No. 1 Oklahoma vs No. 3 Florida State: WCWS championship key players, game preview, prediction
After surviving the Women’s College World Series field unscathed, the Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida State Seminoles meet in the championship series starting Wednesday night.
This year’s championship is a rematch of the 2021 series that the Oklahoma Sooners won after dropping Game 1 of the three-game series. In 2021, Florida State was the No. 10 seed in the tournament and had to overcome an opening day loss in the WCWS, beating third-seeded Alabama twice to get to the finals.
This year, both the Sooners and Seminoles were the highest remaining seeds in the WCWS after UCLA was bounced in the Los Angeles Regional. Neither team suffered a loss in Oklahoma City, setting up a showdown of national powerhouses.
Led by Patty Gasso and Lonni Alameda, the two schools have rich histories. The Sooners have five more championships than Florida State, but the Seminoles have reached the championship series three times in the last six years and won it in 2018.
Here’s a look at the matchup between the No.1 Oklahoma Sooners and No. 3 Florida State Seminoles for the NCAA championship.
How To Watch
Game 1: 7 p.m. CT on ESPN
Game 2: 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN
Game 3: 7 p.m. CT on ESPN (if necessary)
How they got here
The Oklahoma Sooners ran roughshod over the Big 12, going 18-0 and running the conference tournament to collect both Big 12 titles. In the Norman Regional, the Sooners collected three run-rule wins, outscoring the opposition 38-3 to advance.
Against Clemson in the super regionals, the Sooners needed some seventh-inning heroics to tie the game and beat the Tigers to sweep through to the Women’s College World Series.
In the WCWS, Oklahoma was tested twice in wins against Stanford and picked up a run-rule victory over Tennessee.
Florida State won the ACC regular season and tournament titles, outlasting the Duke Blue Devils, who finished as the runner-up in both the conference season and tournament.
In the NCAA tournament, the Seminoles were pushed by South Carolina to a win-or-go-home game. In the deciding game of the Tallahassee Regional, Kathryn Sandercock threw a perfect game to help the Noles advance to the super regionals.
Florida State swept Georgia in the super regionals before beating Oklahoma State, Washington and Tennessee on its way to the Women’s College World Series championship.
Sooners to Watch
Tiare Jennings, 2B: .426 batting average, 17 home runs, 65 RBI, .807 slugging percentage, .488 on-base percentage
Jayda Coleman, CF: .423 batting average, 18 home runs, 48 RBI, .814 slugging percentage, .543 on-base percentage, 16 stolen bases
Kinzie Hansen, C: .412 batting average, 13 home runs, 55 RBI, .771 slugging percentage, .442 on-base percentage
Alyssa Brito, 3B: .407 batting average, 17 home runs, 59 RBI, .824 slugging percentage, .465 on-base percentage
Jordyn Bahl, P: 21-1, 0.97 ERA, 137.1 innings pitched, 179 strikeouts and opponent’s batting average of .167
Nicole May, P: 18-0, 0.91 ERA, 107.2 innings pitched, 130 strikeouts and opponent’s batting average of .161
Alex Storako, P: 17-0, 1.12 ERA, 99.2 innings pitched, 106 strikeouts and opponent’s batting average of .164
Seminoles to Watch
Jahni Kerr, OF: .357 batting average, 8 home runs, 15 doubles, 39 RBI, .571 slugging percentage, .392 on-base percentage
Kaley Mudge, OF: .353 batting average, 5 home runs, 17 doubles, 43 RBI, .539 slugging percentage, .415 on-base percentage
Kalei Harding, UTIL: .322 batting average, 10 home runs, 22 doubles, 48 RBI, .613 slugging percentage, .397 on-base percentage
Kathryn Sandercock, P: 28-3, 1.07 ERA, 183 innings pitched, 112 strikeouts and opponent’s batting average of .184
Makenna Reid, P: 12-0, 0.92 ERA, 76.1 innings pitched, 89 strikeouts, and opponent’s batting average of .133
By the Numbers
Oklahoma is making its fourth straight WCWS championship appearance.
The Sooners are 59-1 and have won 51 in a row. The Seminoles are 58-9 and have won six games in a row.
The Sooners lead the nation in team batting average (.368), while Florida State is batting .306, 31st in the country.
Oklahoma is allowing an opponent’s batting average of .164 in 2023. Florida State is allowing opponents to hit .189.
The Sooners’ pitching staff continues to lead the nation in ERA at 0.98. The Seminoles are No. 4 in the nation with a team ERA of 1.59
Oklahoma is outscoring its opponents 493-58, and Florida State has outscored its opponents 408-141.
The Sooners have hit 115 home runs on the season, and the Seminoles have hit 62. The Sooners also have 113 doubles on the year, while Florida State has 122.
Oklahoma has allowed 21 homers and 23 doubles in 2023 while Florida State has allowed 24 home runs and 42 doubles this year.
Sooners have struck out just 162 times and have drawn a walk 238 times in 2023. The Seminoles have been struck out 222 times and been walked 247 times.
Oklahoma’s pitching staff has recorded 436 strikeouts on the year and allowed 93 walks on the season, while Florida State has recorded 350 strikeouts and allowed 127 walks in 2023.
Prediction
If you’ve watched this team for any length of time, you come to a point where you learn never to bet against it or count it out. The Oklahoma Sooners have done incredible things during their 51-game winning streak and produced magical moments along the way.
On paper, this looks like another close matchup between two well-coached teams with a lot of talent.
Earlier in the season, this Florida State team pushed Oklahoma. The Seminoles even had a lead in the top of the fourth. But as the Sooners have done all year, the responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead and ultimately win the game 5-4.
That was nearly three months ago. At the time, Jocelyn Erickson was hitting cleanup and Kinzie Hansen was making her fourth appearance for the Sooners in 2023.
The difference is going to come down to Oklahoma’s depth advantage and its ability to make contact. Kathryn Sandercock isn’t the strikeout pitcher that NiJaree Canady is. She’s fantastic, but isn’t going to blow the Sooners away at the plate. Sandercock will let you put the ball in play and let her defense sort it out. That strategy has worked quite well for the Seminoles ace. However, the Sooners are the Sooners. They’re still the best offense in softball and when they put the ball in play, they make good things happen.
Oklahoma has won 51 games in a row, so it’s hard to imagine that streak coming to an end. However, Florida State is a great team that’s good enough to take one of these games in the series. Ultimately, it’s going to be the Oklahoma Sooners standing tall, winning their third straight national championship.
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