Two years after Kinsley Washington’s single scored Jacqui Prober for the championship-winning run to give UCLA its record 12th national title, college softball’s finest will finally reconvene at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
And what a final eight we have.
No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 Alabama have been the title favorites all year. No one should be shocked to see No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 10 Florida State or No. 11 Arizona, either. But the last two teams? Hardly anyone saw Georgia or James Madison coming. No unseeded team had advanced to the Women’s College World Series since 2012, and now, we have two.
But how did each of these teams get here, and who actually has the best chance to lift the trophy? So glad you asked. Here’s how we arrived at this point after an incredible weekend of Super Regionals.
No. 1 Oklahoma (50-2, 16-1 Big 12)
Patty Gasso’s top-seeded Sooners got past No. 16 Washington in two games in the Norman Super Regional, but not without a bit of controversy. Images posted on Twitter contrasted the front chalk line of the batters’ boxes between the Regional and Super Regional rounds, showing that the line for the Washington series was drawn significantly closer to home plate.
I know what you’re probably thinking — wouldn’t this affect both teams equally? In theory, yes! However, this seemed like a move specifically designed to hurt Huskies ace Gabbie Plain, who likes to work inside and uses lateral movement to great effect. Case in point: Plain hit three batters in the first inning of Game 1, leading to a run.
Oklahoma likely would have won the game and series regardless — the Sooners punched their ticket with an emphatic 9-1, run-rule win in Game 2 (that was shown on ABC!). They rely on a pitch-by-committee approach, but it’s a pretty good committee: Giselle “G” Juarez, Shannon Saile and Nicole May would be the ace on just about any other team. May, a freshman, and Saile each picked up complete-game wins in the Supers.
But what makes Oklahoma the most dangerous team in the land is its lineup. Make sure you’re sitting down as you read these numbers: The Sooners have thirty-four (34) run-rule wins on the year, hitting .421 as a team and averaging 11.33 runs per game. Just about every hitter could be an All-American, but the best of the best are Jocelyn Alo, Tiare Jennings and Jayda Coleman.
James Madison (39-2, 17-1 CAA)
It would be easy to call the Dukes a Cinderella. I’m here to tell you not to do that. James Madison, out of Harrisonburg, Virginia, has been knocking on OKC’s door for years, with eight straight tournament appearances and Super Regionals runs in 2016 and 2019. This year, Loren LaPorte’s team has reached the promised land for the first time, with a better record than anyone in the country outside of their first-round opponent, Oklahoma.
The Dukes got here by winning at two SEC venues — No. 9 Tennessee and No. 8 Missouri. JMU rallied late to win Game 3 of its Super Regional in Columbia, scoring six runs in the final three innings for a 7-2 victory. Offensively, Kate Gordon, Sara Jubas and Logan Newton are the names to know, but the star of the show is undoubtedly pitcher Odicci Alexander.
JMU has had great pitchers before, including Jailyn Ford and Megan Good. Alexander is next in line, and she’s willed her team to this point. The fifth-year senior won Game 1 over the Tigers 2-1 despite being tightly squeezed in the seventh inning. She gave up an early big inning in Game 2’s loss, but her quick departure kept her fresh for Sunday’s winner-take-all affair. And she was brilliant again, limiting Missouri to two solo home runs as the Dukes’ offense came through late. Now, the pride of the Shenandoah Valley is going to the World Series, the first mid-major to make it this far since Louisiana in 2014.
Georgia (34-21, 7-17 SEC)
I was critical of the way the Bulldogs won their Regional — they got to host despite not being a top-16 seed. I didn’t give them much of a chance against No. 4 Florida. But history repeated itself in Gainesville. Just like in 2016, Georgia upset the Gators in a Super Regional sweep to advance to Oklahoma City. This time, the Bulldogs did it in shutout fashion, with veteran Mary Wilson Avant pitching all 14 innings.
Georgia struggled mightily at the tail end of the regular season. The Bulldogs entered the NCAA Tournament losers of seven in a row and 13 of 15. Yes, they were one of just two teams to knock off Oklahoma, but that was just one game. But to repeat one of the lines I’ve heard most often from the softball coaches and players I’ve interviewed: the game doesn’t know. It doesn’t know what’s supposed to happen.
Lu Harris-Champer’s team deserves to be here, despite its poor SEC record. Georgia has a balanced lineup, led by Lacey Fincher, Jaiden Fields, Sydney Chambley and Sydney Kuma. Avant has pitched more than half of the Bulldogs’ innings, and she’ll likely have to continue to do so in the World Series for Georgia to get very far. But although the Bulldogs have been here recently before, this is an example of college softball’s growing parity. The top seeds are anything but automatic wins.
No. 5 Oklahoma State (47-10, 15-3 Big 12)
The Cowgirls are here again. The team that has taken advantage of the open transfer market perhaps more than any other is heading back to the World Series, after upsetting Florida State to make it in 2019. Just like that year, Kenny Gajewski’s squad required a third game to win its Super Regional in 2021, taking down Big 12 foe Texas at Cowgirl Stadium.
Carrie Eberle went the distance in both of Oklahoma State’s victories, allowing just one run in total. The Longhorns won Game 2 thanks to a late power surge against Kelly Maxwell, but Eberle made sure that wouldn’t happen again the following day.
The Cowgirls won Game 1 thanks to a power display of their own — Alysen Febrey homered twice and Haley Busby and Karli Petty also went deep as Oklahoma State took it 6-1. In Game 3, the Cowgirls scored both their runs in the fifth in a 2-0 win on some small ball, so they can hurt a defense in multiple ways. And should Oklahoma State and Oklahoma both win in the opening round (or both lose, I suppose), it would set up a Bedlam game at Hall of Fame Stadium for the second straight World Series. Sound like fun?
No. 3 Alabama (50-7, 18-6 SEC)
It’s hard to find a team coming into the World Series hotter than the Crimson Tide. Alabama has won 18 in a row, though its two-game Super Regional sweep of Kentucky did not come easy.
The Tide trailed Game 1 until a four-run rally in the fourth gave them a two-run lead. That held until the seventh, when the Wildcats got one back and then loaded the bases with two outs. But Montana Fouts, after falling behind in the count 3-1 to Tatum Spangler, came back to end it on a called third. Alabama then led Game 2 wire to wire behind a gem from Lexi Kilfoyl and big hits by Kaylee Tow and Maddie Morgan.
Fouts is definitely the biggest name on Patrick Murphy’s squad — she’s struck out 314 batters in under 200 innings and carries a 1.49 ERA. But ‘Bama’s offense is just as strong, led by Bailey Hemphill’s 1.324 OPS as well as Tow and Alexis Mack. The Tide will finally be leaving the friendly confines of Rhoads Stadium, but you can be sure they’ll send a strong contingent of fans west. A second national championship (they won in 2012, the first for the SEC) may be in their sights.
No. 11 Arizona (41-13, 12-10 Pac-12)
The Wildcats sure were impressive in their Super Regional sweep at No. 6 Arkansas, winning the first game easily and then rallying late in Game 2 to punch their ticket to OKC. Catcher Dejah Mulipola homered twice in a 10-4 victory in the opener and Jessie Harper hit one out as well, bringing her to third in NCAA history with 91 (four behind the all-time leader, Lauren Chamberlain of Oklahoma).
Ace Alyssa Denham took Arizona the rest of the way a day later, giving up just four hits in a 4-1 win. Sixth-year (!) Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza hit a two-run, opposite-field home run in the fifth to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead, and Carlie Scupin added a two-run single in the sixth.
Simply put, Arizona can rake. Mulipola, Sharlize Palacios, Harper and Malia Martinez all have double-digit home runs, and every starter is hitting above .300. Hannah Bowen and Oklahoma transfer Mariah Lopez complement Denham in the circle.
Mike Candrea has won all eight of the Wildcats’ national championships, and he is the winningest coach in NCAA softball history. There’s been speculation that Candrea, who has led Arizona since 1986 and has also coached the U.S. Olympic team, may not return next season, and there would be no better way for him to go out than with his first title since 2007.
No. 10 Florida State (44-10-1, 26-5-1 ACC)
The 2018 national champions are back in Oklahoma City after missing out in 2019. Lonnie Alameda’s team won its Super Regional in Baton Rouge over No. 7 LSU in two games, but both were one-run affairs, and the second was an instant classic.
Kathryn Sandercock tossed a two-hit shutout in a 1-0 win in Game 1, outdueling the Tigers’ Shelbi Sunseri. But the next night was probably the best game of the weekend. LSU led 2-0 until the bottom of the sixth, when Elizabeth Mason got one back with an RBI single. Florida State took advantage of some shaky Tigers defense to tie it in the seventh on a passed ball, and could have won it later that inning if not for an out at the plate on a squeeze bunt. So on to extra innings they went.
The teams traded solo homers in the eighth, with Mason hitting one for FSU with two outs in the bottom half. Florida State then walked it off in the ninth on a pinch-hit single down the left field line by Kiersten Landers.
Florida State is a pitching-first team, with Sandercock, Caylan Arnold and Louisville transfer Danielle Watson leading the way. Sydney Sherrill is the best offensive weapon on this team, which is best known for its speed. Florida State has stolen 107 bases in 121 attempts, with seven players having stolen 10 or more. It’s certainly a different skillset than most of the other teams we’ll see in the World Series have.
No. 2 UCLA (46-5, 19-2 Pac-12)
The Bruins have hardly had an easy road to the World Series. After winning a couple of tight games in the Regional round, UCLA lost the first game of the Super Regional at Easton Stadium to unseeded Virginia Tech, and it wasn’t close. But then the Bruins decided that allowing runs was for suckers.
Two-time national player of the year Rachel Garcia struggled in Game 1, giving up six runs (four earned) in four innings. So Kelly Inouye-Perez gave the ball to Megan Faraimo the following evening, and Faraimo responded with a one-hit shutout, beating Hokies ace Keely Rochard in a 2-0 UCLA victory. Maya Brady (Tom’s niece) and Aaliyah Jordan each homered.
Then in the decisive Game 3, Garcia showed her more typical form, throwing a two-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts. She was backed by Briana Perez and Brady home runs in a less stressful 6-0 win to send the Bruins back where they belong, for a chance to chase their second straight national title and 13th overall.
Garcia and Faraimo are certainly a formidable pitching tandem, and Garcia is also a top-flight hitter on a roster full of them. Along with Jordan, Perez and Brady, Delanie Wisz and Kelli Godin are also threats offensively. UCLA’s roster was too deep not to make it this far, and it’s probably too good not to at least win a couple games in Oklahoma City.
The WCWS format is a bit complicated — pool play is like the Regionals, with two four-team, double-elimination brackets (though there will be some overlap in the second elimination games), culminating in a semifinal round on Sunday. The four opening round games are Thursday, the two winners’ bracket games are Friday and four elimination games will be played Saturday.
Then, regardless of how many times each team has lost, the winners of each bracket will meet in a Best-of-3 championship series, taking place next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday if necessary. This means next week’s newsletter will not be sent on Tuesday like usual. I’ll send it out after a champion is crowned.
In the mean time, watch as much of the action as you can this week! I’ve never been to Oklahoma City, but it’s definitely a pilgrimage I hope to make soon. The energy is high, the fans are engaged and the softball is as good as it gets. All games are on ESPN or its affiliated channels. It’s going to be so much fun.
Thanks to all of you for following along all season. We’ll be back next week to recap everything.