The best college softball teams in the country competed at the 2023 NCAA Women’s College World Series at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, and for the third straight year, the Oklahoma Sooners came out on top.
No. 1 Oklahoma won its third consecutive NCAA title — and ended the season on a historic winning streak. Competition began on June 1 and continued through June 8.
Just Women’s Sports kept tabs on the action as it unfolds. See below for the full game schedule, and an explainer on how the Women’s College World Series bracket works.
Which teams are competing at the 2023 Women’s College World Series?
Sixty-four teams competed in the NCAA softball championship this spring, with eight ultimately qualifying for this week’s Women’s College World Series (WCWS).
In order to qualify for the WCWS, each team had to first make it through a four-team regional competition (featuring a double-elimination bracket), followed by a two-team super regional championship (featuring a best-of-three format).
These are the eight teams that qualified for the 2023 WCWS:
- No. 1 Oklahoma
- No. 3 Florida State
- No. 4 Tennessee
- No. 5 Alabama
- No. 6 Oklahoma State
- No. 7 Washington
- No. 9 Stanford
- No. 15 Utah
How does the bracket work at the Women’s College World Series?
The Women’s College World Series uses a double elimination bracket for the first stage, followed by a best-of-3 championship series.
Competition begins with the eight teams competing in a bracket. When a team loses its first game, it will be sent to the elimination bracket with a chance to play its way back into the main bracket. But when a team loses its second game, it is eliminated from contention.
The winner from each side of the bracket meets in the best-of-three championship series.
2023 Women’s College World Series — Schedule and Results
The Women’s College World Series began June 1 and continued through June 8. See below for a full schedule. All games were available on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC — in addition to streaming on ESPN+.
In the semifinals, Stanford faced off against Oklahoma and nearly pulled off a Game 1 upset. Stanford freshman sensation NiJaree Canady was lights out against the Sooner batters in their WCWS opener and pushed them to the brink again Monday, but Oklahoma won 4-2 in nine innings to advance to their fourth straight championship series.
Florida State also had entered the championship series undefeated, defeating Tennessee 5-1 in Monday’s other semifinal game. But FSU lost its only regular season meeting with Oklahoma, falling 5-4 on March 14.
In the opening game of the WCWS finals, Oklahoma claimed a dominant 5-0 win against FSU, led by pitcher Jordy Bahl’s complete game shutout. The Sooners closed out their third straight title with a 3-1 win, in which Bahl recorded a three-inning save.
June 1:
- Game 1: Tennessee 10, Alabama 5
- Game 2: Oklahoma 2, Stanford 0
- Game 3: Florida State 8, Oklahoma State 0
June 2:
- Game 4: Washington 4, Utah 1
- Note: Originally scheduled for June 1, but postponed due to weather
- Game 5: Stanford 2, Alabama 0
- Game 6: Oklahoma State 8, Utah 0
June 3:
- Game 7: Oklahoma 9, Tennessee 0
- Game 8: Florida State 3, Washington 1
June 4:
- Game 9: Stanford 1, Washington 0
- Game 10: Tennessee 3, Oklahoma State 1
June 5:
- Game 11: Oklahoma 4, Stanford 2 (9 innings)
- Game 12 not needed after Stanford elimination
- Game 13: Florida State 5, Tennessee 1
- Game 14 not needed after Tennessee elimination
Championship Finals (Best of 3)
No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Florida State
- June 7: Oklahoma 5, Florida State 0
- June 8: Oklahoma 3, Florida State 1
