ind. | Boilermaker Classic | L, 0-7 |
| March 9, 2025 (Sunday) | 1:30 pm | Away | Purdue | West Lafayette, Ind. | Boilermaker Classic | L, 2-4 |
| March 11, 2025 (Tuesday) | Noon | Home | South Dakota State | Billiken Sports Center | L, 1-10 (5) | |
| March 12, 2025 (Wednesday) | 2 pm | Away | Western Illinois | Macomb, Ill. | W, 8-5 | |
| March 14, 2025 (Friday) | 1 pm | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio | L, 0-4 | |
| March 14, 2025 (Friday) | 3:30 pm | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio | L, 8-13 | |
| March 15, 2025 (Saturday) | Noon | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio | L, 1-5 | |
| March 19, 2025 (Wednesday) | 5 pm | Home | Lindenwood | Billiken Sports Center | W, 11-3 (6) | |
| March 21, 2025 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | Fordham | Billiken Sports Center | W, 10-2 (6) | |
| March 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 pm | Home | Fordham | Billiken Sports Center | W, 6-0 | |
| March 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Home | Fordham | Billiken Sports Center | L, 1-6 | |
| March 26, 2025 (Wednesday) | 5 pm | Home | SIU-Edwardsville | Billiken Sports Center | W, 9-5 | |
| March 29, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 am | Away | Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia, Pa. | L, 2-3 (8) | |
| March 29, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 pm | Away | Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia, Pa. | W, 8-3 | |
| March 30, 2025 (Sunday) | 11 am | Away | Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia, Pa. | W, 8-1 | |
| April 1, 2025 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | SIU-Edwardsville | Edwardsville, IL | L, 5-6 | |
| April 6, 2025 (Sunday) | 3 pm | Home | George Washington | Billiken Sports Center | W, 3-0 | |
| April 6, 2025 (Sunday) | 5 pm | Home | George Washington | Billiken Sports Center | W, 9-0 (5) | |
| April 7, 2025 (Monday) | Noon | Home | George Washington | Billiken Sports Center | W, 3-0 | |
| April 9, 2025 (Wednesday) | Noon | Home | Loyola Chicago | Billiken Sports Center | W, 7-3 | |
| April 9, 2025 (Wednesday) | 2 pm | Home | Loyola Chicago | Billiken Sports Center | W, 3-2 (8) | |
| April 14, 2025 (Monday) | 9 am | Away | Rhode Island | Kingston, R.I. | W, 3-0 | |
| April 14, 2025 (Monday) | 11 am | Away | Rhode Island | Kingston, R.I. | W, 8-0 | |
| April 16, 2025 (Wednesday) | 4 pm | Home | Eastern Illinois | Billiken Sports Center | Canceled | |
| April 17, 2025 (Thursday) | 6 pm | Home | George Mason | Billiken Sports Center | W, 7-0 | |
| April 18, 2025 (Friday) | 11 am | Home | George Mason | Billiken Sports Center | W, 8-6 (8) | |
| April 18, 2025 (Friday) | 1 pm | Home | George Mason | Billiken Sports Center | W, 3-2 | |
| April 23, 2025 (Wednesday) | 5 pm | Away | Lindenwood | St. Charles, MO | W, 4-3 | |
| April 26, 2025 (Saturday) | Noon | Home | St. Bonaventure | Billiken Sports Center | W, 15-6 | |
| April 26, 2025 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | St. Bonaventure | Billiken Sports Center | W, 3-0 | |
| April 27, 2025 (Sunday) | Noon | Home | St. Bonaventure | Billiken Sports Center | W, 18-0 | |
| May 3, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 am | Away | Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. | W, 3-1 | |
| May 3, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 pm | Away | Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. | L, 6-2 | |
| May 4, 2025 (Sunday) | 11 am | Away | Massachusetts | Amherst, Mass. | L, 4-3 (8) | |
| May 8, 2025 (Thursday) | 12:30 pm | Neutral | #3 Fordham | Washington, D.C. | Atlantic 10 Conference Championship | L, 6-5 |
| May 9, 2025 (Friday) | 1:30 pm | Neutral | #5 Saint Joseph’s | Washington, D.C. | Atlantic 10 Conference Championship | W, 3-2 |
| May 9, 2025 (Friday) | 4:10 pm | Neutral | #1 Dayton | Washington, D.C. | Atlantic 10 Conference Championship | W, 1-0 (10) |
| May 10, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 am | Neutral | #3 Fordham | Washington, D.C. | Atlantic 10 Conference Championship | W, 3-2 (8) |
| May 10, 2025 (Saturday) | 2:20 pm | Neutral | #3 Fordham | Washington, D.C. | Atlantic 10 Conference Championship | W, 4-3 |
| May 16, 2025 (Friday) | 5:30 pm | Away | #4 Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR | NCAA Regionals | |
| May 17, 2025 (Saturday) | TBD | Neutral | TBD | Fayetteville, AR | NCAA Regionals | |
| May 23-25, 2025 | TBA | Neutral | NCAA Super Regional | TBA | NCAA Super Regionals | |
| May 29 – June 5 (Thursday) | TBA | Neutral | Women’s College World Series | Oklahoma City, Okla. | Women’s College World Series |