Tag: Women’s College World Series

No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners vs. UCLA Bruins: How to watch, stream, listen, and key players for WCWS

The Oklahoma Sooners continue their journey in the Women’s College World Series against the UCLA Bruins here’s, how you can tune in.

The Women’s College World Series doesn’t get bigger than this. On Monday, two blue blood programs in the world of college softball will meet head to head for the right to go to the WCWS championship.

UCLA, the team with the most national championships all-time (12) will face off with Oklahoma, who has the third most national championships all-time (5).

The Sooners come into the WCWS semi-finals after beating Northwestern and Texas. UCLA dropped their first game of the Women’s College World Series to Texas 7-2 and then bounced back with wins over Northwestern and Florida. In those two wins for the Bruins, they outscored their opponents 14-1.

The Sooners and the Bruins met back in the first week of the season, a 4-1 win for the Oklahoma Sooners. In that pivotal nonconference matchup, Jordy Bahl announced her arrival to the softball world by holding the Bruins to one unearned run on four hits and she struck out 14 batters.

Oklahoma’s offense continues to put up numbers at a ridiculous pace. They’ve outscored opponents 72-7 in the NCAA tournament, averaging 10.28 runs scored per game.

This is an incredible matchup and the stakes are huge. Oklahoma needs one more win to set up an all-Big 12 championship series. UCLA has to beat the Sooners twice to advance and spoil the party.

Here’s how you can tune in to Oklahoma vs. UCLA in the semifinals of the [autotag]Women’s College World Series[/autotag] contest.

  • Date: Saturday, June 6, 2022
  • Time: 11 a.m. CDT
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)
  • Radio Broadcast: The game can be heard on 107.7 The Franchise in Oklahoma and nationwide on The Varsity app.

No. 1 Oklahoma vs UCLA Bruins

Players to watch:

No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners

[autotag]Jocelyn Alo[/autotag]: .500 batting average with 30 home runs, 75 RBIs, 52 walks.

[autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag]: .395 batting average with 26 home runs and 78 RBIs, 39 walks.

[autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag]: .415 batting average with 21 home runs and 64  RBIs, 21 walks.

[autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag]: .436 batting average with 7 home runs, 38 RBIs, 47 walks, and 13 stolen bases.

[autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag]: 21-1 with a 0.95 ERA, 199 strikeouts in 132.2 innings pitched. 2022 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

[autotag]Nicole May[/autotag]: 15-0 with a 0.99 ERA, 93 strikeouts in 85 innings pitched.

[autotag]Hope Trautwein[/autotag]: 20-1 with a 0.60 ERA, 149 strikeouts in 116 innings pitched.

UCLA Bruins

Delanie Wisz: .409 batting average with 15 home runs, 61 RBIs, 29 walks.

Briana Perez: .394 batting average with 10 home runs, 44 RBIs, 17 walks, and 16 stolen bases.

Kinsley Washington: .354 batting average with 5 home runs, 34 RBIs, 15 walks, and 12 stolen bases.

Maya Brady: .339 batting average with 13 home runs, 48 RBIs, 21 walks, and 11 stolen bases.

Megan Faraimo: 23-5 with a 1.80 ERA, 289 strikeouts in 191 innings pitched.

Holly Azevedo: 21-2 with a 1.28 ERA, 140 strikeouts in 126 innings pitched.

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How to watch Texas vs. Arizona in elimination game of WCWS on Sunday

Texas’ season is on the line today.

No. 1 Oklahoma proved to be too much for Texas in their second game of the Women’s College World Series on Saturday, forcing the Longhorns into the loser’s bracket to face Arizona on Sunday evening. Continue reading “How to watch Texas vs. Arizona in elimination game of WCWS on Sunday”

Best photos from Oklahoma Softball’s 7-2 win over the Texas Longhorns

Check out the action with some of the best photos of Oklahoma’s 7-2 win over the Texas Longhorns on Saturday.

The Oklahoma Sooners are one win away from a berth in the Women’s College World Series with a 7-2 win over long-time foe the Texas Longhorns.

[autotag]Jocelyn Alo[/autotag] and [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] continued their incredible postseason with another pair of home runs and Oklahoma got another clutch pitching performance from [autotag]Hope Trautwein[/autotag] to advance to the WCWS semifinals.

It was only the fourth time in 29 appearances that Trautwein had allowed two earned runs, but she was methodical in her complete-game performance. Trautwein scattered six hits over seven innings and allowed just two walks in the game. It was a solid bounce-back performance after giving five free passes on Thursday night to Northwestern.

[autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] kickstarted a Sooners rally for the second straight game with her fifth-inning bunt single. That lead-off hit led to a four-run fifth inning that was the difference in the ball game.

Oklahoma now awaits the winner of Sunday’s UCLA vs. Florida matchup but before that, let’s take a look back on Oklahoma’s 7-2 win over the Texas Longhorns.

No. 1 Oklahoma tops Texas 7-2 in the WCWS

No. 1 Oklahoma proves too much for Texas at the Women’s College World Series.

The No. 1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners proved too much for Texas softball in the Women’s College World Series. The Sooners are in the driver’s seat to advance to the championship series while the Longhorns move into the loser’s bracket.

Oklahoma’s offense got going early with a big fly from superstar Jocelyn Alo put the Sooners on top 2-0 in the first inning. Texas responded in the bottom half of the frame with an RBI double from Alyssa Washington to cut the deficit in half.

Both pitchers settled into the game nicely from that point on, exchanging zeros until Oklahoma broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning. Tiare Jennings capped of the inning with a two-run bomb over the left-field wall.

Janae Jefferson would go yard in the seventh but it would not be enough as Texas fell 7-2. The Horns will take on Arizona tomorrow in an elimination game.

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This video of Texas catcher Mary Iakopo drilling a foul ball off ESPN’s camera is too good

Look out!

It won’t count on the scoreboard, unfortunately, but Mary Iakopo was a part of one of the most unlikely moments of the college softball postseason on Saturday.

The catcher for the Texas Longhorns softball team was up to bat in the bottom of the first with her team trailing the Oklahoma Sooners, 2-1, in a postseason edition of the Red River Rivalry. After taking a ball, Iakopo drilled a shot down the third-base line that couldn’t quite stay fair.

But as the ball sailed through the Oklahoma City sky, it was set on a collision course with one of ESPN’s cameras that was situated in the outfield. It hit the camera squarely in the lens in an impressive feat of precision that must have certainly scared the life out of the operator.

Was this insane shot purely a function of luck that probably couldn’t be replicated even with hundreds of attempts? Sure. Was it awesome? Absolutely. Are we going to pretend Iakopo did it on purpose just to show off? You bet.

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The wacky college baseball and softball postseason format, explained

Ever wondered what a “regional” and a “super regional” are? We’ve got you covered.

One of the best aspects of high-level sports is the general accessibility of the postseason, even to casuals. You don’t need to watch all 18 weeks of the NFL regular season to enjoy the Super Bowl, for instance.

When it comes to college sports, things are complicated a bit by the organizational structure, which features more teams, leagues and quirks than its professional counterparts. Still, the College Football Playoff and NCAA basketball tournament are easy enough for the average fan to consume — so long as you have the mental bandwidth to learn about a Jesuit school from Jersey City with just over 2,000 undergrads whose mascot is a peacock.

But for bat-and-ball sports, you can throw all that out the window. The NCAA baseball and softball tournaments have a jumbled, confusing, often counter-intuitive format that can be confusing for even ardent fans.

It’s also a hell of a lot of fun if you’re able to keep up with it.

With the regional round beginning on the men’s side this weekend and the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City underway on the softball side, this is as good a time as any to try to make sense of the whole set-up. So, here’s how it works:

No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns: How to watch, stream, listen, and key players for WCWS

The Oklahoma Sooners continue their journey in the Women’s College World Series against Texas Longhorns here’s how you can tune in.

The Oklahoma Sooners get a chance at redemption in the winner’s bracket of the Women’s College World Series. Their next matchup against the Texas Longhorns provides an opportunity for the Sooners to play the team that handed OU their first loss of the season a few months back.

Though it’s just another game, a game against a rival that beat you earlier in the season will carry some extra weight.

In that mid-April loss, Jordy Bahl was outdueled by Hailey Dolcini in the Longhorns’ 4-2 win to snap Oklahoma’s record-setting winning streak to start the 2022 season.

In that loss, Tiare Jennings, Jocelyn Alo, and Grace Lyons combined to go 0-9 with two strikeouts. The Sooners’ only two hits in the game came in the seventh with Oklahoma trailing 4-0. Jayda Coleman singled and Kinzie Hansen homered to cut the lead to 4-2. Dolcini bounced back and shut the Sooners’ rally down before it could really get going.

But that was nearly two months ago and the Sooners are playing great since the start of the NCAA tournament. Women on a mission, the Sooners have outscored opponents 65-5 since the start of the tournament.

As they look to stay unbeaten in the postseason, they’ll have to beat a Texas team that comes in with the confidence that they can beat Oklahoma, cause they did it earlier this year.

As Oklahoma gets set to take on the Texas Longhorns, here’s how you can tune in for the [autotag]Women’s College World Series[/autotag] opener.

  • Date: Saturday, June 4, 2022
  • Time: 2:00 p.m. CDT
  • TV Channel: ABC
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)
  • Radio Broadcast: The game can be heard on 107.7 The Franchise in Oklahoma and nationwide on The Varsity app.

No. 1 Oklahoma vs Texas Longhorns

Players to watch:

No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners

[autotag]Jocelyn Alo[/autotag]: .497 batting average with 29 home runs, 72 RBIs, 51 walks, 2x Reigning National Player of the Year, 2022 Big 12 Player of the year.

[autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag]: .387 batting average with 25 home runs and 76 RBIs, 39 walks.

[autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag]: .422 batting average with 21 home runs and 64  RBIs, 20 walks. 2022 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

[autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag]: .434 batting average with 7 home runs, 37 RBIs, 47 walks, and 13 stolen bases.

[autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag]: 21-1 with a 0.95 ERA, 199 strikeouts in 132.2 innings pitched. 2022 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

[autotag]Nicole May[/autotag]: 15-0 with a 0.99 ERA, 93 strikeouts in 85 innings pitched.

[autotag]Hope Trautwein[/autotag]: 19-1 with a 0.51 ERA, 148 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched.

Texas Longhorns

Janae Jefferson: .427 batting average with 6 home runs, 33 RBIs, 30 walks, and 16 stolen bases.

Mia Scott: .384 batting average with 3 home runs, 35 RBIs, 24 walks, and 24 stolen bases.

Mary Iakopo: .341 batting average with 11 home runs, 56 RBIs, and 24 walks.

Alyssa Popelka: .352 batting average with no home runs, 7 RBIs, 12 walks, and 16 stolen bases.

Hailey Dolcini: 23-10 with a 2.18 ERA, 212 strikeouts in 202 innings pitched.

Estelle Czech: 11-1 with a 3.41 ERA, 74 strikeouts in 86.1 innings pitched.

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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Patty Gasso sending out Jordy Bahl against NU was the right move

Despite Northwestern softball fans crying foul, Coach Patty Gasso made the right move by giving Jordy Bahl her first WCWS experience in 13-2 blowout

I will not pretend to know what Oklahoma softball head coach Patty Gasso was planning when she put together the starting lineup for the Sooners’ first game of the Women’s College World Series, but the circumstances of Freshman of the Year Jordy Bahl’s return are fascinating.

Gasso gave Bahl the nod with two outs in the top of the fifth with a 12-run lead.

Northwestern fans on social media weren’t happy.

I can understand that watching your opponent switch pitchers with a massive lead and one out remaining can be perceived as bad sportsmanship, but in this case, the Sooners’ skipper knew what she was doing.

With how dominant Bahl has been in her debut season, it’s easy to forget how young she is. Given this is her freshman season, that was Bahl’s first WCWS experience. She also hadn’t pitched in a month.

Giving Bahl a little taste of action could end up doing wonders for not just her, but the entire team. The way they celebrated when Bahl came on to pitch was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

So, no, Northwestern. This wasn’t bad sportsmanship by Gasso. This was one of the best softball coaches in the nation giving one of her pitchers an opportunity to brush the dust off and get some much-needed WCWS experience.

Considering what happened last year for the Sooners in the opening game of the WCWS, a bit of a morale boost will work wonders.

The Sooners enjoyed a day off on Friday and will play the Texas Longhorns in the next round.

How to watch Texas softball vs. No. 1 Oklahoma in the WCWS on Saturday

Texas softball is playing with a chip on their shoulder, don’t miss their second game of the WCWS!

Texas kicked off the 2022 Women’s College World Series on the right foot. Continue reading “How to watch Texas softball vs. No. 1 Oklahoma in the WCWS on Saturday”