Oklahoma Sooners Softball Preview | NCAA Championship Series

The Sooners are exactly where we expected them to be. Oklahoma is facing Florida State in a best-of-three series that will determine the 2023 national champion. Both teams come into the series with stellar records, stellar athletes, and dominant runs through the postseason. In a true balance vs. power matchup, the Seminoles are placing their .306 team batting average and 1.59 ERA against Oklahoma’s .368 average and 0.98 team ERA.

Championship Series Schedule

DateGameOpponentsTimeTVResult
June 7#1Oklahoma vs. Florida State7:00 PMESPN
June 8#2Oklahoma vs. Florida State6:30 PMESPN
June 9#3Oklahoma vs. Florida State (If Necessary)7:00 PMESPN

Tuning In

All games will be broadcast on ESPN family and can also be heard via 107.7 The Franchise in Oklahoma or nationwide on The Varsity Network app with Chris Plank on the call.

Notes & Storylines

  • Oklahoma makes its fourth straight appearance in the WCWS Championship Series and sixth showing of the last seven seasons.
  • Oklahoma is vying to become just the second program to win three straight national titles, looking to join the 1988-90 UCLA Bruins.
  • 2023 marks OU’s 11th trip in the last 12 years to OKC for the WCWS. No other program in the country has made as many trips to the WCWS as OU since the 2011 season.
  • OU is on an NCAA record 51-game win streak, recently surpassing 1996-97 Arizona’s 47-game streak.
  • Oklahoma has made the NCAA Tournament 29 straight seasons and every year of head coach Patty Gasso’s tenure since 1995 (tournament was not played in 2020). The Sooners are tied with Washington for the longest active postseason run.
  • With six national titles (2000, ‘13, ‘16, ‘17, ’21, ‘22) Oklahoma trails only UCLA (12) and Arizona (8) for most in NCAA history, and no other team has more than two.
  • Rylie Boone is batting .500 at the WCWS, Tiare Jennings has 5 RBI, and Jennings, Jayda Coleman and Kinzie Hansen have each hit one home run.
  • Jordy Bahl has a 3-0 record, and 20 strikeouts, in 14.2 innings pitched at the WCWS, allowing no runs and 10 hits.
  • Jennings tied former teammate Jocelyn Alo’s career WCWS RBI record with 28 and has moved into first all-time in WCWS doubles with six. She is also second with 8 career HR in OKC to Alo’s 12.

Sooners vs. The Seminoles

  • OU holds a 9-8 edge over the Seminoles courtesy a 5-4 win in Norman on March 14 of this season.
  • The Sooners beat FSU in the 2021 WCWS Champ Series in three games for their then-fifth national title, marking the first time the programs have met at the WCWS.

Heavy Hitters

  • Oklahoma’s Tiare Jennings is batting .426 on the season and is tied with Jayda Coleman and Alyssa Brito for a team high in home runs with 17. Jennings has a team-best 65 RBI on the season and has crossed home plate herself 57 times.
  • Jahni Kerr leads FUS in batting average at .360. She has 8 home runs and 40 RBI on the season with 38 runs scored.

From The Circle

  • Nicole May edges out Jordy Bahl for the lowest ERA on Oklahoma’s pitching staff, 0.91 to 0.97. The two have combined for 209 strikeouts on the season and a joint 39-1 record.
  • Florida State’s Kathryn Sandercock is 28-3 on the season with a 1.05 ERA and 116 strikeouts.

Follow us on Twitter: @SportsHeartland

Leave a Reply