Tag: Women’s College World Series

Claire Davidson is on pace for the best offensive season in Duke softball history

The Blue Devils took the top spot in the Softball America rankings on Monday, and senior star Claire Davidson’s bat is a big reason why.

Duke softball, for the first time in program history, is the best team in the country.

The Blue Devils, now 33-3 on the season and 13-2 against ACC foes after sweeping North Carolina this weekend, took the top spot in the Softball America rankings on Monday morning. It’s hard to find a bigger reason why than the bat of senior star Claire Davidson.

Davidson hit two home runs in the series finale on Sunday, a solo shot in the opening inning and a three-run bomb in the fourth, to power Duke to a 6-1 victory. The senior has produced a hit in eight of her last 12 at-bats, and the two home runs on Sunday gave her six bombs and 14 RBIs in her last seven games. The torrid late-season stretch has her in some exceptional national company, as she is inside the top 20 in the nation in both homers and runs batted in, but she’s not just unrivaled among her teammates. She’s unrivaled in Duke program history as she’s on pace to break (or shatter) a handful of records.

No Blue Devil has finished a season with a slugging percentage better than .797. Davidson, through 36 games, is hovering at 1.000. Her 46 RBIs are only 10 shy of the most in Duke history despite the Blue Devils having 15 games in the regular season (and an entire postseason) left to play. Davidson’s 12 doubles would also be on pace to break the Duke record of 16 if not for teammate Aminah Vega, who has 13 already on the season.

Ana Gold set the program single-season home run record last year with 19, a mark that looked safe for most of the season, but Davidson’s two blasts on Sunday got her to 13 for the year, moving yet another school record in reach.

All of these records center around Davidson’s power, but her contact and consistency are just as good. Teammate D’Auna Jennings set a Duke record with a .462 batting average in her outstanding freshman campaign last year. Davidson is batting .459 thus far.

The senior is doing something truly special over the last two weeks, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better athlete on campus over the past few years.

Twitter reacts: Oklahoma Sooners softball win 3rd consecutive national title

What was your reaction to the Oklahoma Sooners winning a third straight softball title?

The Oklahoma Sooners are the 2023 Women’s College World Series (WCWS) champions. This is the third time in a row they have accomplished the feat. The Sooners won in 2021 and 2022.

They defeated the Florida Seminoles in two games during the finals of the WCWS. Florida State and Oklahoma met in the 2021 championship where Oklahoma started its national title winning streak.

The championship series takes place at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. Some reactions to Sooners’ dominance is that they have an unfair advantage because they play in Oklahoma. However, others put that theory to rest and lauded the school’s dominance over the years.

Here are some social media reactions to the Sooner’s win.

WCWS finals drew almost 100 million social media impressions in two days

The top six games of the WCWS semifinals all had over one million viewers.

The Women’s College World Series is up three percentage in viewership year-over-year through the semifinals, according to ESPN. The most-viewed game of 2023, before the title series, was University of Tennessee versus the Oklahoma Sooners which had 1.4 million viewers and was broadcast on ABC. The top six games of the semifinals all had over one million viewers.

The Sooners went on to win it all, making it the third time in a row Oklahoma has taken home the national championship, only the second team in history to complete the feat.

The championship series was between the Sooners and the Florida State Seminoles,  who last met in the title series back in 2021, where Oklahoma started its national title winning streak.

The Sooners defeated the Florida State Seminoles in two games and extended their win streak to 53 games, which is the longest winning streak in collegiate softball history.

Even though the championship series wasn’t drawn out, the social media impressions and viewership numbers were quite impressive. Game 1 of the series boasted 1.3 million viewers with a peak at 1.5 million. While Game 2 had 1.9 million viewers with a peak of 2.3 million with an average viewership for the championship series at 1.6 million viewers. The viewership for the series was up seven percent year-over-year.

The social media numbers were impressive as well with the series garnering almost one hundred million impressions in just two days, according to Zoomph.

Sooners sweep the WCWS and take home 3rd consecutive national title

See which record the Sooners broke with their championship win.

The Sooners have done it again and broken a few records in the process. Oklahoma Sooners softball has taken home their third straight NCAA National Championship. The Sooners defeated the Florida State Seminoles in two games and extended their win streak to 53 games.

The Sooners won in 2021 and 2022 while the Seminoles’ last title was in 2018. Florida State and Oklahoma met in the 2021 championship where Oklahoma started its national title winning streak.

Either title would be impressive on its own, but doing it all at the same time is well, history-making. The Sooners now hold the longest win streak in college softball history, far surpassing the 1996-1997 Arizona Wildcats who held the record previously at 47 games.

It had been 367 days since the Sooners lost a game in the Women’s College World Series. However, the journey this season hasn’t been smooth sailing.

“I think this really was the roughest (season) I’ve ever had to go through just because of with lots of fans and the growth of the sport comes a lot of pressure. I think I’ve felt that and they (our players) have felt that,” said head coach Patty Gasso.

The Sooners are now “only the second team in history to win three consecutive national titles (UCLA 1988-90).”

“It’s so crazy to see how our lives have changed,” Gasso said. “The fans in Oklahoma are absolutely fantastic, (but) it starts to feel like you’re getting smothered a little bit because everybody wants something. I heard (our players) talking about it. For all of us it’s different. I just want to coach. All of a sudden, your life isn’t regular anymore. So that’s really where they talk a little bit about mental health. It’s so different being a student-athlete now. I mean, it’s completely different. The expectations of everything. The fact that we got here and we won this is just mind-boggling with all of the wave of pressure and so forth. I could not be more proud of this group.

“To be sitting up here and telling you this is still kind of amazing because everybody’s out to get us. They want to bring down the Evil Empire, whatever it is. I don’t know. We just want to play ball. That’s all. Jayda Coleman wants to rob home runs. Tiare Jennings wants to hit doubles and be clutch. That’s how they’re made.”

This is the seventh national title in program history and the sixth in the past 10 years for Patty Gasso’s Sooners.

Two Lady Vols named to College World Series all-tournament team

Two Lady Vols named to the Women’s College World Series all-tournament team.

Tennessee senior outfielder Kiki Milloy and junior third baseman Zaida Puni were named to the Women’s College World Series all-tournament team.

The Lady Vols (51-10, 19-5 SEC) reached the semifinals as a No. 4 seed.

Tennessee was eliminated by Florida State Monday. The Seminoles defeated Tennessee, 5-1.

Milloy scored three runs and totaled one double and one stolen base.

Puni hit a solo home run against Florida State Monday and led Tennessee with two doubles. She recorded four RBIs in the Women’s College World Series, tying for a team lead.

Puni recorded 11 hits in the NCAA Tournament, including six home runs, three doubles, eight runs and 15 RBIs.

Milloy recorded eight hits, including two doubles, two home runs, one triple, 12 runs, four RBIs and six stolen bases.

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Sooners softball is one win away from making history

Should Oklahoma win game 2, they will make history.

Oklahoma softball defeated Florida State, 5-0, in the first game of the Women’s College World Series championship series. The national title is a best-of-three series and the Sooners are one win away from winning their third straight title.

The Sooners won in 2021 and 2022 while the Seminoles’ last title was in 2018. Florida State and Oklahoma met in the 2021 championship where Oklahoma started its national title winning streak.

Oklahoma also has a 52-game winning streak, the longest win streak in collegiate softball history. With their win against Florida State, the Sooners now have a school-record 35 shutouts this season. The Sooners are one win away from becoming “only the second team in history to win three consecutive national titles (UCLA 1988-90).”

“It’s always really good to get that first win under your belt — really important,” Sooners coach Patty Gasso said. “Our team was really focused for that. The rain situation and all of the lightning and so forth kind of put a wrench in it.

“It felt like a little bit of rushing. It was just uncharacteristic of what the beginning of a Championship Series would feel like. Watching all the fans go in and out, it was just … Some were not moving at all [smiling]. It’s a big moment. Everybody wants to see it.

“I think we started off a little bit nervous. We had a little conversation as a group. They decided we need to be more like us and stop trying (so hard). We don’t try hard, we just play. We were trying hard. You can see the difference.”

2023 Women’s College World Series Championship Series, schedule, TV networks (all times ET):

  • No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Florida State | June 8, 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Florida State  (if necessary) | June 9, 8 p.m. | ESPN

Get more Oklahoma news, analysis, and opinions on Sooners Wire

National championship in the Women’s College World Series begins Wednesday

Oklahoma, Florida State will face off for the title.

The stage is set for the Women’s College World Series national championship series with the [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag] and [autotag]Florida State Seminoles[/autotag] being the last two teams. These two teams met in the championship in 2021 where Oklahoma walked away with the national title.

Oklahoma has a 51-game winning streak, the longest win streak in collegiate softball history. They are defending their 2022 title as well, so there is a lot on the line for the Sooners. It took Oklahoma nine innings to defeat Stanford to head to the championship series.

However, Florida State didn’t need any extra innings to beat Tennessee, continue their undefeated Women’s College World Series tour, and advance to the title series. They downed Tennessee 5-1 in the national semifinal. The Seminoles won the national title in 2018 and are fighting for their second national championship in five years.

Florida State’s pitcher, Kathryn Sandercock, made school history when she pitched a perfect game against South Carolina to advance her team to Super Regionals. It feels like the Seminoles are on a streak and they might be the team with the advantage heading into the series.

The Seminoles and Sooners will play a best-of-three series to decide the 2023 champion.

2023 Women’s College World Series Championship Series, schedule, TV networks (all times ET):

  • No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Florida State | June 7, 8 p.m. | ESPN
  • No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Florida State | June 8, 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Florida State  (if necessary) | June 9, 8 p.m. | ESPN

Get more Oklahoma news, analysis, and opinions on Sooners Wire

WCWS national semifinal teams are set, four remain

As the end of the Women’s College World Series draws near, the final four teams are set.

And then there were four. On Sunday, the four teams who advanced to the national semifinals were set. The last four teams remaining in the race to the Women’s College World Series are No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 9 Stanford.

All four teams are in action on Monday where they battle it out to see who will play in the championship series. There could be only two games or up to four games depending on which team wins. Tennessee and Stanford must win twice to move on to the championship series, but Oklahoma and Florida State need one win to head to the finals.

Stanford defeated No. 7 Washington and Tennessee took down No. 6 Oklahoma State to move onto the semifinals.

The championship series runs from June 7-9, if necessary, and is a best-of-three series for the championship.

All games will air on ESPN, all times in ET.

Monday’s schedule

  • Game 11 | No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Stanford | 12 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 12 (if necessary) | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 13 | No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 4 Tennessee | 7 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 14 (if necessary) | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN

6 teams remain in Women’s College World Series

Is your team still in the Women’s College World Series?

The race to the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) championship game is slowly closing in and two teams have been eliminated from the tournament. The Utah Utes and the Alabama Crimson Tide were eliminated on Friday which means only six teams remain in the chase for a national title.

The remaining teams are battling it out on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday to determine who makes it to the final set of games. There are two brackets and when a team loses a game it is sent to an elimination bracket to battle its way back into the main bracket. However, once a team loses its second game, then the team is eliminated from the WCWS.

The remaining teams in bracket one are No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 9 Stanford. The remaining teams in bracket two are No. 3 Florida State, No. 6 Oklahoma State, and No. 7 Washington.

The winner from bracket one and bracket two will then play in a best-of-three series for the championship. The championship series runs from June 7-9, if necessary.

Here is the schedule for the remaining games in bracket one and bracket two before championship play starts on June 7. All times are ET.

June 3
  • Game 7 | No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 Tennessee | 3 p.m. | ABC
  • Game 8 | No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 7 Washington | 7 p.m. | ESPN
June 4
  • Game 9 | No. 9 Stanford vs. Loser of Game 8 | 3 p.m. | ABC
  • Game 10 | No. 6 Oklahoma State vs. Loser of Game 7 | 7 p.m. | ESPN2
June 5
  • Game 11 | Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 | 12 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 12 (if necessary) | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 13 | Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 | 7 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 14 (if necessary) | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN

Season ends for Alabama softball with 2-0 loss to Stanford in WCWS

Alabama softball ends the 2023 season on a disappointing note with a 2-0 loss to Stanford in the WCWS.

The 2023 season has ended for Patrick Murphy and the Alabama softball as the Crimson Tide took a 2-0 loss to Stanford on Friday night from Oklahoma City in the Women’s College World Series.

The conclusion of the season also brings the end of the Montana Fouts era of Alabama softball.

Fouts pitched for the Crimson Tide on Friday night against the Cardinal and pitched all seven innings surrendering just two runs on five hits. Unfortunately for Fouts and Alabama. the offense was once again stagnant. Alabama only mustered two hits in the contest and could not provide any support for Fouts’ effort on the mound.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.

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